Scientific topics National Exposure Information System
Last updated:19 August 2024
National exposure modelling
The Buildings capability is a unique product of the National Exposure Information System (NEXIS) developed by Geoscience Australia (GA). It is used to estimate the cost and characteristics of the people, buildings and infrastructure potentially impacted by a man-made or natural hazardous event. NEXIS sources location-based data about buildings, demographics, community infrastructure, land use and agricultural commodities, then uses spatial modelling to develop a nationally consistent exposure profile.
NEXIS Building exposure information consists of residential, commercial and industrial buildings. The product provides aggregated structural characteristic information on the most common building type, use, age, number of storeys, roof and wall type in a specified area. Building exposure information also provides population estimates, such as the number of occupants, household income and other demographic indicators. Economic impacts based on building construction, replacement costs and top employment activity are also provided.
NEXIS products are not intended for operational purposes at the building or individual feature level. Their purpose is to provide consistent aggregated exposure information for local, state and national geographies. The data is used internally within GA for risk modelling and impact assessment. For users outside GA, NEXIS Buildings is incorporated into the Australian Exposure Information Platform product, allowing users to include building data in exposure reports. It is also published in aggregated form and currently available at Local Government Areas (LGA) and Statistical Area Level 1 (SA1).