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About the Regions in the NRP
 

ABOUT THE REGIONS IN THE NRP

The NRP uses two structures of the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC): the Main Structure and the Local Government Area Structure.

Local Government Area structure
Statistical Local Areas and other regions in the Main Structure


LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA STRUCTURE

The Local Government Area Structure of the ASGC covers only incorporated areas of Australia. Incorporated areas are legally designated parts of states and territories over which incorporated local governing bodies have responsibility. The major areas of Australia not administered by incorporated bodies are the northern parts of South Australia, most of the Northern Territory and all of the Australian Capital Territory.

The NRP uses only the Local Government Area level of the Local Government Area Structure hierarchy.

As the Local Government Area Structure does not cover the whole of Australia, the Local Government Area profiles in the NRP do not aggregate to profiles for State/Territory or Australia.

What is the relationship between the Local Government Area (LGA) Structure and SLAs?

Each LGA is comprised of one or more SLAs.

An example of a one-to-one relationship is Cockburn (C) SLA in Western Australia (see Map 2) which has the same boundary as the LGA of City of Cockburn.

An example of a one-to-many relationship is the LGA of East Gippsland Shire in Victoria (shown in Map 1), which is comprised of four SLAs:

Map 1: The LGA of East Gippsland Shire

Image: Map 1- The LGA of East Gippsland Shire

See Chapter 3 of the Australian Standard Geographical Classification, 2006 for further information about the Local Government Area Structure of the ASGC, and Chapter 14 for a table showing LGAs and their corresponding SLAs.

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STATISTICAL LOCAL AREAS AND OTHER REGIONS IN THE MAIN STRUCTURE

The Main Structure of the ASGC is used to collect and disseminate a broad range of ABS statistics. The NRP uses the following regions:

Australia
- State/Territory
- Statistical Division
- Statistical Sub Division
- Statistical Local Area

Each level of regions aggregates to the next level above. For example, Statistical Local Areas aggregate to Statistical Sub Divisions, which aggregate to Statistical Divisions, and so on.

What is a Statistical Local Area?

The SLA is a general purpose spatial unit used to collect and disseminate statistics. SLAs are based on the boundaries of incorporated bodies of local government where they exist. Where there is no incorporated body of local government, SLAs are defined to cover the unincorporated areas.

An example of Statistical Local Areas is shown in Map 2. The Statistical Sub Division of South West Metropolitan in Western Australia is comprised of five SLAs (East Fremantle (T), Fremantle (C) - Inner, Fremantle (C) - Remainder, Cockburn (C) and Melville (C)).


Map 2: The Statistical Sub Division of South West Metropolitan in Western Australia

Image: Map 2 - The Statistical Sub Division of South West Metropolitan in Western Australia

See Chapter 2 of the Australian Standard Geographical Classification, 2006 for further information about the Main Structure of the ASGC, and Chapter 15 for maps of Statistical Divisions, Statistical Sub Divisions and Statistical Local Areas.
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