Data linkage units

PHRN specialist data linkage units integrate large population datasets Australia-wide.

Data Linkage Services Western Australia

Phone: +61 8 6373 1810

Email: DataServ@health.wa.gov.au

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SA NT DataLink

Phone: +61 8 8302 1604

Email: santdatalink@unisa.edu.au

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Data Linkage Queensland

Email: DLQ@health.qld.gov.au

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CHeReL

Email: MOH-CHeReL@health.nsw.gov.au

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Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

Email: linkage@aihw.gov.au

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Tasmanian Data Linkage Unit

Phone: +61 3 6226 4291

Email: menzies.tdlu@utas.edu.au

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Centre for Victorian Data Linkage

Email: cvdl@health.vic.gov.au

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SA NT DataLink

Phone: +61 8 8302 1604

Email: SANTDataLink@unisa.edu.au

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Types of linkage include:

  • routine linkage between Australian Government, state and territory data collections (single jurisdiction linkage and cross-jurisdiction linkage)
  • ad hoc linkages of research and clinical trial data to population-level data on request
  • intergenerational linkage to establish links between individuals who are related.  Data may be used to assess the degree of relatedness of individuals within study samples, locate common ancestors, estimate genetic risk and describe the familial burden of comorbid conditions.
  • geocoding by converting an address into a latitude/longitude, using a set of reference data. This map point can then be placed within spatial boundaries such as the Statistical Area Levels 1 and 2 (SA1 and SA2 respectively) and Local Government Area (LGA). Data Linkage Services assigns the boundaries and derives the indices using mapping and concordance tables created by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Linked data assets

The PHRN has supported the development of linked data assets including the National Health Data Hub, the National Disability Data Asset (NDDA) and the COVID-19 register and linked data set. Linked data assets bring multiple data collections together to make it easier for researchers to conduct complex cross-sector and cross-jurisdictional research.