Overview of legal traceability of GPS positioning in Australia

Abstract

Global Positioning System (GPS) position verification and legal traceability in Australia supports industry, trade, science and innovation and is trusted and recognized domestically and internationally. At the end of 2017, the Australia’s national datum was transitioned from the Geocentric Datum of Australia 1994 (GDA94) to the Geocentric Datum of Australia 2020 (GDA2020). As such, the datum for the legal traceability of GPS positions in Australia has also moved to GDA2020. This paper highlights the importance of legal metrology and measurement in terms of GPS positions in accordance with the National Measurement Act 1960 (Commonwealth of Australia). Here we provide an overview of the process of issuing the so-called ‘Regulation 13 Certificates’ for Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) across Australia. The position verification methodology is detailed, including the quality control, metadata assurance, and dynamic management of the certificates as well as positional uncertainty determination of CORS with varying quality. A quality monitoring system of positions is also discussed along with how measurement traceability is ensured including short-term and long-term position monitoring schemes.