Frequently Asked Questions

Public IQ is an Australian public data platform built by Domato AI. It aggregates data from the ABS Census, crime statistics agencies across five states, property sales registers, rental reports, solar installations, building approvals, school profiles, business registers, and public transport feeds into one searchable, interactive platform.

Public IQ draws from over 20 official Australian data sources including ABS Census 2021, state crime agencies (CSA, BOCSAR, QPS, WAPF, SAPOL), Valuer-General property sales (VIC, NSW), rental reports (VIC, NSW, QLD, SA), Clean Energy Regulator solar data, ABS building approvals, ACARA school profiles, ABN business register, and GTFS public transport feeds from all five mainland states.

Update frequency varies by source. Crime statistics and rental data are updated quarterly. Solar installations and building approvals are updated monthly. ABS Census data is published every five years (current: 2021). GTFS transport data is updated regularly as agencies publish new feeds. Each dataset page shows its last update date.

Yes — Public IQ offers a free Explorer tier that includes access to all dashboards, five topics of Census data, crime statistics, property and rental data, solar, building approvals, schools, business data, and transport. The Pro plan adds unlimited natural language queries (Ask), full CSV/JSON downloads, and area comparisons. Council plans include LGA-scoped dashboards and dedicated support.

Public IQ is designed for researchers, analysts, journalists, local councils, real estate professionals, urban planners, students, and anyone who needs to explore and compare Australian public data. Whether you’re analysing crime trends in your LGA, comparing rental markets across states, or researching school demographics, Public IQ makes it accessible.

Public IQ includes the full ABS Census 2021 DataPack covering five dashboard topics: Demographics (age, sex, population), Housing (dwelling types, tenure, rent/mortgage), Income & Employment (income brackets, occupation, industry), Education (qualifications, school attendance), and Cultural Diversity (ancestry, language, country of birth). Data is available at SA2, SA3, SA4, and state levels.

Crime statistics are available for all five mainland states: Victoria (Crime Statistics Agency), New South Wales (BOCSAR), Queensland (QPS), Western Australia (WA Police Force), and South Australia (SAPOL). Data includes offence counts by division and subdivision, broken down by LGA with multi-year trend analysis.

Property sales data is available for Victoria and NSW from their respective Valuer-General registers, including median prices and sales volumes by area. Rental market data covers VIC (DFFH), NSW (DCJ), QLD (RTA bond lodgements), and SA (CBS SA), with median rents by dwelling type, LGA, and suburb.

Public IQ includes data from the ABN Bulk Extract covering active Australian Business Numbers, entity types (companies, sole traders, partnerships, trusts), GST registration status, and business density by LGA. This allows you to analyse the business landscape of any local government area.

School data comes from ACARA (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority) and includes school profiles with enrolment numbers, ICSEA (Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage) scores, school type (primary, secondary, combined, special), sector (government, Catholic, independent), and location details. Data is aggregated to LGA level for council-wide analysis.

Public IQ supports the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) hierarchy: SA2 (suburbs/localities, ~2,000–20,000 people), SA3 (districts), SA4 (regions), and State/Territory (STE). Crime, rental, schools, business, and transport data are also available at the Local Government Area (LGA) level. SA2 is the universal join key that links all datasets.

Use the Compare feature from the Dashboard page. Select two geographic areas (e.g., two SA2 suburbs or two SA4 regions) and Public IQ will display their Census demographics, housing, income, education, and cultural data side by side with percentage differences highlighted.

The Ask page lets you type questions about Australian data in plain English — for example, “What is the median income in Melbourne?” or “Which SA2 has the highest population growth?” Public IQ’s AI agent translates your question into a database query and returns the answer with the underlying data. Available on Pro and Council plans.

Yes. The Downloads page offers CSV and JSON exports for area profiles, time comparisons (2016 vs 2021 Census change data), and area rankings by any metric. Select your geographic level, area, and metrics, then download. Full download access is available on Pro and Council plans.

Navigate to the LGA page and search for your council by name. Each LGA profile shows Census demographics, crime statistics, property and rental data, school information, business density, and public transport coverage — all in one place. You can also use the search bar on the Dashboard to find any area by name or code.

Council pages are dedicated LGA dashboards that bring together all available data for a specific local government area: Census demographics, crime trends, property sales, rental market, solar installations, schools, business register, and public transport. They provide a comprehensive snapshot for council staff, elected officials, and residents.

All data comes from official Australian government sources: the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), state crime statistics agencies, Valuer-General offices, state housing departments, the Clean Energy Regulator, ACARA, the Australian Business Register, and state transport authorities. Public IQ does not create or modify source data — it aggregates and presents it.

Public IQ presents data exactly as published by official sources. Census data is subject to ABS confidentiality adjustments (small random perturbations to protect privacy). Crime data reflects recorded offences as reported by police. Property and rental data reflects registered transactions and bond lodgements. All known limitations are documented on each data page.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics Census is conducted every five years and counts every person in Australia on Census night. It provides the most comprehensive demographic, housing, economic, and cultural data available at fine geographic levels. Census data underpins government funding allocations, electoral boundaries, infrastructure planning, and policy decisions.

These are levels in the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). LGA (Local Government Area) corresponds to councils and shires. SA2 (Statistical Area Level 2) represents suburbs or localities with 2,000–20,000 people. SA3 groups SA2s into districts, and SA4 groups SA3s into broad regions. State/Territory (STE) is the top level.

The free Explorer tier includes access to all interactive dashboards (demographics, housing, income, education, cultural diversity), crime statistics for all five states, property and rental data, solar installations, building approvals, school profiles, business register data, transport data, and the interactive map. You get limited Ask (NLQ) queries and download access.

Pro unlocks unlimited natural language queries (Ask), full CSV/JSON data downloads, area comparisons, and priority support. It’s designed for researchers, analysts, and professionals who need regular access to Australian public data.

Yes — the Council plan ($49/mo) includes everything in Pro plus a dedicated LGA-scoped dashboard, council-specific Ask (NLQ) queries focused on your area, and support for government procurement processes including invoicing and PO numbers. All paid plans include a 7-day free trial.

Yes. Both Pro and Council subscriptions can be cancelled at any time from your account page. All paid plans include a 7-day free trial — cancel before the trial ends and you won’t be charged.