National Exposure Information System (NEXIS) Building Exposure - Local Government Area (LGA)

In order to understand the effects a natural or man-made disaster could have on a community we need to know as much as we can about the people and buildings that occupy that area. This includes information about:
- People: how many people will be affected and where they live
- Buildings: the type of construction materials used, the number of storeys, and age all contribute to how a building withstands damage
- Cost : how much will it cost to rebuild a dwelling or replace its contents if damaged

This information is used to not only investigate physical impacts of a disaster, but also forms base information that is needed to help inform the socio-economic impacts, such as loss to the business community when impacted by severe cyclonic wind storms. This information is also used when calculating the risk from natural and man-made disasters in order to inform policy and operational decision makers of the impact on Australian communities.

The National Exposure Information System (NEXIS) aims to capture this information to create up-to-date aggregated exposure data based upon building level detail for all residential, commercial and industrial building in Australia.

Geoscience Australia (GA) embarked on the development of the National Exposure Information System (NEXIS) in response to the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) reform commitment on Australia's ability to manage natural disasters and other emergencies. The COAG commitment was for the establishment of a 'nationally consistent system of data collection, research and analysis to ensure a sound knowledge base on natural disasters and disaster mitigation' (DOTARS 2002).

NEXIS is also an important component for improving several projects of national interest within Geoscience Australia (GA). These include projects undertaken by the Community Safety Group which investigate natural and man-made risks and their impacts on the community.

This product is a Local Government Area (LGA) aggregated version of NEXIS building exposure Version 5. 2014.