ASDST: Predictive Likelihood Models for Aboriginal Heritage Sites in NSW

The Aboriginal Sites Decision Support Tool (ASDST) provides raster GIS models predicting the likelihood of Aboriginal cultural heritage features across New South Wales. Developed by the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, the current Version 7.5 was produced in 2020 at 50-meter resolution. It includes separate models for features like scarred trees, rock art, and burials, with cell values from 0 to 1000 indicating relative likelihood.

Use Cases

• Assess landscape planning risks based on predicted likelihood of Aboriginal cultural heritage features.
• Prioritize field survey areas based on the survey priority map (drvd_srv) which considers model reliability and data gaps.
• Evaluate accumulated environmental impacts on cultural heritage using the derived impact model (drvd_imp).
• Compare pre-colonisation and current landscape likelihoods for specific feature types like scarred trees (TRE) or stone artefacts (AFT).

Strengths

• Models cover the entire state of New South Wales.
• Provides separate predictive layers for 10 distinct Aboriginal site feature types.
• Offers both pre-colonisation and current landscape likelihood models.
• Uses a standardized likelihood scale from 0 to 1000 for all feature layers.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic or source bias inherent to the underlying Aboriginal Heritage Information Management System (AHIMS).

Provenance

Source

NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water

Collection Method

Derived from the Aboriginal Heritage Information Management System (AHIMS) using predictive modeling techniques.

Time Range

Models reflect data up to 2020 (Version 7.5).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-12 15:15:21.843931; freshness should be verified.

Geography

New South Wales, Australia.