Data governance is a relatively new and evolving discipline. It encompasses the people who are responsible for data quality (the stewards); the policies and processes associated with collecting, managing, storing and reporting data; and the information technology systems and support that provide efficient infrastructure. Higher education institutions are paying more attention to data governance as we move into a funding environment that focuses on performance measures, targets and accountability. This article describes the establishment of a university-wide Data Governance Advisory Group (DGAG) at the University of Newcastle and highlights some of the short-term achievements as well as the longer-term goals of the group. The DGAG is responsible for providing advice to senior management on data governance policies, standards and strategic approaches; data quality initiatives; data privacy, compliance and security; data architecture and integration requirements; and data warehouse and business intelligence priorities. Membership of the DGAG includes key stakeholders from planning, quality and reporting; student and academic services; human resources (HR); finance; information technology (IT); research services; library; facilities management; external relations and corporate services. The monthly meetings have provided a forum for discussion of data quality and governance across the whole life cycle from collection to reporting to decision-making for a range of teaching and learning, research, administration and services data collections. Outcomes include the establishment of a register of data collections, a mapping of how data are used in official reports and benchmarking/ranking projects; the development of a common data dictionary, the sharing of good practices and promoting a collaborative culture. [This article was first presented at the Annual Conference of the Australasian Association for Institutional Research, "Let the sunshine in," Gold Coast, 9-11 November 2011.]