Mr. Chris Body
Principle Consultant – Geospatial Standards
Chris Body is a geospatial standards expert with a wealth of knowledge and experience in developing and promoting standards across the Australian landscape and internationally. He has been associated with the policy development and management of Geospatial and Imagery Standards and related Information Management in support of the Australian Government Spatial Policy agenda and the associated infrastructure since 1994.
Chris has contributed to the advancement of location information and services, including the technology that has enabled national government mapping agencies and companies to visualise their mapping data. His work sits at the core of the transcendence of standards in physical and virtual environments.
Chris is the current Chair of Standards Australia IT-004 Geographic Information Committee, a position he has held since 2005. He first joined Standards Australia as a committee member in 1995 and became involved in international standards development in the late 1990s. He has been a participant on Standards Australia technical committees, including IT-004, Geographical Information/Geomatics, IT-023, Transport Information and Control Systems, and SC-001 Smart Cities Advisory Group. He represents Australia at various National and International geospatial and imagery standards meetings, forums and associations. He has achieved a high level of service delivery and outcomes by coordinating and collaborating with International, Commonwealth, State and Local Government, academia and industry to deliver spatial and open data policy and project goals.
Additionally, Chris is currently engaged with the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) on the use and development of ISO 19152 – Land Administration Domain Model. He also contributes to the Australia/New Zealand Spatial industry as the Open Geospatial Consortium’s (OGC) Engagement Manager.
Throughout his career, Chris has been recognised for his many contributions to the spatial data sector. In 2002, he was awarded the Defence Imagery and Geospatial Organisation Outstanding Service Award. Later in 2005, Geoscience Australia awarded him the Certificate of Achievement in Leadership and he was appointed a Senior Fellow (Honorary) geospatial information within the Melbourne School of Engineering – University of Melbourne, March 2015. He was awarded the Surveying and Spatial Sciences Institute (SSSI) Eminence Award in 2020 and Standards Australia also conferred a Centenary Acknowledgement “Standards Hero” in 2022 for his substantial contribution over many years.
Under Chris’s leadership and guidance, Australia has significantly contributed to a number of important geospatial and imagery standards, ensuring National geospatial interests have been considered and adopted into these International Standards. He has a strong interest in ensuring the Australian geospatial community has effective relationships with the various standards communities in order for industry to maintain the ability to integrate and use this important global resource.
Chris has the willingness and initiative to take the lead and guide the committees he resides on to ensure continued development and progress in the national geospatial space – he is a true trailblazer for the spatial informational sector.
