The Request stage enables a data requestor to request for data that is not publicly available from a data custodian. 

Before starting a data sharing request, data requestors are encouraged to search the Australian Government Data Catalogue to check if the data is publicly available.

Creating a data sharing request

There are 2 options to start a data sharing request.

1. Find a conditional or restricted data asset in the Australian Government Data Catalogue and to make a data sharing request by selecting Make a data request for this asset.
   You will be asked to confirm if you want to start a request. Requests created from the Catalogue will automatically include details based on the data asset requested.
   
   
2. Select the Make a data request tile on the Dataplace homepage or choose from the Services drop‑down menu.
   To start a data sharing request using this option, you will need to nominate a data custodian using the search bar.

If you are unsure which data custodian has the data you are looking for, you can search using keywords about the data and you will be provided with suggestions. If the selected data custodian does not have the data, they can transfer your data sharing request to the appropriate data custodian.

Once you have selected a data custodian, a pop-up will appear confirming the start of a data sharing request. If you select OK, an email will be sent to your organisation’s Nominated inbox to notify the commencement of a data sharing request.

Data sharing request form

The data sharing request form is designed to guide the data requestor to provide information that supports their request while addressing the data sharing principles. The form consists of eight tabs:

• Project: questions about the data sharing project, including the purpose and whether it serves the public interest
• People: questions about the people who will access the data
• Settings: questions about how the data will be provided to the data requestor
• Data: questions about arrangements, obligations or requirements relating to the requested data
• Outputs: questions about the products created by the data sharing project
• Supplementary: questions about the priority of the data sharing project 
• Documents: data requestor can attach documents that support their request
• Submit: the data requestor acknowledges that it is appropriate for them to send the data sharing request.

Mandatory questions are identified by red asterisks (*) and must be completed to submit the data sharing request form. The form is dynamic, so additional questions may appear depending on responses. Once the form is submitted, it will be locked until the data custodian has assessed the data sharing request.

Data requestors should provide as much information as possible during the Request stage to help data custodians make an informed decision. If a data custodian agrees in principle to share the data, you may be asked to provide additional or updated information in the project form during the Collaborate stage.

The action menu (vertical ellipsis) can be used to Save or Print. 

You may also trigger the automatic save by proceeding to the next tab by selecting Next at the bottom of the page.

Inviting others to access and edit the data sharing request

During the Request stage, it is recommended that the data requestor nominates a contact officer for the entirety of the data sharing request. This may be the data coordinator or someone else in the organisation with an understanding of the project and can respond to queries.

It is recommended you add the following roles at this stage:

• Approving officer is responsible for approving the data sharing agreement. They can be added or changed at any point until the data sharing request is finalised.
• Contributors may access and make edits to the data sharing request to enable access and edits to the form. Contributors may include researchers, legal or IT staff from within your organisation.

Others may be adding from the right hand menu of the data sharing request by selecting Manage. A pop-up window will appear enabling you to select users with a Dataplace account.

You can also include an additional requestor for visibility of the data sharing request. They will only be able to edit the request form during the Collaborate stage. Use the Manage button in the Additional requestor box to search for a new requestor.

Next steps

After submitting your data sharing request, you will receive an email confirming the data sharing request is with the nominated data custodian for Assessment and a data sharing request ID for your reference.

You will receive an email notification when the data custodian has completes their assessment against your request. The timing may vary depending on the volume of data sharing requests they have received and the complexity of your request. 

You can view the status of your data sharing request using the Activity tab in Manage data requests.

The Activity tab also shows the history and status of all data sharing activities your organisation has participated in.

After the Assessment stage, a summary of the data custodian’s assessment will be available in the Response tab. Some data custodians may indicate if a supply charge will apply to cover costs associated with extracting, cleaning, preparing and providing access to the shared data. This is the agency’s decision, but any charging arrangements must be in line with the Australian Government’s Charging Framework.