About Us

Within the portfolio of Resources, Energy and Tourism, Geoscience Australia plays a critical role by producing first-class geoscientific information and knowledge. This can enable the government and the community to make informed decisions about the exploration of resources, the management of the environment, the safety of critical infrastructure and the resultant wellbeing of all Australians.

Key priorities for Geoscience Australia in 2007-08 are to:

1. Deliver the Year 3 geoscience component of the Australian Tsunami Warning System.
2. Promote the petroleum prospectivity of Australia. In particular, provide scientific and technical support to Government for the 2008 offshore petroleum acreage release.
3. As part of the Offshore Energy Security Program, acquire seismic data to assess the hydrocarbon potential of the Mentelle and Perth basins in south west Western Australia.
4. As part of the Offshore Energy Security Program, assess the petroleum potential of remote eastern frontier basins.
5. Under the Onshore Energy Security Program, provide technical advice to Government in relation to uranium, thorium, petroleum and geothermal energy.
6. Provide marine and coastal geoscience inputs for the Department of the Environment and Water Resources for the development of regional marine plans in the northern, eastern and south-western planning areas and in estuaries of northern Australia.
7. Develop a carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) program, including criteria for CCS acreage release and assessment
8. Deliver the first full year of the five year Onshore Energy Security Program, including acquisition and interpretation of geophysical datasets, regional geology investigations and integrated commodity studies.
9. Deliver an operational capability to support critical infrastructure protection in Australia.
10. Deliver natural hazard risk assessment methods, databases and decision support tools in support of the Disaster Mitigation Australia Package.
11. Develop the technical and administrative framework for a new national high resolution Digital Elevation Model of Australia in collaboration with Government and industry partners.
12. Promote opportunities for investment in mineral exploration through new pre competitive geoscience information from syntheses of Australia's Phanerozoic-era geological provinces in Eastern Australia.
13. Undertake large-scale topographic mapping and revision in new targeted areas identified in collaboration with all states and the Northern Territory to support emergency management.
14. As part of the Offshore Energy Security Program, complete Phase 1 of a new Petroleum Data Access Facility for the petroleum industry.
15. Improve discoverability and access to Geoscience Australia's information assets via the internet.

Additional detail about what we do can be accessed in our corporate documents:

• Portfolio Budget Statements
• Work Programs
• Annual reports
• Newsletters
• Indexed File Lists
• Contracts Lists
• Consultancies
• Strategic Directions 2003-08

• Find out how to contact us.
• Some information about the building and design.