Abstract The Catchment Scale Land Use of Australia – Update December 2023 dataset is the national compilation of catchment scale land use data available for Australia (CLUM), as of December 2023. It replaces the Catchment Scale Land Use of Australia – Update December 2020. It is a seamless raster dataset that combines land use data for all state and territory jurisdictions, compiled at a resolution of 50 metres by 50 metres. The CLUM data shows a single dominant land use for a given area, based on the primary management objective of the land manager (as identified by state and territory agencies). Land use is classified according to the Australian Land Use and Management Classification version 8. It has been compiled from vector land use datasets collected as part of state and territory mapping programs and other authoritative sources, through the Australian Collaborative Land Use and Management Program. Catchment scale land use data was produced by combining land tenure and other types of land use information including, fine-scale satellite data, ancillary datasets, and information collected in the field. The date of mapping (2008 to 2023) and scale of mapping (1:5,000 to 1:250,000) vary, reflecting the source data, capture date and scale. Date and scale of mapping are provided in supporting datasets.

Currency Date modified: December 2023 Publication Date: June 2024 Modification frequency: As needed (approximately annual) Data Extent Coordinate reference: WGS84 / Mercator Auxiliary Sphere Spatial Extent North: -9.995 South: -44.005 East: 154.004 West: 112.505 Source information Data, Metadata, Maps and Interactive views are available from Catchment Scale Land Use of Australia - Update 2023 Catchment Scale Land Use of Australia - Update 2023 – Descriptive metadata The data was obtained from Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry - Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES). ABARES is providing this data to the public under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Lineage statement This catchment scale land use dataset provides the latest compilation of land use mapping information for Australia’s regions as at December 2023. It is used by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, state agencies and regional natural resource management groups to address issues such as agricultural productivity and sustainability, biodiversity conservation, biosecurity, land use planning, natural disaster management and natural resource monitoring and investment. The data vary in date of mapping (2008 to 2023) and scale (1:5,000 to 1:250,000). 2023 updates include more current data and/or reclassification of existing data. The following areas have updated data since the December 2020 version:

New South Wales (2017 v1.5 from v1.2). Northern Territory (2022 from 2020). Tasmania (2021 from 2019). Victoria (2021 from 2017). Data were also added from the Great Barrier Reef Natural Resource Management (NRM) regions in Queensland (2021 from a variety of dates 2009 to 2017). the Australian Tree Crops. Australian Protected Cropping Structures and Queensland Soybean Crops maps as downloaded on 30 November 2023. The capital city of Adelaide was updated using 2021 mesh block information from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Minor reclassifications were made for Western Australia and mining area within mining tenements more accurately delineated in South Australia.

Links to land use mapping datasets and metadata are available at the ACLUMP data download page at agriculture.gov.au. State and territory vector catchment scale land use data were produced by combining land tenure and other types of land use information, fine-scale satellite data and information collected in the field, as outlined in 'Guidelines for land use mapping in Australia: principles, procedures and definitions, 4th edition' (ABARES 2011). The Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia were mapped to version 8 of the ALUM classification (‘The Australian Land Use and Management Classification Version 8’, ABARES 2016). The Australian Capital Territory was mapped to version 7 of the ALUM classification and converted to version 8 using a look-up table based on Appendix 1 of ABARES (2016). Purpose for which the material was obtained: This catchment scale land use dataset provides the latest compilation of land use mapping information for Australia’s regions as at December 2023. It is used by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, state agencies and regional natural resource management groups to address issues such as agricultural productivity and sustainability, biodiversity conservation, biosecurity, land use planning, natural disaster management and natural resource monitoring and investment. The data vary in date of mapping (2008 to 2023) and scale (1:5,000 to 1:250,000). Do not use this data to:

Derive national statistics. The Land use of Australia data series should be used for this purpose. Calculate land use change. The Land use of Australia data series should be used for this purpose.

It is not possible to calculate land use change statistics between annual CLUM national compilations as not all regions are updated each year; land use mapping methodologies, precision, accuracy and source data and satellite imagery have improved over the years; and the land use classification has changed over time. It is only possible to calculate change when earlier land use datasets have been revised and corrected to ensure that changes detected are real change and not an artefact of the mapping process. Note: The Digital Atlas of Australia downloaded and created a copy of the source data in October 2024 that was suitable to be hosted through ArcGIS Image Server & Image Dedicated. A copy of the raster was created with RGB fields as a colour map with Geoprocessing tools in ArcPro. Note: The Digital Atlas of Australia downloaded and created a copy of the source data in February 2025 that was suitable to be hosted through ArcGIS Image Server & Image Dedicated. A copy of the raster dataset was created with RGB fields as a colour map with Geoprocessing tools in ArcPro, and the raster dataset was re-projected from 1994 Australia Albers to WGS 1984 Web Mercator (Auxiliary Sphere). Data dictionary

Field name DField description Code values

OID Internal feature number that uniquely identifies each row Integer

Service Pixel value (Date) The year for which land use was mapped in the vector data provided by state and territory agencies or others, Date Range: 2008 to 2023 Integer

Count Count of the number of raster cells in each class of VALUE Integer

Label Reflecting the Date of the source data ranges from 2008 to 2023 Text

Contact Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (ABARES), info.ABARES@aff.gov.au

Abstract The Catchment Scale Land Use of Australia – Update December 2023 dataset is the national compilation of catchment scale land use data available for Australia (CLUM), as of December 2023. It replaces the Catchment Scale Land Use of Australia – Update December 2020. It is a seamless raster dataset that combines land use data for all state and territory jurisdictions, compiled at a resolution of 50 metres by 50 metres. The CLUM data shows a single dominant land use for a given area, based on the primary management objective of the land manager (as identified by state and territory agencies). Land use is classified according to the Australian Land Use and Management Classification version 8. It has been compiled from vector land use datasets collected as part of state and territory mapping programs and other authoritative sources, through the Australian Collaborative Land Use and Management Program. Catchment scale land use data was produced by combining land tenure and other types of land use information including, fine-scale satellite data, ancillary datasets, and information collected in the field. The date of mapping (2008 to 2023) and scale of mapping (1:5,000 to 1:250,000) vary, reflecting the source data, capture date and scale. Date and scale of mapping are provided in supporting datasets.

Currency Date modified: December 2023 Date Published: June 2024 Modification frequency: As needed (approximately annual) Data Extent Coordinate reference: WGS84 / Mercator Auxiliary Sphere Spatial Extent North: -9.995 South: -44.005 East: 154.004 West: 112.505 Source information Data, Metadata, Maps and Interactive views are available from Catchment Scale Land Use of Australia - Update 2023 Catchment Scale Land Use of Australia - Update 2023 – Descriptive metadata The data was obtained from Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry - Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES). ABARES is providing this data to the public under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Lineage Statement This catchment scale land use dataset provides the latest compilation of land use mapping information for Australia’s regions as at December 2023. It is used by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, state agencies and regional natural resource management groups to address issues such as agricultural productivity and sustainability, biodiversity conservation, biosecurity, land use planning, natural disaster management and natural resource monitoring and investment. The data vary in date of mapping (2008 to 2023) and scale (1:5,000 to 1:250,000). 2023 updates include more current data and/or reclassification of existing data. The following areas have updated data since the December 2020 version:

New South Wales (2017 v1.5 from v1.2). Northern Territory (2022 from 2020). Tasmania (2021 from 2019). Victoria (2021 from 2017). Data were also added from the Great Barrier Reef Natural Resource Management (NRM) regions in Queensland (2021 from a variety of dates 2009 to 2017). the Australian Tree Crops. Australian Protected Cropping Structures and Queensland Soybean Crops maps as downloaded on 30 November 2023. The capital city of Adelaide was updated using 2021 mesh block information from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Minor reclassifications were made for Western Australia and mining area within mining tenements more accurately delineated in South Australia.

Links to land use mapping datasets and metadata are available at the ACLUMP data download page at agriculture.gov.au. State and territory vector catchment scale land use data were produced by combining land tenure and other types of land use information, fine-scale satellite data and information collected in the field, as outlined in 'Guidelines for land use mapping in Australia: principles, procedures and definitions, 4th edition' (ABARES 2011). The Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia were mapped to version 8 of the ALUM classification (‘The Australian Land Use and Management Classification Version 8’, ABARES 2016). The Australian Capital Territory was mapped to version 7 of the ALUM classification and converted to version 8 using a look-up table based on Appendix 1 of ABARES (2016). Purpose for which the material was obtained: This catchment scale land use dataset provides the latest compilation of land use mapping information for Australia’s regions as at December 2023. It is used by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, state agencies and regional natural resource management groups to address issues such as agricultural productivity and sustainability, biodiversity conservation, biosecurity, land use planning, natural disaster management and natural resource monitoring and investment. The data vary in date of mapping (2008 to 2023) and scale (1:5,000 to 1:250,000). Do not use this data to:

Derive national statistics. The Land use of Australia data series should be used for this purpose. Calculate land use change. The Land use of Australia data series should be used for this purpose.

It is not possible to calculate land use change statistics between annual CLUM national compilations as not all regions are updated each year; land use mapping methodologies, precision, accuracy and source data and satellite imagery have improved over the years; and the land use classification has changed over time. It is only possible to calculate change when earlier land use datasets have been revised and corrected to ensure that changes detected are real change and not an artefact of the mapping process. Note: The Digital Atlas of Australia downloaded and created a copy of the source data in October 2024 that was suitable to be hosted through ArcGIS Image Server & Image Dedicated. A copy of the raster was created with RGB fields as a colour map with Geoprocessing tools in ArcPro. Note: The Digital Atlas of Australia downloaded and created a copy of the source data in February 2025 that was suitable to be hosted through ArcGIS Image Server & Image Dedicated. A copy of the raster dataset was created with RGB fields as a colour map with Geoprocessing tools in ArcPro, and the raster dataset was re-projected from 1994 Australia Albers to WGS 1984 Web Mercator (Auxiliary Sphere). Data dictionary

Attribute name Description

OID Internal feature number that uniquely identifies each row.

Service Pixel value (Scale) The scale at which land use was mapped in the vector catchment scale land use data provided by state and territory agencies or others:1:5,000, 1:10,000, 1:20,000, 1:25,000, 1:50,000, 1:100,000 or 1:250,000

Count Count of the number of raster cells in each class of VALUE.

Label Reflecting the scale of the source data ranges from 1:5,000 to 1:250,000

Contact Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (ABARES), info.ABARES@aff.gov.au