Does anyone know if Australian topo map GeoTIFFs are made available anywhere (preferably for free)?
LINZ makes them available in New Zealand - http://www.linz.govt.nz/topography/topo-maps/index.aspx, and I was hoping a similar service was available for Australia.
MapConnect has 1:250k data for download in many formats, including as ECW rasters which can be converted to GeoTiff with GDAL if needed. They also have a partial coverage of 1:50k topographic maps, but they cost money.
If you're interested in creating your own topographic maps, check out TopOSM, which aims to produce high-quality topographic maps from open data, and includes the source code to do so if you're willing to get your hands dirty. You might also find some hints in this quesion.
In case people are still looking at this question, as at July 2024, there are a range of free maps available as GeoTIFF for download for Australia. Feel free to update this answer as the current state will no doubt change.
Geoscience Australia has many maps of various scales (1:50k, 1:100k, 1:250k, 1:1m) available as GeoTIFF for free download
The level of free digital mapping available varies widely from state to state. Some areas of the states are reasonably well covered by free Geoscience Australia maps (eg the Kimberley, Cape York). In rough order of how useful and free the GeoTIFF/GeoPDF maps are by state (at 2024):
NSW Spatial Collaboration Portal has a wide range of maps of various scales (1:25k up to 1:100k) in both GeoTIFF and GeoPDF formats, for various years, available for free download:
Does not have GeoTIFF maps available. The QTopo service has free GeoPDF maps of various scales (1:10k up to 1:100k) that can be downloaded and converted to GeoTIFF using tools like GDAL.
https://qtopo.information.qld.gov.au/
TASMAP has a range of maps of various scales (1:25k up to 1:250k) in both GeoTIFF and GeoPDF formats available for purchase at a small cost (~$2 each)
https://nre.tas.gov.au/land-tasmania/tasmap
Vicmap has a range of maps of various scales (1:25k up to 1:100k) in GeoPDF formats available for purchase at a cost (~$8.50 each)
https://vicmaptopo.land.vic.gov.au/
Landgate has a range of maps of various scales (1:25k, 1:50k, 1:100k) in locked GeoPDF format available for purchase at a cost (~$15 each). Due to locked format, not sure if these can be converted to GeoTIFF:
https://www.landgate.wa.gov.au/location-data-and-services/maps/topographic-maps/
Currently does not have GeoTIFF/GeoPDF maps available
Covered by NSW
Covered by Geoscience Australia maps
Have you tried SRTM3 data for Australia? Roughly 90m resolution. Would need to convert though. http://dds.cr.usgs.gov/srtm/version2_1/SRTM3/Australia/
Geoscience Australia have the 250K raster topo on DVD for A$99. Check out this URL: https://www.ga.gov.au/products/servlet/controller?event=GEOCAT_DETAILS&catno=65047
Geoscience Australia (GA) now offers a bunch of coverages via Web Coverage Service, which you can probably plug straight into your GIS software or query directly yourself.
The topo data is here: http://www.ga.gov.au/gis/services/marine_coastal/Australian_Bathymetry_Topography/MapServer/WCSServer?request=GetCapabilities&service=WCS
and the list of all the webservices available is here: http://www.ga.gov.au/data-pubs/web-services/ga-web-services
