Changes to AURIN Data Access

Please note: these changes are now live (as of Friday 17 May)

The AURIN team has been working on improvements to the way we handle user accounts in the AURIN Data Provider (ADP). These authentication and authorisation changes, which have been implemented as of Friday 17 May, improve security and will pave the way for some new features.

The impacts of these changes are minimal, and existing users will be guided through a few small actions to ensure they can continue to seamlessly access data from AURIN.

User Impacts

All existing users will need to log in to the system and re-accept relevant agreements to regain the access privileges they had previously. Users will be guided through this simple process after logging in for the first time after these changes have been implemented.

Users accessing data via API will also notice their current credentials no longer work. They’ll also notice the new credentials use email address as the username, rather than a randomly generated one. Importantly, API passwords behave as a token and are valid for 90 days – but new ones can be generated anytime.

User Actions Required

For new users

No actions are required – you’ll be able to access the ADP using the new service. When you login, you’ll be guided through the first steps of signing the Terms of Use and determining your academic usage. You can then use the tutorials to explore further.

For existing users

When you access your ADP account you’ll be shown a wizard that will step you through the actions needed to onboard you into the new system. You will:

• Be shown the Terms of Use and asked to agree to it.
• Be asked to confirm or request confirmation that your account will be used for academic research. Users with academic emails ending in .edu.au will be able to confirm academic usage straight away. Other users can request this confirmation, and AURIN staff will review this.
• Be shown agreements you had previously agreed to in the previous ADP. You can read and accept the terms of these individually, or sign them all with the click of a single button.
• Need to generate and use new credentials if accessing via the API. Web downloads, however, should work right away.

From this point you can use the ADP as before, including accepting further agreements you may not have had in the previous system.

Please note: you should complete this process, including accepting all relevant agreements, before attempting to download data, otherwise you may encounter errors. Also note that accepting further agreements may take a few minutes to be reflected in your access.

For existing users with access to datasets by application (e.g. APM Point-level data)

In addition to the steps above, if you currently have access to any ‘Access by Application’ datasets you will need to accept their terms while confirming your pre-existing agreements. You will not need to fill out any applications or forms again. Users should be able to view and accept these in the Previous Agreements section of the onboarding wizard.

However, please note: users can only use this data for the purpose outlined in their original data application – for new research projects, please complete a new application.

Please also note that if you try to download restricted datasets without confirming that you have accepted the terms, you will receive an error message.

For existing users accessing data via API

In addition to re-accepting the Terms of Use (as in the section above for existing users), you will need to re-generate an API credential and update any old credentials in your existing workflows or desktop software. For security reasons, the password is valid for 90 days.

You can generate a new password anytime at the API access page – your username will remain as the email address associated with your account.

FAQs