Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS)
The Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) is a classification of Australia into a hierarchy of statistical areas. First introduced in 2011, the ASGS replaced the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) that had been used since 1984. The ASGS is a social geography, developed to reflect the location of people and communities, and used for the release and analysis of statistics and other data. The ASGS is updated every 5 years to account for growth and change in Australia's population, economy and infrastructure.
The latest version of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard is Edition 3, with updated geographies published progressively from July 2021 onwards. Edition 3 relates to the 2021 Census of Population and Housing. The Remoteness Structure will be the last part of ASGS Edition 3, as indicated in the table below.
| Section of the ASGS | Expected Release |
|---|---|
| Main Structure and Greater Capital City Statistical Areas | Released July 2021 |
| Indigenous Structure | Released October 2021 |
| Non ABS Structure | First released October 2021 |
| Significant Urban Areas, Urban Centres and Localities, Section of State and Section of State Range | Released October 2022 |
| Remoteness Structure | Released March 2023 |
The ABS previously undertook a review of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). The outcomes of this review are available in this Information Paper. As part of the review the ABS conducted a consultation survey from May to July 2019. A summary of the responses to this consultation is available on the ABS Consultation Hub.
ABS Maps is an online mapping tool to view and compare statistical boundaries.