Observatory

Observatory administrators 

Effective from 6 May 2024, Kylie Lawrence will be your primary contact supported by Sasha Pan during peak periods. Please continue to direct any enquiries or support requests through observatory@dta.gov.au.

Observatory website changes 

The DTA website is currently undergoing a review with some changes expected to Observatory training content on the Observatory News page: Observatory News in the coming weeks. Copies of training will remain available by request via email to observatory@dta.gov.au. 
Here is an overview of historical training for your records: 

2024

• 31 January 2024: Back to basics with Google Analytics 4 and Tag Manager
• 14 February 2024: Privacy and Security Training
• 28 February 2024: Google Analytics for Government
• 20 March 2024: Tracking 404 Errors with Google Analytics 4 and Tag Manager 
• 10 April 2024: Refresher: Universal Analytics Data Export
• 24 April 2024: Tidying Acquisition Data with Custom Channel Groupings in GA4

2023

• Google Analytics Privacy and Security Refresher
• Google Cloud Platform Products
• Future proofing for Google Analytics 4
• Setting up your GA4 Report Library
• Deep Dive into GA4 Reporting & Visualisations
• Google Analytics 4 Event Tracking
• Migrating Looker reports to GA4
• Overview of Google Tag Manager
• Campaign (UTM) Tracking in GA4
• Deep dive into Looker Studio
• What's new in GA4
• Universal analytics data export

National Archives of Australia advice regarding Universal Analytics sunset

Some of you may have seen this advice from Tatiana Antsoupova through the data and digital profession late yesterday however thought I would re-share just in case. 

The National Archives of Australia has published the following advice on disposal of Universal Analytics data. 

Google's Universal Analytics data to be decommissioned

Many Australian Government agencies use Google Analytics data to monitor, track and report on the performance of their websites.

Google Universal Analytics data for Australian Government agency websites that is created, retained and made available by Google on its servers as a service, is considered a Commonwealth record and must be managed as such.

On 1 July 2023 Google's Universal Analytics product ceased collecting new data, when Google Analytics 4 succeeded it as the primary analytics platform. While this data currently remains accessible, agencies should be aware that on 1 July 2024 Google will be removing user access to the data previously collected by its Universal Analytics product. Agencies that do not export and download their Universal Analytics data before 1 July 2024 will lose access to it and it will be deleted by Google. This may place agencies in breach of the Archives Act 1983 for unlawful destruction of Commonwealth records, if the Universal Analytics data is destroyed before reaching the minimum approved retention period.

Agencies are advised to identify any Google Universal Analytics data that may exist for their websites as a matter of urgency, and where necessary export and download this data for capture into their corporate recordkeeping system (eg EDRMS) where it can be retained and managed for as long as it is required.
 
Universal Analytics data is essentially a website traffic/usage log that provides the source data used to generate periodic statistical website usage reports. These periodic reports often provide the best evidence of website usage and where they are retained as the primary record there is less likely to be an ongoing need to retain the source analytics data- which can potentially be treated as a supporting record facilitating the creation of the periodic report.

Agencies should undertake a risk assessment of their Universal Analytics data to determine how long it will be required to be retained to meet business needs and identify ongoing evidential value – such as if it is required to conduct in-depth analysis of website traffic or to provide evidence to support audits of website usage reports.

Where analytics data does not record information about access or change to data, it may be eligible for disposal in accordance with an agency's Normal Administrative Practice (NAP) Policy (as a facilitative record supporting the creation of periodic reports) and destroyed when no longer required to meet business and evidentiary purposes.

If you determine that the analytics data is required to be retained, then it will need to be exported and captured into the agency corporate recordkeeping system so that the data is accessible and can be revisited in the future and sentenced in accordance with an appropriate class in AFDA Express Version 2 or the applicable agency-specific records authority. For example, where analytics data has been downloaded and used by the agency to support a business activity, such as the creation of a periodic report or other business outputs, it will need to be kept for the minimum retention period applicable to the business activity to which it relates.

Upcoming Training

The 2024 Eventbrite training collection can be accessed by clicking on this link: 2024 Observatory Training.  

If you have any requests for upcoming trainings, please send these through to observatory@dta.gov.au. 

If you have any requests for upcoming trainings, please send these through to observatory@dta.gov.au.