BioNet terms and conditions

Data sharing and use

1. Data entered into BioNet is made available for reuse by third parties in accordance with the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act), the NSW Government Open data policy and the department's Sensitive species data policy. Under the GIPA Act, all government-held, non-sensitive information should be accessible to the public and information should only be withheld if it is necessary to do so in the public interest.
2. This does not override any embargo agreements between the data provider and the department. Data embargo may occasionally be set at the dataset level and must not exceed a period of 5 years, after which time the embargo will be lifted.

Data ownership

3. The data provider guarantees they are the owner of the data or that they have the necessary rights to enter the data into BioNet.
4. Provision of data to BioNet in no way transfers or assigns copyright or any other intellectual property rights in the data.
5. The data provider is free to make available, use or publish their own data elsewhere, though we encourage you to use the Sensitive species data policy as a guide as to when and how sensitive species data is shared.
6. The department reserves the right to determine in its absolute discretion whether the data should be included in BioNet.

Data copyright

7. The department is the custodian of BioNet and is responsible for its maintenance, update and distribution of data. The data and copyright and other intellectual property rights in the data remain with the data provider or owner. Copyright in extracts and printouts, or online search results from BioNet, is held by the department and protected by the copyright laws of Australia.
8. Data is made available from BioNet under a Creative Commons Licence CC-BY (4.0), except:
   1. locations for species listed on the department's Sensitive Species list may be withheld or denatured
   2. datasets provided to BioNet Atlas by third parties, which the department is not licensed to on-supply.

Private information

As a public sector agency, the department is bound by the Privacy and Personal Information Act 1998 (NSW).

9. Personal information is collected from the data provider to assist in the interpretation of the data and to facilitate ongoing data quality management.
10. Names and contact details of data providers and observers attached to the data are retained in the BioNet system and used by the department in the course of data interpretation and data quality management.
11. Observer names or contact details attached to species sighting data in BioNet are not released to third parties.
12. Observer names attached to systematic survey data in BioNet are made publicly available as an attribute of the data via BioNet Atlas, BioNet Web Service and SEED. Observer contact details are not made publicly available.

Sensitive data

13. All biodiversity data held in BioNet are managed in accordance with the department's Sensitive species data policy. Precise locational data for sensitive species is not made publicly available by the department, and this information is exempt from disclosure for the purposes of the GIPA Act.
14. All biodiversity data held in BioNet are managed in accordance with the department's Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property Protocol.

Data limitations

15. Data in the BioNet Atlas is extensive, but nevertheless patchy.
16. Data covers all areas of New South Wales and some records from neighbouring states but will not provide information on the full distribution of a species. The BioNet Atlas is not a comprehensive inventory of all species, nor of all locations of species in New South Wales. Except in areas where detailed survey information has been incorporated into BioNet Atlas, the search results for a particular area are based on a mix of reported sightings. For example, sightings often follow patterns of human movement, such as along roads.
17. The number of recorded sightings for a species doesn't necessarily correspond in any way to the actual abundance of that species in New South Wales. Data providers often focus their efforts on recording threatened species, with the result that rare species may have more recorded sightings in the BioNet Atlas than common species. Conversely, a common species in an area may not be recorded in BioNet Atlas, because no-one has thought to report it.
18. The data may contain errors and omissions, and you use the data at your own risk. Neither the department or any other data custodian will accept liability for any loss, damage, cost or expenses that you may incur as a result of the use of or reliance on the data.
19. Data in BioNet is constantly updated and you should use the current data from BioNet and not rely on material you have previously printed or downloaded.

Disclaimer

20. The content and information are provided on the basis that it is the responsibility of all persons accessing BioNet to assess and make their own decision about the accuracy, currency, reliability, relevance and correctness of the information, data and content found in BioNet.
21. The department reserves the right to amend, delete or change BioNet or any information, data or content contained in it at any time at its absolute discretion during data quality management.
22. There is no warranty that the site will be free of infections by viruses or any other manifesting, contaminating or destructive properties.
23. You acknowledge that the website and the data may contain errors and omissions, and you use BioNet and the data at your own risk.

Terminology

As-held accuracy, with regards to the geographic coordinates for a particular sighting record, means with geographic coordinates as provided to for inclusion in BioNet Atlas.

BioNet is the department's repository for NSW biodiversity data. It includes databases, applications, mobile apps and web services, including but not limited to, BioNet Atlas, BioNet Vegetation Classification, BioNet Web Service, BioNet Threatened Biodiversity Profiles web app, and I Spy Koala mobile application.

BioNet Atlas is a BioNet system, comprising applications, databases and data.

BioNet Sensitive Species Data Licence means a licence granted by the department allowing access to more detailed species information in BioNet Atlas, than is made publicly available.

Contact means the individual or position nominated to liaise with the department or data users on the data.

Data means digitised data, metadata, records or information provided by the data provider for inclusion in BioNet Atlas; including any intellectual property rights in that data.

Data provider means the individual or organisation or custodian contributing their records for inclusion into BioNet Atlas

Denatured coordinates mean as-held coordinates that have been rounded, for example, to 0.01 degrees or 0.1 degrees, in order to generalise the spatial locality.

Department means the New South Wales government department responsible for maintenance of BioNet and its data holdings.

General public user means a BioNet Atlas user who has registered for a login that enables them to import spreadsheets of species sightings to BioNet Atlas.

Licensed clients user means a BioNet Atlas user who is a party to a BioNet Sensitive Species Data Licence.

Observer means the individual that makes the observation, or the individual administering the device that makes the observation. An observation is recorded as a data record.

Scientific licence policy refers to the requirement of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974, and the National Parks and Wildlife Regulation, 2002, that persons undertaking research on, or collection of, protected flora and fauna in New South Wales must hold a Licence to Conduct Scientific Research/Collection (a scientific licence). A condition of the scientific licence is that a list of all species observed or collected, together with the precise geographic coordinates and date of observation or collection, must be provided for inclusion in BioNet Atlas.

Sensitive species are those threatened flora and fauna species that are at particular risk from threats such as collection, disease or disturbance, and which are identified under Category 2 (highly sensitive) or Category 3 (of medium sensitivity) of the department's Sensitive species data policy.

Sensitive species data policy means the department's policy which governs access to sensitive species locational information.

Species sightings data are sightings of flora and fauna not captured through a systematic survey (for example, this may be an unusual one-off sighting). Sightings of flora and fauna collected as part of systematic surveys are included in species sightings search results.

Systematic Survey data are records of flora and fauna collected via a range of specific survey methodologies. For fauna survey data, this includes technique types such as bird census, Anabat analysis, harp trapping, nocturnal call playback and site spotlighting. For flora survey data, this can either cover full floristic survey sites or rapid survey sites. Sightings of flora and fauna collected as part of systematic surveys are included in species sightings search results.