How to generate insights for a catchment in Placemaker

The Insights page shows population and dwelling forecast data for a saved catchment, including benchmark comparisons, age structure breakdowns and major residential development sites. Access Insights immediately after saving a catchment, or from the Catchments list at any time.

Before You Begin

You need a saved catchment to access Insights. If you have not yet created one, see How to create a catchment in Placemaker.

Steps

Option A: After saving a new catchment

Click → Save and view catchment insights to go directly to the Insights page for the new catchment.

Option B: From the Catchments list

Go to the Catchments home screen: Navigate to app.id.com.au.
Find your catchment in the Catchments list.
Click → View insights on the catchment row.

What to Expect

The Insights page opens showing population and dwelling forecast data for your saved catchment. You can filter the data by year range and data type, export each section, and return to the Insights page at any time from the Catchments list.

Alt text: 'Screenshot of the Placemaker Insights page'

What's on the Insights page

The Insights page has four sections.

Header

The header shows the catchment name and, if the catchment originated from an address search, its location. Tags display the active year range and benchmark area applied to the report.

The benchmark area is automatically selected based on your catchment's location. Catchments within a Greater Capital City boundary use that city as the benchmark. Catchments in a regional area use the relevant state regional benchmark.

To change what you are viewing, click the Filter button (top right) to adjust year ranges and data preferences.

Catchment overview

Two summary cards show total population and dwelling change over the selected forecast period, with a comparison to the benchmark area to contextualise the rate of change.

Population forecast

If population layers are selected in the filters, the following charts are displayed:

Total population (with optional sex breakdown by female and male)
Average annual population change compared to the benchmark area

If age ranges are selected:

Population forecast change by age group
Age groups as a percentage of total population (chart)
Age groups as a percentage of total population (table)

Dwelling forecast

If dwelling forecast layers are selected in the filters, the following are displayed:

Dwelling forecasts
Major residential development forecasts (map)
Major residential development sites (table)

Each section includes an Export button to download the data. All data is sourced from the National Forecasting Program (NFP) by .id (informed decisions).

Filtering insights

Click Filter (top right) to open the Filter insights panel.

Alt text: 'Screenshot showing the Filter button in the top right of the Placemaker Insights page.'

The panel has two sections:

Year ranges — set a starting year and ending year for the forecast data using the dropdowns.

Data preferences — expand each forecast type to configure what is displayed:

Population forecast — show total population, sex breakdown (females and males) and age ranges. Add custom age groups using the Min age and Max age fields.
Dwelling forecast — show total dwellings and residential development forecast (dwellings per site).

Alt text: 'Screenshot of the open Filter insights panel in Placemaker showing year range and data preference settings.'

Click Apply to update the page.

Note: Your organisation may have pre-configured filter settings that control which data is visible. The panel will show a notice if default filters are active. See Understanding your data access in Placemaker for more information.

Troubleshooting

Insights page shows no data: Check that your catchment boundary was saved correctly and includes SA1 areas. If the issue persists, contact support.
Figures appear lower than expected: Check the catchment boundary covers the intended area. Small catchments in low-growth areas will show lower numbers.
Filter is not changing the data: Click Apply after adjusting the filter settings.
Data appears incorrect: Contact .id support and include a screenshot of the affected section.
A dataset you expect is not showing: The data available in Insights reflects your organisation's subscription. Contact .id support to discuss access to additional data.