Navigating Australia’s Data Landscape
Can you connect data users with the right data to answer their questions?
Go to Challenge | 20 teams have entered this challenge.
Team Name:
DSEC
Team Members:
GovChat
Project Info
Team Name
DSEC
Team Members
Shalok Sharma , Sham , Ranveer Bhasin , Sam
Project Description
GovChat – One Place to Ask, Find, and Trust Government Data
The Problem
Government data is a national asset, but finding the right dataset feels impossible. Information is spread across dozens of agency sites, locked behind confusing catalogues, and filled with jargon. Often, you do not even know what you do not know. Transparency exists, but it is not accessible.
The Solution: GovChat
GovChat is a single, simple way to discover, understand, and trust government datasets. Just type a question in plain English and instantly see the datasets that answer it, along with related datasets you might never have thought to look for.
Every answer is grounded in real sources, backed by:
1. Trust Checks – Confidence scores showing how reliable and complete the data is.
2. Audit Logs – A full step-by-step reasoning trail to ensure transparency.
3. Plain-English Summaries – Translating technical dataset titles into clear language.
4. Connected Insights – Interactive dataset graphs across ABS, ATO, Education, and beyond, making relationships visible at a glance.
Impact
- For Policymakers and Researchers: Hours of searching become minutes. Every answer is source-backed and trustworthy.
- For Citizens: Data is made accessible in plain English, not just for statisticians.
- For Agencies: A shared framework for transparent data use across departments.
Tech Stack
- Frontend: Next.js chatbot interface
- Backend: Python API with ChromaDB semantic search
- Data Sources: ABS, ATO, Education (with AIHW, DEWR, and councils coming next)
- Trust and Transparency: Built-in scoring engine, audit logs, and explainability
What’s Next
We are scaling GovChat with:
1. Interactive dataset maps and dashboards
2. Expanded coverage across more agencies
3. Policy-ready fact cards designed for ministers, journalists, and communities
Challenge Justification
We chose to enter the following challenges because GovChat directly addresses their core aims:
Open Government / Transparency Challenge
GovChat makes government data genuinely accessible and understandable for all Australians, turning transparency into something usable.Data Accessibility Challenge
Many datasets are scattered and technical. GovChat removes those barriers by providing plain-English summaries and a single search point.AI for Good Challenge
GovChat applies AI responsibly, with trust checks and audit trails to avoid "black box" risks, ensuring that results are both accurate and transparent.Policy Innovation Challenge
By surfacing connected datasets and providing policy-ready insights, GovChat supports evidence-based decision making for policymakers.
GovChat turns Australia's maze of government data into one clear, trustworthy conversation that is accessible to everyone.
Data Story
Australia’s government data is scattered across multiple agencies, making it difficult and time-consuming for policymakers, researchers, and citizens to find and use. GovChat solves this by creating a single point of access where users can ask natural-language questions. The platform retrieves relevant datasets, explains results in plain English, and provides confidence scores and audit trails for transparency and accountability. By surfacing related datasets, GovChat helps users see the bigger picture, for example, connecting university enrolments with migration and workforce participation data. This reduces time wasted hunting for datasets and builds trust in evidence-based decision making.
Team DataSets
Combined Dataset of all the Cumulated Data
Description of Use The dataset is designed to power GovChat’s national inventory search engine. It allows users to query across diverse government datasets in natural language, retrieve accurate and auditable results, and surface related datasets dynamically. Researchers, policymakers, and citizens can use it to find, understand, and connect government data without needing to manually browse multiple portals.
Department of Education Statistics
Description of Use GovChat integrates Education datasets to answer questions about enrolments, student pathways, and performance. These datasets are also linked with other sources, such as migration and workforce participation, to show how education connects to broader social and economic trends.
ATO Open Data
Description of Use GovChat uses ATO Open Data to provide insights into Australia’s financial and economic landscape. It helps users connect taxation and business activity data with broader datasets such as employment and education, supporting evidence-based policy and transparent public discussion.
ABS Data API
Description of Use GovChat uses the ABS Data API to answer plain-language questions about demographics, employment, and economic trends. The API supplies reliable, up-to-date data that is transformed into clear summaries with trust checks and audit trails. It forms the backbone of GovChat’s ability to provide policymakers, researchers, and citizens with accurate national insights.
Challenge Entries
Making AI Decisions Understandable and Clear
As government agencies and businesses increasingly use AI to improve services and efficiency, how can we create tools that help them communicate AI usage clearly, build public trust, and demonstrate responsible AI implementation?
Go to Challenge | 13 teams have entered this challenge.
An Accurate and Trustworthy Chatbot for Data Interactions
How can government agencies deploy conversational and analytical AI to interrogate complex datasets while maintaining the high degree of accuracy and auditability standards required for official decision-making?
Go to Challenge | 18 teams have entered this challenge.