Australian Spatial Analytics

When spatial data helps put good people to work, well, we think that's an awesome win worth sharing! We recently had the privilege of supporting one of Brisbane's most remarkable organisations: the award-winning Nundah Community Enterprises Cooperative (NCEC), better known as the Nundah Co-op.

For over 25 years, Nundah Co-op has created real, meaningful, long-term jobs for people with cognitive and psycho-social disabilities who are often locked out of the workforce. Through their parks and property maintenance crews, cafés, catering operations, and training programs, they've become one of Australia's most effective social enterprises, changing countless lives.

So, when Richard Warner asked us for help, we were more than happy to oblige! Nundah Co-op's green spaces crew, which also maintains 40 Brisbane City Council parks, identified an opportunity to tender for a contract to lay fire ant baits and associated works in properties across Brisbane. Accurate, credible estimates are required for value-for-money pricing. Things like understanding the size of each property and how long it would take for a worker to walk around and treat each site. That's where ASA came in.

Using Geographic Information Systems, our young autistic analysts measured and estimated 100 properties remotely. Tasks like calculating land areas, walkable perimeters, and realistic time-on-site estimates for each location. Work that would have taken many hours of in-person site visits was turned around quickly and efficiently.

This collaboration between two Social Traders and Queensland Social Enterprise Council members showed that we are strongest when we work together. It also means social impact is created for two social enterprises across the same supply chain. This is what happens when purpose-driven organisations use their respective strengths to create something neither could do alone.

If you're a social enterprise, a not-for-profit, or a community organisation with a tender or project that could benefit from spatial analysis, mapping, or estimating, we'd love to hear from you!

Find out more about the Nundah Co-op here! https://www.ncec.com.au/

Department of Employment and Workplace Relations Australian Government Department of Social Services Amanda Rishworth MP Tanya Plibersek Governor-General of Australia Esri Esri Australia

Nundah Community Enterprises Cooperative Whether it's catering your next event or tidying up the gardens, the Award Winning Nundah Co-op Enterprises have you covered. We don't employ people to work. We work to employ people.

We're excited to be partnering with Team Cohesion, who are neurodiversity employment specialists!

As part of this collaboration, Amy Bastiaansen (pictured with our analysts), Team Cohesion's Autism Employment Specialist, is working with us as a People and Pathways Coordinator, supporting our young neurodivergent adults to gain real work experience, develop workplace skills and work towards individual employment goals.

What’s great about this partnership is seeing neuroinclusive employment organisations working together towards a shared goal of creating meaningful employment opportunities for neurodivergent people.

When like-minded organisations share expertise, support each other and remain focused on strengths-based employment, we can create real change by creating pathways to employment, supporting career development and helping neurodivergent people achieve their professional goals.

📍 Learn more about what Team Cohesion does at their website: https://www.teamcohesion.com.au/

Tanya Plibersek Amanda Rishworth MP Department of Employment and Workplace Relations

Meet our analysts who treat Nintendo Mario Kart like a peer-reviewed study!

Every month, our team organise a Friday afternoon social event, and last week was Mario Kart May! This might seem unusual, but an interest in computer games is one of the transferable skills we value highly for the and professions.

Why? Because computer games help with:
🗺️ Spatial reasoning
🎯 Precision under pressure, and an
🍌 Excellent banana peel placement strategy 😊

Computer games, especially those involving racing, constantly demand that players mentally rotate objects, navigate 3D environments, judge distances, and understand elevation and topology. Many use maps and route planning. Most involve systems thinking and pattern recognition. These skills are crucial for ‘big data’ professions such as Geographic Information Systems analysis, LiDAR processing, and digital twin construction.

At ASA, we actively celebrate the gaming skills of our analysts! Neurodiversity + geospatial/digital skills + Mario Kart dominance = an unbeatable team! 🏆

F1 World Champion Lando Norris started on a simulator. Just saying! 🏎️🍄

Find out more about what we do at our website: https://www.asanalytics.com.au

34%. That's the unemployment rate for autistic people in Australia. Eight times the national average. Not because of a lack of ability. But unfortunately, due to archaic hiring practices.

Our CEO, Geoffrey Smith, the 2025 Queensland Australian of the Year, decided to do something about it. In 2020, he co-founded Australian Spatial Analytics (ASA) to provide long-term unemployed young autistic adults with high-demand tech skills in the geospatial and engineering fields. Six years later, ASA has supported over 250 ‘big data’ careers and over 100 successful employment transitions.

The irony is that the changes required to make workplaces neuroinclusive are surprisingly simple and have little to no cost.

Here's what every HR department can learn from ASA right now:

🔹 Ditch the traditional job interview. Providing questions 48 hours in advance eliminates anxiety and reveals actual capabilities. You'll discover talent you've been screening out for years.

🔹 Ask everyone about their needs at work, not just your neurodivergent cohort. Accommodations like structured days and hours, reduced lighting, or clear task lists benefit the entire team. Inclusion isn't a special favour or a ‘nice to do’ action. It’s good management and increases productivity and profitability.

🔹 Stop waiting for the ‘right’ candidate. Neurodivergent people represent 20% of the population. That’s five million Australians and 1.6 billion people worldwide. If your recruitment process is filtering them out, you're not being selective. You're being wasteful.

We often hear many organisations complain about the ‘talent shortage.’ But the talent is there, right under their noses. The question is whether your hiring process is designed to find it.

Want to find out more? Check out this interview with Diane Strand from Authority Magazine.

📖 Click here: https://medium.com/authority-magazine/how-tech-pioneer-geoffrey-smith-is-dismantling-archaic-hiring-practices-to-unleash-an-untapped-a00815980eb8

How Tech Pioneer Geoffrey Smith Is Dismantling ‘Archaic’ Hiring Practices to Unleash an Untapped… “My challenge to every organization in the world is to make neurodiversity fit by tweaking a few things, because you are missing out on an…