User guide

SEAD uses multi-factor authentication to provide a secure login environment.

You will need to download the Microsoft Authenticator application to your smart phone from the App Store (for iOS) or Google Play (for Android) to fulfil the login sequence.

Make sure that the authenticator is published by Microsoft, as SEAD only supports Microsoft Authenticator.

1. To access the SEAD portal, go to https://sead.abs.gov.au 

2. The first time you log in, you will be required to enter the username and password provided to you by your SEAD administrator.

Note: all SEAD accounts use the @mydata.abs.gov.au domain format.

3. You will be presented with a ‘More information required’ request, click ‘Next’.

4. The following screen will ask you to download the Microsoft Authenticator application. If you have already downloaded the application as advised above, proceed to step 2 by clicking 'Next'. 

5. You will then be guided to open your Microsoft Authenticator application and add a ‘Work or school account’.

6. Once you have selected a 'Work or school account', click ‘Next’ from your browser.
7. The following screen presents a QR code to scan using your Microsoft Authenticator application. Initiate the scanning function by clicking 'Scan the QR code' from your application, then hover your phone camera over the QR code shown on your browser screen.

8. Once scanning is complete, click ‘Next’ on your browser screen. You will be asked to enter the security number shown on your browser screen into your Microsoft Authenticator application, once complete, click ‘Next’.

9. After entering the security number and receiving approval from your Microsoft Authenticator application, you will see a ‘Notification Approved’ confirmation on your browser. Click ‘Next’ to proceed to Method 2 of setting up your multi-factor authentication.

10. To make sure you can reset your password in the future, you will be asked to setup an authentication phone or email. The default option is authentication by phone, but you can change this by clicking on the 'I want to setup a different method' button circled below. 

11. Select your region from the drop-down menu, enter your mobile number and choose between receiving a text or a call to activate the verify button. Enter the code then select ‘Next’ to verify. The call option sends you an automated phone call that will ask you to press the # key to verify.

12. Once verified, select ‘Next’ and then ‘Done’ to return to the sign in page. 

13. Once you have returned to the sign in page, you will be asked to set up a new password for your account. Your password cannot contain your user ID. It must be a minimum of 8 characters and contain at least three of the following:

• Upper-case letters A – Z,
• Lower-case letters a - z,
• Numbers,
• Special characters @ # $ % ^ & * - _ ! + = [ ] { } | \ : ' , . ? / ` ~ " ( ) ;

14. You can then log in to your account using your new password. 

1. To access the SEAD portal, go to https://sead.abs.gov.au
2. For returning users, your account will already be available to select. All SEAD accounts use the @mydata.abs.gov.au domain format. Click on your account, then enter your password to sign in.

3. Once you have entered your credentials and hit ‘Sign in’, you will receive a notification from the Microsoft Authenticator application on your phone asking you to perform a “number match”. Enter the numbers shown on your browser screen into the authenticator application to proceed.

4. If you do not approve within the time limit, click ‘Send another request to my Microsoft Authenticator app’. If the request expires, re-enter your SEAD email and password in the SEAD log in screen.

5. You can also change the way you approve the sign in request by selecting 'I can’t use my Microsoft Authenticator app right now'.

6. You then have two options:

• Approve a request on your phone app.
• Use a verification code from your phone app.

7. After you have authenticated your login in Microsoft Authenticator, you are logged into the SEAD portal.

The SEAD portal is where you will find information about your SEAD Account, Projects and Virtual Machines (VMs). This interface allows you to self-manage functions of your account, like changing between VMs.

The SEAD portal displays information across three tabs: 

My Projects

From this tab you can activate, start and launch the VM associated with your project. 

My Account

Use this tab to view your personal contact information and basic account settings. 

Action Log 

Keeps a record of your portal actions. This can help you manage your sessions and provides useful information if you encounter problems with the system. It includes:

• Starting your VM. 
• Stopping your VM. 
• Switching between active VMs. 
• Restarting your VM. 
• Rebuilding your VM. 

Navigation panel

The left navigator menu contains shortcuts that can be used to navigate between pages. Click the arrow to collapse or expand the navigator menu.

Global links

The links at the top right are available from all pages of the portal:

What’s New

This acts as a global information centre for the DataLab and SEAD, showcasing information about new features and updates. 

Citrix 

To access your virtual desktop. You must activate your VM before you can use this shortcut. 

About

Directs you to the SEAD web content. 

Privacy 

Directs you to the SEAD privacy notice. 

User ID 

Displays your details, including your name, user name and user role. This is also where you log out of the SEAD portal. 

Always abide by the SEAD Conditions of Use

The SEAD conditions of use will help you understand your obligations and management responsibilities to handle microdata safely. It is important that this page is read carefully. 

Important messages banner

This banner appears at the top of your SEAD portal window when your SEAD administrators have an important message for your consideration or action.

The 'My Projects' page of the SEAD user portal makes it easy to launch and switch between your project VMs. 

Click the ‘Manage’ button on the upper corner of your VM tile to see a detailed management view.

On the VM management page, you will be presented with details about your project, project members and machine. 

The VM management page also showcases your VM power state which allows you to start, stop, or restart the VM. This can be helpful if swapping between VMs or having difficulties seeing your machine in the Citrix or Azure Desktop workspace.

You can also view the scheduled shutdown for your VM. VMs are automatically shutdown every night at 10pm AEST. If you have a program running that you expect to run past 10pm, you can choose to extend your session for up to 3 days by selecting 'Bypass shutdown'.

You can also view the date of your next scheduled rebuild. A date and numbered count down is displayed on the coloured bar, with time adjusted to your local area. The coloured bar changes, starting with green, moving to orange and finally red as you get closer to the rebuild date.

VMs are automatically destroyed and rebuilt every 30 days for security and maintenance purposes. You cannot extend this time, however, you can choose to rebuild before the scheduled time by selecting ‘Rebuild Now’. After rebuilding, the countdown resets to 30 days and allows you to bypass the nightly shutdown.

Note: If you try to bypass a shutdown when your machine is scheduled for a rebuild, the system will deny the action and will instead offer to ‘Rebuild Now’.

You can update your desktop version annually as new desktop versions become available. Generally a new VM version is provided once annually, with updated versions of software. Click on 'Change VM Version' to view or update your desktop version. 

To compare the software of your current version to the latest version, click on 'Versions'. 

The 'My Account' page of the SEAD user portal allows you to view your basic user attributes, such as your name and email address. If your details require updating, contact your SEAD administrator.  

From this page you can also self-service account settings related to receiving email reminders. These reminders let you know when your VM will shut down. Notifications are sent at 5pm AEST/AEDT, prior to the 10pm scheduled shut down if you have started your VM that day. It will also remind you before your 30 day VM rebuild. You can change this option at any time by clicking ‘Edit’.

Each project you are a member of will have a separate VM. You can only access one project VM at a time. If your VM is already available to launch, skip to the next step of launching your workspace.

If not, click the ‘Activate’ button on your VM tile and wait until the ‘Launch’ button appears. This may take a few minutes.

Note: If your VM shows a status other than ‘Launch’ or ‘Activate’, it means you must rebuild your VM by navigating to 'Manage'. 

If you have a VM for another project that is currently active, this logs you out of your other session. If you have a program running in your workspace using another VM, this will stop the program. You can only run multiple VMs if you have requested to use offline local disk space.

SEAD currently has two different Virtual Desktop Connection options. You can move between versions using instructions in the VM management options section. Citrix Virtual Desktops will be phased out from May 2024.

To launch your SEAD virtual desktop, refer to the relevant system instructions below. 

Launch the VM by clicking the ‘Connect’ button on the active VM tile.

Prior to launch, you will be asked to choose the type of connection you wish to utilise from the drop-down menu, as shown in the image below. AVD provides the option to select between a web browser user experience OR downloaded application if required (via the 'Remote Desktop Client').

Note: If you want to use multi-screen functionality, we advise you connect via the 'Remote Desktop Client' for Windows version. This version may also improve connection stability and VM screen resolution.

If you are connecting to the 'web client' version of AVD, a new browser page will launch showing the settings screen. This window may have slightly different options for each device. There is no need to change any of these settings. Press ‘Connect’ to continue. 

You will then be asked to log into your VM using your SEAD credentials. Once you have entered your credentials, click 'Sign In'. 

After a successful login, you will see the below loading screen. 

Your VM will then prepare Windows for you. 

You should now have access to your VM within a browser window. Click here for more information on using the workspace. 

Note: You may see an upload button in the toolbar which, intentionally, does not work. You may encounter a success message after uploading but you will not be able to retrieve any files that you have uploaded. If you wish to upload data or packages to SEAD, please Contact us. 

If you are connecting to the 'Remote Desktop Client' version of AVD, ensure that your IT department has enabled the correct networking addresses available here under 'Azure Virtual Desktop configuration'. 

Note: If you intend to use the 'Remote Desktop Client' on your organisation's workspace, you will need to contact your internal IT department to make it available to you. 

The latest version of 'Remote Desktop Client' for Windows is available here and for Macintosh is available here. 

Once you have access and have started the application, click ‘Subscribe’ as shown below. 

You will then be shown a new window that allows you to log into your SEAD account using your SEAD credentials

Upon a successful login, you will be shown all your available VMs. If you can’t see the VM that you want, it may be dormant and requires a rebuild. 

If you have access to multiple projects you may be shown multiple tabs, one for each project as shown in the image below. 

Note: If you wish to use multi-display, right click on your VM icon, click ‘Settings’, and turn off ‘Use default settings’. You should now see options for how you would like to display you VM. 

Click into one of the computer icons and you will be taken to a login screen to reconfirm your identity, before access is granted to enter your VM. This may not appear if you have recently logged in, through a similar window. 

The below loading bar should briefly appear. 

If, instead of the second login prompt, you receive a message as shown in the below image, then either your machine is not the active machine or it is not using the AVD version ‘2024avd’. If your desktop session does not start, repeat  Step 1 Activate your VM and check that the version at the bottom of your VM says ‘2024avd’. 

You will then be presented with another login screen for the VM itself. 

You should then have a new window open on your computer with your VM desktop open. 

For more information on using the workspace see Using your workspace.

Launch the VM using the ‘Launch’ button from the active VM tile. This opens your Workspace application after a few moments.

If your VM version uses the Citrix Workspace Application, you will be redirected to the Citrix dashboard where you can view all your recently used desktops. 'Desktop' is the Citrix term for VM. 

If your VM version uses Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD), your workspace will open in a new window. 

Click the VM/Desktop (this is your project number) to open your project in the SEAD environment.

You will then begin connecting to your SEAD desktop, this may take a few minutes. A notification in the bottom right hand corner of your screen will show you the connection progress. If your desktop session does not start, repeat the above steps to activate your VM.

If your VM operates on the Citrix based version, you will be prompted to open the Citrix Workspace Launcher. If you do not have the Citrix receiver application, you will need to download it to your device. The latest version of Citrix Workspace is available here. You can ignore this step or potentially attempt a workaround, by migrating to the new Azure Virtual Desktop VM version.

If your VM version runs on AVD, your workspace will automatically open in a new window. 

At this point you can select the ‘Always allow’ checkbox, if you do not wish to receive this alert each time you launch your workspace.

Log in using the same credentials you used to log into the SEAD Portal. Once logged in, the system may take a few minutes to load as it prepares Windows.

By logging in you agree to these conditions:

You will then be signed into your project desktop. 

See our Available features for more information on the software your project workspace contains. 

You can use your SEAD workspace in a similar way to using other secure networked systems, where you can securely see, use and share data files, analysis and output with the other members of your project team.

Open File Explorer and click on This PC to see the network drives you have access to. 

Library

All researchers can see all files in the Library drive. This drive is managed by the ABS and contains support information, such as statistical language documentation, ANZSIC classification and general access guides for non-standard products. Files cannot be saved to this drive.

Output

 Any output you want your SEAD administrators to clear should be saved to this drive. Only members of your team can see this drive. Information is backed up nightly and retained for 14 days. Information in this folder remains unaffected by a rebuild.

Project

A shared space for your team to work in and store all their project files, as well as set up and run Python and R scripts. Only members of your team can see this drive. Information is backed up nightly and retained for 14 days. Information in this folder remains unaffected by a rebuild. The default storage is 1TB. You will need to review and delete unnecessary files as your project files grow over time. If necessary, an increase to this storage can be requested via your administrators. There may be a cost for additional storage.

Products

Access data files that have been approved for your project. However, it is best to use the 'My Data Products' shortcut on your desktop as this shows you only the datasets you have been approved to access, rather than all dataset short names. Files cannot be saved to this drive.

LocalDisk 

If you have been granted local disk space, this can be used to run jobs on offline virtual machines (desktops). You may want to request this option if you have multiple projects that you are actively involved in. There may be a cost associated with attaching local disk space to your VM. The local disk will only be present if it has been allocated to your VM. To request local disk space contact your SEAD administrator. 

Drive C 

Can be utilised to run scripts and create new Python package virtual environments, not facilitated through either Jupyter Notebook, JupyterLab or Spyder. Noting the C drive is also destroyed with each 30 day rebuild. Note: Avoid using this drive for saving files - there is limited space and no ability to increase the storage capacity. If more storage is required a local disk can be requested for your VM. 

​​​​​​Drives A and D

Are not to be used. Information saved here is either destroyed with each nightly shutdown and 30 day rebuild, or has restricted access. Attempting to read or write from Drives A or D will invoke a group policy error due to access controls. In this case please use the C drive or consult your project lead to request local disk space.

Notes:

Do not store files in any other folders: Other members of your project cannot see files if you store them in other drives. Files stored outside of the Project and Output drives are destroyed every 30 days as part of SEAD security protocols.

Refreshing your network drives: If your network drives do not appear in File Explorer, you can click the 'Refresh Network' shortcut on the desktop. A confirmation message appears when this has been successfully refreshed.

To access the data files for your project, use the 'My Data Products' shortcut on your desktop.

The My Data Products folder displays only the products approved for your project.

Selecting the 'Products' drive shows you the short name of all data loaded to the SEADpod. However, if you try to open a file that is not approved for your project you are denied access and receive an error.

When you walk away from your computer or have finished with your desktop session, you must either lock your workspace or sign out to ensure nobody else accesses your SEAD workspace.

To lock or sign out of your workspace, click the menu button at the top of your window to expand the toolbar, then select 'Ctrl+Alt+Del' to be presented with the options to lock or sign out of your workspace. 

If you need to leave your computer for a short time or you have analysis running, lock your workspace. You can then close your virtual desktop window by clicking the X in the top right-hand corner. This closes your session but does not end any programs you have running. Your programs will continue to run until 10pm that night, or longer if you have selected the Bypass option in the portal.

Sign out to leave your workspace session. This closes your session and will end any programs you have running. 

If you are using Citrix workspace portal, you may still be logged into the browser. You can either close this window or Log Out of the portal using the icon in the top right corner (with your initial).

If you are an analyst who works across multiple projects, you can request local disk space. This will enable your VM to run jobs offline, noting the 30 day rebuild still applies.

Datasets are stored on a remote file share. Only the active machine has network access to this location. Your locked VMs do not. To run offline jobs, you need to request local disk space via your administrators to be attached to your machine. There may be a cost associated with this.

When running jobs offline, the inactive machine can continue to run your program as it still has access to the data since it is no longer using the remote file share. However, working like this does not allow your project team to see your analysis or output. You should always move your output back to your Project or Output drives where your project team can access and review the output.

To use local disk space:

1. Request access to a local disk for your project through your SEAD administrator. 
2. Copy the data products you need to the local disk.
3. In your program, point to your source/input data on the local disk and start the job.
4. In your program, save your output to the local disk.
5. Exit your VM and return to the SEAD portal to activate another machine.
6. After you have finished running your analysis offline (local disk) move your analysis and output back to your Project drive.

There are various recommended means for you to access, request or move code, code libraries and packages to your project in order to undertake your analysis in SEAD. You can access code through the following:

• The ABS administered shared library (library drive) which holds a large volume of approved code from all primary software languages available (R, Python, STATA, SAS) and accompanying documentation.
• Package Manager (shortcut on the workspace desktop providing access to Python and R packages).
• Python 3.9 Anaconda distribution (see list of available packages here: Packages for 64-bit Windows with Python 3.9 - Anaconda documentation)
• A request to your SEAD administrators for loading basic/simple self-written code in text format.
• A request to your SEAD administrators for loading from these recommended repositories:
  • R. (CRAN).
  • Python Anaconda (Conda or PyPi).
  • STATA (ideas).

If you are working with a specific set of R and/or Python packages, you can now manage these using the Package Manager shortcut on your desktop.

In the Package Manager, click 'Get Started' to navigate to the available packages. You can use this tool to search for packages (in the left column) and install the packages you want to use for your project. If the packages you need are not listed, you can request them using the Contact us page.

The SEAD portal and workspace is presented in a web browser. The latest version of the following web browsers are recommended:

• Chrome
• Microsoft Edge
• Firefox
• Safari

Internet Explorer is not recommended.

Note: Mobile devices are not supported/enabled for SEAD. 

If you have forgotten your password, click the 'Forgotten my password' link on the username entry screen.

On the following screen, you will be asked to enter the characters in the picture. You have the option to hear the characters in the picture if you click on the speaker icon (circled). Your user ID is populated for you. 

The next screen takes you to Step One of verifying your account. Choose from the options in the left-hand column.

Enter the verification code you received via email, text, or call, then click 'Next' to reset your password. 

Enter your new password, ensuring it has a minimum of 8 characters and contains at least three of the following:

• upper-case letters A – Z
• lower-case letters a - z
• numbers 
• special characters @ # $ % ^ & * - _ ! + = [ ] { } | \ : ' , . ? / ` ~ " ( ) ;

The following screen is displayed once your password has been reset. Select the ‘click here’ link to sign in with your new password.