STANDARD GEOGRAPHIC AREAS
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Regional data collected and disseminated by the ABS are classified to standard geographic areas using the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC). The publication Statistical Geography: Volume 1 - Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) (1216.0) details those standard geographic areas, shows how they relate to one another, and fully explains the terminology associated with the classification. The ABS can also provide maps for all standard geographic areas in either hardcopy or electronic form.
In addition to obtaining regional information for some or any of these standard geographic areas (depending on the geographic availability of the data source you wish to access), the areas can also be amalgamated to form a geographic area specific to your information needs. For example, your area of interest may be created by amalgamating two Statistical Local Areas and one Statistical Division.
The terminology, abbreviations and definitions of areas referred to in StatSearch follow.
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Census Collection District (CD)
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The CD is the smallest geographic area used for collection and dissemination of data. In urban areas, they are usually between 200 and 300 dwellings in size. Rural areas contain fewer dwellings per CD as population densities decrease. CDs are determined or reviewed in the planning stage of the Census of Population and Housing which is undertaken by the ABS every five years. CD boundaries do not cross SLA boundaries.
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Statistical Local Area (SLA)
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SLAs consist of one or more CDs and in aggregate cover the whole of Western Australia/Australia without gaps or overlaps. SLAs are identical to LGAs in Western Australia with the exception of Perth, Wanneroo, Fremantle and Stirling. SLA data can be aggregated to form a LGA.
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Local Government Area (LGA)
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LGAs represent the geographical areas of incorporated local government councils, such as cities (C), towns (T) and shires (S). In Western Australia there are currently 144 LGAs consisting of 19 cities, 13 towns and 112 shires. Some ABS collections exclude data relating to the external LGAs of Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands.
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Statistical Subdivision (SSD)
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SSDs consist of one or more SLAs and are the smaller of two ASGC general purpose regional type geographic units. SSDs are used as an intermediate level, general purpose, regional type geographic unit.
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Statistical Division (SD)
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SDs consist of one or more SSDs and are the largest and most stable general purpose statistical area building blocks of States and Territories.
Note: The term 'capital city' used in this guide refers to the Capital City Statistical Division (e.g. Perth Statistical Division) in each of the States and Territories.
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Statistical Regions (SRs) or Labour Force Regions (LFRs)
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SRs form part of the ASGC Statistical Region Structure and in aggregate cover the whole of Western Australia without gaps or overlaps. Statistical Regions are commonly called Labour Force Regions in the collection of data from the Labour Force Surveys.
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Urban Centre/(Rural) Locality (UC/L)
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An urban centre is a population cluster of 1,000 or more people. A rural locality is a population cluster of between 200 to 999 people. Each urban centre/locality is composed of one or more whole CDs.
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Indigenous geographical classification is hierarchical and built up from CDs. It consists of three levels which can be aggregated to cover the whole of Western Australia. From smallest to largest these classifications are:
- Indigenous Locations (ILOC)
- Indigenous Areas (IARE), and
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) Regions (AREG). There are nine ATSIC regions in Western Australia, which are defined geographic areas, each represented by an ATSIC Regional Council or the Torres Strait Regional Authority.
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Postcode classification is used as a statistical output in a number of ABS products. Postcodes disregard statistical boundaries but, in some cases, may be aggregated to form SLAs, SSDs, SDs and LGAs. Care must be taken when aggregating data by postcode to ensure that clearly definable area output is achieved.
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