Local Government Areas are an ABS Mesh Block approximation of gazetted local government boundaries as defined by each state and territory. ABS approximations of administrative boundaries do not match official legal boundaries and should only be used for statistical purposes.

There are 566 Local Government Areas covering the whole of Australia, including unincorporated areas, without gaps or overlaps. This incorporates 19 non-spatial special purpose codes including a new Outside Australia code. Further information on special purpose codes can be found in the Local Government Area coding structure section below.

The ABS reviews Local Government Areas annually, and any changes will be applied by including or excluding whole Mesh Blocks. Mesh Blocks are allocated to Local Government Areas primarily based on where population is located.

Local Government Areas cover legally designated parts of a State or Territory for which incorporated local governing bodies have responsibility. In ABS Local Government Areas, parts of Australia not administered by incorporated bodies are identified as Unincorporated followed by a state or territory suffix - for example Unincorporated ACT. Unincorporated areas include the Australian Capital Territory, northern parts of South Australia, and some Other Territories. In ASGS Edition 3 the territories of Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island are included as Western Australian Local Government Areas, reflecting their administration at local government level.

To standardise formatting across states and territories, Local Government Area names are abbreviated in this structure. Examples include:

• City of Albury becomes Albury
• District Council of Copper Coast becomes Copper Coast

Where the same Local Government Area name appears in multiple states or territories, the State or Territory abbreviation appears in brackets after the name. Local Government Area names are therefore unique. In previous editions of the ASGS suffixes were attached to Local Government Area names to indicate the official status of incorporated areas. For example, cities were marked with (C) while shires were marked with (S). As official statuses are not uniform across states and territories, these suffixes have been removed in ASGS Edition 3 (2021). For more information about suffixes used in previous editions of Local Government Areas please refer to the relevant publication.

Local Government Areas are identified by unique five-digit codes consisting of a one-digit state or territory identifier and a four-digit Local Government Area identifier as shown below. Local Government Area identifiers are unique within each state and territory. Changes to codes occur where a Local Government Area is abolished or has changed significantly. When a Local Government Area is removed, its identifier is retired. When a new Local Government Area is created, the next available identifier in alphabetical order is assigned. All Local Government Area codes end with the digit zero.

Where significant boundary changes have occurred, the codes used for ASGS Edition 3 may not match those used in past editions. When interpreting change, Local Government Area codes and names should be used together. Geographic correspondence files enabling the translation of data between ASGS Edition 2 (2016) and ASGS Edition 3 (2021) are available in the access and downloads section of this publication.

Non-spatial special purpose codes are included as balancing items. Mesh Blocks allocated to these codes are not part of legally designated Local Government Areas.

• 9799 is reserved for cases where people are coded to Migratory, Offshore and Shipping Mesh Blocks.
• 9499 is reserved for cases where people are coded to No usual address Mesh Blocks.
• ZZZZZ is reserved for cases where people are coded to Outside Australia.

Further information can be found in the special purpose codes section of this publication.

The 2023 release of Local Government Areas includes updates to the 2022 Local Government Area boundaries that have occurred between June 2022 to June 2023. Changes during this period were minimal. The LGA of Moreland in Victoria was renamed to Merri-bek, and spelling of Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yunkunytjatjara in South Australia was corrected to Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara. Renaming of Moreland LGA to Merri-bek resulted in a code change for the LGA. All other Local Government Area boundaries and codes have remained consistent with 2022 Local Government Areas.

The 2022 release of Local Government Areas includes updates to the 2021 Local Government Area boundaries that have occurred prior to June 2022. Change between 2021 and 2022 was minimal. The boundary of Palmerston in the Northern Territory has expanded slightly to include part of the adjacent Unincorporated NT area. This change did not result in a code change. All other Local Government Area boundaries and codes have remained consistent with 2021 Local Government Areas. 

State Electoral Divisions are an ABS Mesh Block approximation of state electoral districts as defined by state and territory electoral commissions. A state electoral district is an area legally prescribed for the purpose of returning one or more members to the state or territory lower houses of parliament, or the relevant equivalent. State Electoral Divisions are based on the most up to date state electoral districts available prior to publication. State Electoral Divisions may change as State or Territory authorities revise their boundaries. When this occurs, State Electoral Divisions will be updated annually together with updates of other Non ABS Structures. ABS approximations of administrative boundaries do not match official legal boundaries, and should only be used for statistical purposes. Victoria, Western Australia, and Tasmania have extra boundaries that represent their upper house state electoral districts, and these are represented in the State Electoral Division names and coding structure.

There are 452 State Electoral Divisions covering the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps. This incorporates 19 non-spatial special purpose codes including a new Outside Australia code. Further information regarding types of special purpose codes can be found in the State Electoral Division coding structure section below.

In ASGS Edition 3, State Electoral Divisions are now approximated using Mesh Blocks rather than Statistical Areas Level 1. This allows ABS State Electoral Divisions to more closely approximate legally prescribed state electoral district boundaries. Mesh Blocks are allocated to State Electoral Divisions based on the largest population contribution. Where a Mesh Block covers two or more State Electoral Divisions, the Mesh Block can only be allocated to one electorate; as a result, some State Electoral Divisions have multiple parts.

The Other Territories of Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Christmas Island, Norfolk Island and Jervis Bay are allocated to Unclassified (OT).

No usual address, Migratory, Offshore and Shipping special purpose Mesh Blocks are represented as non-spatial objects in the digital boundaries.

State Electoral Division names are the same as those allocated by the electoral commission of each State and Territory. Victoria, Western Australia, and Tasmania have extra boundaries that represent their upper house state electoral districts. For these states, the allocated upper house boundary is listed after the lower house electoral district name, for example, Broadmeadows (Northern Metropolitan).

State Electoral Divisions are identified by unique five-digit codes consisting of a one-digit state or territory identifier and a four-digit State Electoral Division identifier. State Electoral Division identifiers are unique within each state and territory and are assigned alphabetically by name. They are allocated differently to reflect varying electoral arrangements between states and territories.

New South Wales and South Australia both have two houses of parliament, but their upper houses are single constituencies, not represented by sub-state level boundaries. Queensland, the Northern Territory, and the Australian Capital Territory all have only one house of parliament. For these five states and territories, State Electoral Division identifiers are allocated alphabetically from 0001 as shown in the table below.

Victoria and Western Australia have two houses of parliament and their upper house regions are created by amalgamating lower house state electoral districts. In these states the first two digits of the State Electoral Division identifiers are allocated alphabetically from 01 to the lower house regions, while the final two digits are allocated alphabetically from 01 to the upper house regions, as shown in the table below.

Tasmania also has two houses of parliament with defined upper house regions, but they are not created by amalgamating lower house state electoral districts. Tasmanian State Electoral Division identifiers are allocated in the same way as Victoria and Western Australia. However, as upper house regions do not aggregate from the lower house regions there is more than one code covering a lower house region, as shown in the table below.

Where significant boundary changes have occurred, the codes used for ASGS Edition 3 may not match those used in past editions. When interpreting change, State Electoral Division codes and names should be used together. A geographic correspondence file enabling the translation of data from ASGS Edition 2 (2016) to ASGS Edition 3 is available in the access and downloads section of this publication.

Non-spatial special purpose codes are included as balancing items. Mesh Blocks allocated to these codes are not part of legally designated state electoral districts.

• 9494 is reserved for No usual address Mesh Blocks.
• 9797 is reserved for Migratory, Offshore and Shipping Mesh Blocks.
• ZZZZZ is reserved for cases where people are coded to Outside Australia.

Further information can be found in the special purpose codes section of this publication.

The 2022 release of State Electoral Divisions includes updates to the 2021 State Electoral Division boundaries that have occurred prior to June 2022. Specifically, this release updates the boundaries, names and codes of State Electoral Divisions in New South Wales and Victoria, which have both recently undergone redistributions. Widespread change has occurred in both states as a result of these redistributions. 

In New South Wales: 

• The 2021 State Electoral Division of Lakemba was abolished
• A new State Electoral Division, Leppington, was created
• Four 2021 State Electoral Divisions were renamed
• Numerous boundary changes occurred

In Victoria: 

• Nine 2021 State Electoral Divisions were abolished
• Nine new State Electoral Divisions were created
• The upper house region of East Metropolitan was renamed to North-East Metropolitan
• Numerous boundary changes occurred in both the upper and lower house boundaries

Commonwealth Electoral Divisions are an ABS Mesh Block approximation of Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) federal electoral divisions. AEC electoral divisions are areas legally prescribed for the purpose of returning members to the House of Representatives. ABS Commonwealth Electoral Divisions are based on the AEC electoral division boundaries available prior to publication. Commonwealth Electoral Divisions may change as the AEC revise their boundaries. Where this occurs, Commonwealth Electoral Divisions will be updated annually, together with updates to other Non ABS Structures. The 2021 Commonwealth Electoral Divisions remain current at this time. ABS approximations of administrative boundaries do not match official legal boundaries and should only be used for statistical purposes.

There are 170 Commonwealth Electoral Divisions covering the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps. This incorporates 19 non-spatial special purpose codes including a new Outside Australia code. Further information regarding types of special purpose codes can be found in the Commonwealth Electoral Division coding structure section below.

In ASGS Edition 3, Commonwealth Electoral Divisions are now approximated using Mesh Blocks rather than Statistical Areas Level 1. This allows ABS Commonwealth Electoral Divisions to more closely approximate AEC electoral divisions. Mesh Blocks are allocated to Commonwealth Electoral Divisions based on population. Where a Mesh Block covers two or more Commonwealth Electoral Divisions, the Mesh Block is only allocated to one electorate.

Commonwealth Electoral Divisions cover the whole of geographic Australia. They do not generally cross State and Territory borders but there are three exceptions:

• Norfolk Island is included in the Australia Capital Territory electorate of Bean
• Jervis Bay Territory is included in the Australian Capital Territory electorate of Fenner
• the Territories of Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands are included in the Northern Territory electorate of Lingiari.

No usual address, Migratory, Offshore and Shipping Mesh Blocks are represented as non-spatial objects in the digital boundaries.

Commonwealth Electoral Division names are the same as those allocated by the Australian Electoral Commission.

Commonwealth Electoral Divisions are identified by unique three-digit codes consisting of a one-digit state or territory identifier and a two-digit Commonwealth Electoral Division identifier. Commonwealth Electoral Division identifiers are assigned alphabetically starting from 01 within each state and territory. This coding structure is shown in the table below.

Where significant boundary changes have occurred, the codes used for ASGS Edition 3 may not match those used in past editions. When interpreting change, Commonwealth Electoral Division codes and names should be used together. A geographic correspondence file enabling the translation of data from ASGS Edition 2 (2016) to ASGS Edition 3 is available in the access and downloads section of this publication.

Non-spatial special purpose codes are included as balancing items. Mesh Blocks allocated to these codes are not part of legally designated AEC electoral divisions.

• 94 is reserved for No usual address Mesh Blocks.
• 97 is reserved for Migratory, Offshore and Shipping Mesh Blocks.
• ZZZ is reserved for cases where people are coded to Outside Australia.

Further information can be found in the special purpose codes section of this publication.

Postal Areas are an ABS Mesh Block approximation of a general definition of postcodes. They enable comparison of ABS data with other data collected using postcodes as the geographic reference. ABS approximations of administrative boundaries do not match official legal boundaries and should only be used for statistical purposes.

There are 2,644 Postal Areas covering the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps. This incorporates 3 non-spatial special purpose codes including a new Outside Australia code. Further information on special purpose codes can be found in the Postal Area coding structure section below.

The Other Territories of Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Christmas Island and Norfolk Island are each represented by individual Postal Areas and Jervis Bay is included in NSW.

Mesh Blocks are allocated to Postal Areas based on the largest population contribution. Where a Mesh Block covers two or more postcodes, the Mesh Block can only be allocated to one Postal Area. These allocations have been determined using the best available information on postcode boundaries at the time of publication. To ensure stability, subsequent changes to postcode boundaries will not be reflected in Postal Areas until ASGS Edition 4 in 2026.

Some official postcodes are not included in Postal Areas. This occurs when a Mesh Block cannot be allocated to a postcode. There are two situations where this occurs:

• a Mesh Block covers more than one whole postcode, and the Mesh Block can be allocated to only one postcode
• more than one Mesh Block partly covers a postcode, but all the Mesh Blocks are allocated to other postcodes, based on population.

Postal Areas exclude postcodes that are not street delivery areas. These include post office boxes, mail back competitions, large volume receivers and specialist delivery postcodes. These postcodes are only valid for postal addresses and are not a valid location for population data.

There are instances where postcodes cross state or territory boundaries. In these cases, Postal Area reflect this. The following table lists these Postal Areas.

Postal Areas are not allocated names as there is no standardised name available. As a result, the Postal Area code is repeated in the name field.

Each Postal Area code is the same as the corresponding four-digit official postcode, as shown in the examples below.

The codes used for ASGS Edition 3 Postal Areas may not match those used in past editions. This is because postcodes can be abolished, postcode boundaries adjusted, or new postcodes created between editions of the ASGS. A geographic correspondence file enabling the translation of data from ASGS 2016 to ASGS Edition 3 is available in the access and downloads section of this publication.

Special purpose codes are included as balancing items. Mesh Blocks allocated to these codes are not part of any official Postal Area.

• 9797 is reserved for cases where people are coded to Migratory, Offshore and Shipping Mesh Blocks.
• 9494 is reserved for cases where people are coded to No usual address Mesh Blocks.
• ZZZZ is reserved for cases where people are coded to Outside Australia.

Further information can be found in the special purpose codes section of this publication.

Tourism Regions are an ABS approximation of tourism regions provided by Tourism Research Australia (TRA). They are administrative regions primarily used by Tourism Research Australia for research and policy purposes. ABS approximations of administrative boundaries do not match official legal boundaries and should only be used for statistical purposes.

There are 76 Tourism Regions that do not cover the whole of Australia. The Other Territories of Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Christmas Island, Norfolk Island and Jervis Bay are not included. There are no special purpose codes included in the Tourism Regions classification.

Tourism Regions have been created using Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2s) to enable the release of ABS data on areas that, as closely as possible, approximate those provided.

For ASGS Edition 3, 76 Tourism Regions have been defined. Tourism Regions do not cross State or Territory borders. The ACT has only one Tourism Region and there are no Tourism Regions for the Other Territories.

Tourism Region names are the same as those specified by Tourism Research Australia (TRA).

Tourism Region codes are based on historic codes and remain unchanged if there has been no significant change to the boundary. Where significant change has occurred, Tourism Region codes are retired, and new codes introduced. Examples are shown below. 

The codes used for ASGS Edition 3 may not match those used in past editions. When interpreting change, Tourism Region codes and names should be used together. A geographic correspondence file enabling the translation of data from ASGS 2016 to ASGS Edition 3 is available in the access and downloads section of this publication.

Special purpose codes are not included for Tourism Regions.

Australian Drainage Divisions are an ABS Mesh Block approximation of drainage divisions provided through the Bureau of Meteorology’s Australian Hydrological Geospatial Fabric. Australian Drainage Divisions are created to enable the release of ABS data on areas that approximate those provided in the Australian Hydrological Geospatial Fabric. ABS approximations of administrative boundaries do not match official legal boundaries and should only be used for statistical purposes.

There are 17 Australian Drainage Divisions covering the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps. This incorporates 3 non-spatial special purpose codes including a new Outside Australia code. Further information regarding types of special purpose codes can be found in the Australian Drainage Division coding structure section below.

The Other Territories of Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Christmas Island and Norfolk Island are each represented by a single Australian Drainage Division - Unclassified (Aust.). Jervis Bay is included in the Australian Drainage Division of South East Coast (NSW).

In ASGS Edition 3, Australian Drainage Divisions are approximated using Mesh Blocks based on the largest area contribution rather than population, which is used for most other Non ABS Structures.

Australian Drainage Divisions consist of a total of 17 regions. Australian Drainage Divisions are defined to cover the whole of geographic Australia, excluding the Other Territories of Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Norfolk Island which have been allocated to D91 Unclassified (Aust.). Australian Drainage Divisions can cross state borders. The best example of this is the Murray-Darling Basin which crosses over four States and Territories.

No usual address and Migratory – Offshore – Shipping are represented as non-spatial objects in the digital boundaries.

Australian Drainage Divisions names are the same as those allocated by the Bureau of Meteorology.

Australian Drainage Divisions are allocated a two-digit code based on historic codes and have been retained for ASGS Edition 3. This is prefixed by a D which enables unique identification across the country and differentiates them from other ABS codes, as shown below.

While codes and names are unchanged, boundary changes have occurred. A geographic correspondence file enabling the translation of data from ASGS 2016 to ASGS Edition 3 is available in the access and downloads section of this publication.

Non-spatial special purpose codes are included as balancing items. Mesh Blocks allocated to these codes are not part of any legally designated drainage division.

• D94 is reserved for those States or Territories where people are coded to the No usual address Mesh Blocks.
• D97 is reserved for States or Territories that have Migratory, Offshore and Shipping Mesh Blocks.
• DZZ is reserved for cases where people are coded to Outside Australia.

Further information can be found in the special purpose codes section of this publication.

Suburbs and Localities, formerly State Suburbs, are an ABS Mesh Block approximation of the officially recognised boundaries of suburbs (in cities and larger towns) and localities (outside cities and larger towns) as defined by the State and Territory governments of Australia. Suburbs and Localities are created to enable the release of ABS data on areas that approximate the official localities. This allows for the comparison of ABS data with other data collected using localities as the geographic reference. ABS approximations of administrative boundaries do not match official legal boundaries and should only be used for statistical purposes.

There are 15,353 Suburbs and Localities covering the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps. This incorporates 19 non-spatial special purpose codes including a new Outside Australia code. Further information regarding types of special purpose codes can be found in the Suburbs and Localities coding structure section below.

Suburbs and Localities are determined by the Permanent Committee on Place Names (PCPN) under the umbrella of the Intergovernmental Committee on Surveying and Mapping (ISCM), and are approximated by ABS Mesh Blocks. 

Presently there remain areas of rural South Australia and rural Australian Capital Territory that are undefined in the officially defined boundaries. Various islands offshore from New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania and some inshore water areas and islands are also undefined. The Other Territories of Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Christmas Island, Norfolk Island and Jervis Bay are each represented by individual Suburbs and Localities.

The ASGS Edition 3 Suburbs and Localities are based on the May 2021 localities data available from Geoscape. There are areas of rural South Australia and rural Australian Capital Territory that are undefined in the officially defined boundaries. Various islands offshore from New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania and some inshore water areas and islands are also undefined.

Each Mesh Block has been allocated once to an official locality; this is generally based on the largest population contribution. As a result, there are official localities which will not appear in the Suburbs and Localities. This occurs in cases where:

• a Mesh Block covers more than one whole official locality, and the Mesh Block can only be allocated to one locality
• more than one Mesh Block partly covers an official locality, but all the Mesh Blocks are allocated to other localities based on population

All islands defined within the ASGS have been assigned to a Suburb and Locality. Where an island falls outside the officially defined locality, the island is assigned to the nearest mainland Suburb and Locality.

In ASGS Edition 3, the area of South Australia that is not covered by official localities has been assigned to the Suburbs and Localities SA Remainder. Similarly, the area of the ACT that is not currently covered by official localities has been defined as ACT Remainder. ACT Remainder has been further broken down to approximate official ACT District boundaries which are listed below.

Official locality names are not unique across Australia, or within a State or Territory. Where the same Suburb and Locality name appears in different States or Territories, the State or Territory abbreviation appears in brackets after the name. Where the name is duplicated within a State or Territory, an identifying name based on the Local Government Area name plus the State or Territory abbreviation is used, as shown below. Suburb and Locality names are therefore unique. It should be noted that there is no connection between Suburbs and Localities and Local Government Areas. The Local Government Area name is used only to differentiate between duplicate names within a State or Territory.

Suburbs and Localities are identified by unique five-digit codes consisting of a one-digit state or territory identifier and a four-digit code starting from 0001.

The codes used for ASGS Edition 3 may not match those used in past editions, as codes are assigned alphabetically within each State and Territory, and some Suburb and Locality names have changed since ASGS 2016. A geographic correspondence file enabling the translation of data from ASGS 2016 to ASGS Edition 3 is available in the access and downloads section of this publication.

Non-spatial special purpose codes are included as balancing items. Mesh Blocks allocated to these codes are not part of legally designated Suburbs and Localities.

• 9797 is reserved for cases where people are coded to Migratory, Offshore and Shipping Mesh Blocks.
• 9494 is reserved for cases where people are coded to No usual address Mesh Blocks.
• ZZZZZ is reserved for cases where people are coded to Outside Australia.

Further information can be found in the special purpose codes section of this publication.

Destination Zones are geographic areas built from whole Mesh Blocks. Whole Destination Zones aggregate to form Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2s) and they do not align to Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s). Destination Zones are co-designed with state and territory transport authorities for the analysis of Place of Work Census of Population and Housing data, commuting patterns and the development of transport policy. 2021 Census of Population and Housing Place of Work data is coded to ASGS Edition 3 (2021) Destination Zones. ASGS Edition 3 is the first time Destinations Zones are included in the ASGS Non ABS Structures. Prior to this, Destination Zones were built separately from the ASGS. For more information and to access 2016 Destination Zones, refer to the Census of Population and Housing Destination Zones publication.

There are 9,329 Destination Zones covering the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps. This incorporates 22 non-spatial special purpose codes including a new Outside Australia code. Further information regarding types of special purpose codes can be found in the Destination Zone coding structure section below.

Destination Zones align to Statistical Areas Level 2, which allows data from different sources to be comparable at this level. It also allows Destination Zones to be aggregated to any level of the ASGS that is an aggregation of SA2s. This includes the following ASGS Edition 3 areas:

• Statistical Areas Level 3 (SA3s)
• Statistical Areas Level 4 (SA4s)
• State or Territory (S/T)
• Australia
• Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (GCCSAs)
• Significant Urban Areas (SUAs)
• Tourism Regions (TRs)

The ASGS Edition 3 Destination Zones are based on the 2016 Destination Zones and were initially created by allocating the 2016 Destination Zone boundaries to the 2021 Mesh Block boundaries. New Destination Zones were then created in high growth areas. A draft set of Destination Zones was then supplied to each State and Territory Transport Authority for review and feedback. This feedback was then applied where appropriate.

Destination Zones do not have names.

Destination Zones are identified by unique nine-digit codes consisting of a one-digit state or territory identifier, a four-digit SA2 identifier and a four-digit Destination Zone identifier as shown below. Destination Zone identifiers are unique within each state and territory.

Non-spatial special purposes codes are included as balancing items.

• 9499 is reserved for cases where people are coded to Place of Work No Fixed Address Mesh Blocks.
• 9799 is reserved for cases where people are coded to Migratory, Offshore and Shipping Mesh Blocks (note that this includes Antarctica).
• ZZZZZZZZZ is reserved for cases where people are coded to Outside Australia.

Three special purpose identifiers are reserved for Place of Work not stated, Place of Work not applicable and Overseas visitor. These are Australia wide and as a result, a State or Territory identifier of 0 is used, these are:

• 0&&&&&&&&: Place of Work not stated
• 0@@@@@@@@: Place of Work not applicable
• 0VVVVVVVV: Overseas visitor

Further information can be found in the special purpose codes section of this publication.