The VAS Trust Centre outlines the governance, licensing, and security principles that underpin the integrity, accountability, and sustainability of the Visualising Australasia’s Soils (VAS) data federation. It defines how data custodians retain control of their contributions while ensuring that shared data remains FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable).

Governance

VAS governance is evolving toward a long-term, community-driven model that balances public benefit with custodial control. The proposed structure ensures:

• Enduring stewardship of the soil data federation beyond the Soil CRC project lifespan.

• Data custodians retain full authority over how their data is shared or restricted.

• Shared data is not used in ways that disadvantage or penalise providers.

• Clear incentives for data sharing through demonstrated value and transparency.

Figure: Screenshot of the CMA data in the public view of the VAS portal (Data flow and control hierarchy).

Licensing [Public → Conditional → Private]

Licensing arrangements define how datasets are made accessible within the VAS ecosystem. Contributors select terms aligned with the data’s origin, funding source, and intended reuse.
Examples include:

• Open data licences for publicly funded research (e.g. CMA and university datasets).

• Conditional access licences requiring signed data-sharing agreements for restricted datasets.

• Federation rules mandating acknowledgement of source custodians and project partners.

Security

Data security and trust are central to the VAS platform’s adoption. The system is designed so that data custodians retain full ownership and control, deciding if, when, and how their data is shared. To strengthen this trust, the project team has developed governance, licensing, and access-control guideline, soon to be embedded in the self-service system. These will allow users to apply options such as embargo periods, selective data sharing, research-only licensing, or complete non-sharing, ensuring their preferences are respected:

• Public users access aggregated or anonymised data views.

• Registered custodians access full datasets via secure login.

• API-based access controls enforce authentication, ensuring only authorised entities can retrieve sensitive data. Spatial masking techniques (e.g., randomised site positioning within polygons) safeguard landholder privacy for CMA and farmer-contributed datasets

Controls & Data Stewardship

The Trust Centre embeds technical and social architecture controls to ensure data provenance and responsible usage:

• Controlled vocabularies and standardised metadata improve interoperability.

• Automated and manual reviews verify data integrity and licensing compliance.

• Continuous education initiatives build data literacy among custodians.

• Governance dashboards and audit trails enhance accountability and monitoring.

These mechanisms collectively strengthen the federation’s resilience and support the transition toward a national soil data governance model