1270.0.55.003 - Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS): Volume 3 - Non ABS Structures, July 2018  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 31/07/2018   
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This document was added or updated on 05/11/2018.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREAS (LGA)
The 2018 Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) edition of the Local Government Areas (LGAs) structure includes updates to the definitions of local government boundaries that have occurred prior to 1 July 2018 . This updates the 2017 edition of Local Government Areas released in the ASGS Volume 3 - Non ABS Structures, July 2017. It includes gazetted changes to local governments which have occurred in Western Australia.

The ASGS Local Government Areas are an ABS approximation of gazetted local government boundaries as defined by each State and Territory Local Government Department. Local Government Areas cover incorporated areas of Australia only. Incorporated areas are legally designated parts of a State or Territory 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, all of the Australian Capital Territory and the Other Territories. These regions are identified as ‘Unincorporated’ in the ASGS Local Government Areas structure.

More information on local governments can be found at the Australian Local Government Association.

METHODOLOGY
Within the ASGS the boundaries produced for Local Government Areas are constructed from the allocation of whole Mesh Blocks. The ABS will review the Local Government Areas annually and any changes will be applied by the inclusion or exclusion of whole Mesh Blocks.

For the 2018 ASGS edition, there are 562 ABS defined Local Government Areas, including Unincorporated areas.

UPDATED MESH BLOCK ALLOCATION, OCTOBER 2018
In October 2018 the allocation of a Mesh Block to the 2018 Local Government Areas was updated to rectify a misallocation in the original publication that was caused by gaps in information provided to the ABS about Local Government Area changes. This reallocation came into effect for the 2017 edition of the ASGS and has been carried through to the 2018 edition, it impacts two Local Government Areas:
        • Mesh Block 30225042000 was reallocated from Cook (S) to Lockhart River (S) in Queensland. The 2016 Census population of this Mesh Block is 7 people. The updated allocation increases the Lockhart River (S) Census population to 719 (an increase of 1.0%). It decreased the Census population of Cook (S) to 4,166 (a decrease of 0.2%).

The downloads tab of this publication now includes updated:
        • Digital Boundary files in various formats
        • Mesh Block to LGA allocation table
        • Geographic correspondence file
        • TableBuilder recode file that allows users to access data for the updated LGA boundaries through Census Tablebuilder.

ABS data that has been released incorporates this update to the 2018 Local Government Areas.


LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA NAMES
Local Government Area names are abbreviated in this structure. A suffix also indicates the Local Government Area status. Examples of these include:
        • City of Albury: Albury (C)
        • District Council of Copper Coast: Copper Coast (DC)

Where the same Local Government Area name appears in different States or Territories, the State or Territory abbreviation appears in parenthesis after the name. Local Government Area names are therefore unique.

In all States and the Northern Territory each incorporated area has an official status. In this ASGS edition, the various Local Government Area status types include:
        • New South Wales: Cities (C) and Areas (A)
        • Victoria: Cities (C), Rural Cities (RC), Boroughs (B) and Shires (S)
        • Queensland: Cities (C), Shires (S), Towns (T) and Regional Councils (R)
        • South Australia: Cities (C), Rural Cities (RC), Municipalities/Municipal Councils (M), District Councils (DC), Regional Councils (RegC), Towns (T) and Aboriginal Councils (AC)
        • Western Australia: Cities (C), Towns (T) and Shires (S)
        • Tasmania: Cities (C) and Municipalities (M)
        • Northern Territory: Cities (C), Towns (T), Municipalities (M) and Shires (S).


LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA CODING STRUCTURE
Local Government Areas are identified by four digit codes. Codes are unique only within a State or Territory. For unique Australia-wide Local Government Area code identification, the four digit code must be preceded by the State or Territory code. All Local Government Area codes end with the digit 0.

The codes used for the 2018 Local Government Areas may not match those used in 2017 in some instances. Changes to codes occur where a Local Government Area is abolished or has changed significantly. The previous code will be retired and the replacement Local Government Area will be given a new code. A geographic correspondences file enabling the translation of data from 2017 to 2018 LGAs is available in the downloads tab of this publication.

Non-spatial special purpose codes are included as balancing items. Mesh Blocks allocated to these codes are not part of Local Government Area.
        • LGA code 9799 is reserved for cases where people are coded to Migratory, Off-shore and Shipping Mesh Blocks.
        • LGA code 9499 is reserved for cases where people are coded to No usual address Mesh Blocks.

Example:
State NameState CodeLocal Government Area CodeLocal Government Area Name
Queensland331000 Brisbane (C)
Queensland331750 Bulloo (S)
Queensland331820 Bundaberg (R)
Queensland331900 Burdekin (S)
Queensland332080Cairns (R)
Queensland332250 Carpentaria (S)
Queensland332260 Cassowary Coast (R)
Queensland339799 Migratory - Offshore - Shipping (Qld)
Queensland339499 No usual address (Qld)