What's new in Planwisely | January 2025

New PT infrastructure data and styling

We’ve added a nationwide PT infrastructure layer to the Planwisely data library that shows every public transport route in Australia (as of January 2025). Plus, the map styling has been improved – making it easier to interpret and leverage for your analysis.

Why it’s useful: Understanding the layout and design of Australia’s public transport networks is useful for analysing accessibility in and around any location, optimising PT routes and more.

New meshblock land use data and filtering

The Meshblock Land Use layer now includes the latest ABS data (2021), which you can also compare with 2016 data using the Filter option. This filtering, which you can customise to specific land use types, is a simple and powerful way to identify areas of major growth.

Why it’s useful: The Meshblock Land Use layer provides detailed information on land use patterns at a very granular level (meshblocks are the smallest geographic units defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics). This data is crucial for urban planning, zoning, and resource allocation by identifying residential, commercial, industrial, recreational areas and other distinct land use types.

Expanded cycle network data

Bicycle network data in Planwisely has been updated for Victoria, while new data has been added for Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Hobart. You can also filter or colour the data by infrastructure, facility, road class or by one-way paths.

Why it’s useful: Cycle network data offers potential insights into existing and potential cycling routes. It can be combined with other datasets to find accessibility insights, help design safe and efficient cycling infrastructure and promote sustainable transport.

Updated demographic data

Planwisely’s Demographic layers contain a wide range of demographic datasets, including Census Medians and Population by Age, Income and Gender. Both have been updated to include 2021 Census data. The Population by Age, Income and Gender layer now includes more geographies, while the Census Medians data includes metrics to explore household sizes.

Why it’s useful: Demographic data is essential for a range of planning applications. The Population by Age, Income and Gender dataset can be used for economic development purposes, forecasting demographic changes, planning age or gender-specific facilities or services. Meanwhile, Cenus Medians presents help identify trends or disparities within communities, helping to develop policies and allocate resources.

Updated schools and hospital data

Schools and hospitals can be visualised as POI on the map in Planwisely, and both datasets have been updated with the latest available data. Schools can be filtered by school type, sector, status and geolocation. You can filter hospitals by hospital type: private overnight, private same day or public hospitals.

Why it’s useful: Knowing the locations and type of schools and hospitals across Australia can be used to ensure equitable access to essential services, planning for future growth and improving public health outcomes.

Motor vehicle registration data

You can visualise motor vehicle registrations by postcode on the map in Planwisely. We’ve updated this layer with new cross-filtering options for filtering different vehicle types and fuel types, making it easier to investigate specific areas of interest. Plus, you can now view a fuel breakdown pie chart for any area your select on the map.

Why it’s useful: Tracking the number and types of vehicles in an area can be used to assist traffic management, environmental impact assessments and infrastructure planning to accommodate current and future vehicle usage.