This fact sheet introduces readers to what metadata is and why it is useful. It covers metadata standards and profiles, with a focus on geospatial information. It describes the main categories of metadata, and explains how metadata can be created either automatically or manually. It also provides hints on how to write good metadata, and gives a best-practice example of a metadata template filled out for a real-life dataset.

The document was developed to support  climate change adaptation researchers funded under the Australian Commonwealth Regional Natural Resource Management (NRM) Planning for Climate Change Fund to integrate best practice in climate change adaptation data and information management into their project activities.