An effective cadastral data model must describe what is fundamental to
a business, not simply what appears as data. Entities should concentrate on areas of signifi cance to the business.

The existing cadastral data models include the subject, the object and the rights associated with them. They follow a classic concept for the cadastral domain within land administration, based on historical arrangements made for land registration, surveying, building and maintaining the cadastre (Wallace & Williamson, 2004). However, to achieve e-LA, the model should also include the ICT based business processes among its subsystems.

Huge efforts to improve land administration are focused in utilization of ICT like the electronic submission and processing of development applications, ecoveyancing, the digital lodgment of survey plans, online access to survey plan information and digital processing of title transactions as a mean of updating the database. A comprehensive e-LA needs to incorporate the requirements of all these processes in all subsystems in the cadastral data model For example, the electronic conveyancing system should be developed in conjunction with the land taxation subsystem and land registry subsystem to ensure that all land transfer requirements are met in one simple process. The tax systems rely on properties not parcels and they have a property identifier that links the title, local government and tax systems. They are interested in property price and land use. The descriptions of vacant land, residential property, industrial property, rural property and commercial property are crucial for many taxation regimes. Only some of that information can be accused from land registry.

An expanded cadastral data model which realises both land taxation and land registry requirements can facilitate the processes within an electronic conveyancing system.

Local governments independently gather data layers, like dog exercise reserves and sites, walking trails, location of recreation clubs like horse riding clubs, as well as open spaces within the local government boundaries. This sort of information is associated with land parceland property layers which are not found in the digital cadastral database of a country or state.

An expanded cadastral data model which realises this kind of large scale and local land information can facilitate data flow among subsystems. It allows easy plug and play between local land information and cadastral database.

To achieve e-LA, cadastral data modelling is a basic step toward effi cient service delivery (Figure 3), because data are defi ned in the context of business processes. It allows every single process in land administration subsystems to directly influence the core cadastre model. The modelling process should recognize the business processes to mirror them in the core cadastral model.

The paper reviewed the functions of land administration subsystems and revealed data flow and process among them. It described an e-LA concept and its goals, including holistic coordination among the subsystems and effective service delivery. It argued that the current cadastral data models are traditional and are based on the historical context of land administration and cadastres which need to be developed to fully realise e-LA. Cadastral data modelling was identified as playing a key role in e- LA especially for data management and coordination among subsystems.

This research project is proudly supported by the International Science Linkages programme established under the Australian Government’s innovation statement Backing Australia’s Ability.

The authors acknowledge the support of the University of Melbourne, Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) of Victoria, Australia, and the members of the Centre for Spatial Data Infrastructures and Land Administration at the Department of Geomatics, the University of Melbourne, in the preparation of this paper and the associated research. However, the views expressed in the paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily refl ect those of these groups.

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