The National Groundwater Information System (NGIS) is a spatial database for GIS specialists that contains a range of groundwater information submitted by States and Territories. The System contains more than 850 000 bore locations with associated lithology logs, bore construction logs and hydrostratigraphy logs. 2D and 3D aquifer geometries are also available for some areas. Jurisdictional groundwater management area boundaries are the most recent addition to the System.
Bores, bore log and groundwater management area information from the System can be accessed and visualised using the Australian Groundwater Explorer , without using desktop GIS software. The Explorer also includes data not contained in the National Groundwater Information System, such as groundwater level and salinity time-series data. Landscape characteristic spatial layers, such as geology, land use and river regions can also be displayed to provide context to the groundwater data.
Hydrogeologic units within the System have been standardised for national consistency using the National Aquifer Framework. Version 1.3 uses the NGIS Version 2.3 data model and was released in August 2015.