Welcome back to our occasional news feature, Spatial Snippets, in which we bring you a round-up of all the bits and pieces of geospatial news that didn’t make it into our normal daily coverage.
With Spatial Source having been on hiatus for some time — but now, thankfully, returned — there’s plenty to catch up on. So this week we’ll cover some of the most recent developments.
Well-known Australian hydrographer, Jennifer Brindle, has been appointed General Manager at Revelare Hydrospatial. Brindle brings 15 years’ experience in the hydrographic industry to the role, with the past decade spent at PHS/Revelare. Over that time she has gone from a junior surveyor through to project manager and operations manager, acquiring certification as a Level 1 Hydrographic Surveyor.
Following the demise of the Geospatial Council of Australia, various official authorities and assessment capabilities have been left up in the air. Fortunately not all is lost, as other organisations are beginning to step into the breach. For instance, the Institution of Surveyors New South Wales has now been officially approved by the federal government as being the new assessing authority for the Surveyor occupation (ANZSCO 232212). Skills assessments will restart once the official legislative instrument is implemented, the timeframe for which is uncertain at this stage.
If you’re concerned about the vulnerabilities of the GNSS, particularly with regard to Australia’s situation, then you should tune in the Australian Institute of Navigation (AIN) webinar on Monday, 27 October. Professor Andrew Dempster, vice president of the AIN and Director of the Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research at UNSW, will delve into the complexities of deliberate GNSS jamming and spoofing, accidental interference, and environmental conditions that can degrade performance.
For those interested in or involved in education, the Geoscience Australia Education and Outreach team has developed a new classroom activity called ‘Analysing Australian geology, topography, and critical minerals using online datasets,’ which explores where critical minerals are located around Australia and their value. It is aimed at students in Year 8 science, science inquiry Year 10 Geography and Unit 3 of senior Earth and Environmental Science. You can download it for free.
Queensland-based The Surveyors’ Trust will hold its 2025 Networking Drinks at the Brisbane Club on the evening of 25 November. Please note that a dress code applies; some items of clothing are not allowed, although why anyone might choose to wear a leather bomber jacket in Brisbane on the cusp of summer anyway is a bit of a mystery!
The GIS Certification Institute (GISCI) has announced that Woolpert has become its newest GISCI Endorsing Employer. The GISCI Endorsing Employer Designation Program promotes the value of GISP certification and encourages its adoption across the geospatial sector. It recognises organisations in public, private, and commercial sectors that uphold professional GIS standards and support the growth of their teams.
Former NASA executive Jason Crusan has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Remote Operations for Space and Earth (AROSE). Speaking about the work of AROSE, Crusan said that “We have the chance to help build entirely new commercial enterprises that draw on Australia’s ingenuity in communications, robotics, automation, and remote operations. Just as importantly, AROSE can continue to inspire and prepare the next generation of engineers, scientists and innovators who will carry these capabilities into the future economy.”
If you’re interested in submitting an abstract for the FIG Congress 2026, to be held in Cape Town in May next year, you have until 1 November 2025 to get your contribution in. FIG is expecting an attendance of about 1,500 surveying, geospatial, construction management, spatial planning and valuation experts from Africa and the rest of the world. The Congress is being held jointly with the South African Geomatics Institute (SAGI) with support from the South African Geomatics Council.
Do you have a Spatial Snippet to share with our thousands of readers? Let us know via email.
And make sure you don’t miss out on any geospatial news from across Australia and around the world — subscribe to our free Spatial Source newsletter.
