1270.0.55.004 - Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS): Volume 4 - Significant Urban Areas, Urban Centres and Localities, Section of State, July 2016  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 09/10/2017   
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DESIGN OF SUA

Significant Urban Areas (SUAs) are defined by combining one or more adjacent Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2s) that include one or more Urban Centres using the following criteria:

    • The SUA should contain at least one Urban Centre defined by the Urban Centre and Locality (UCL) classification with an urban population of 7,000 people or more.
    • The SUA should have an aggregate Urban Centre population of 10,000 people or more.
    • The SA2s included in the SUA should contain related Urban Centres that are less than 5km apart. This is measured along the most direct sealed road route between the edges of the Urban Centre boundaries.
    • The SA2s included in the SUA should all be within the same Labour Market (defined as: a Greater Capital City Statistical Area (GCCSA) or the combined Statistical Area Level 4s (SA4s) of Newcastle and Lake Macquarie and Hunter Valley exc Newcastle as these represent a single labour market).

SA2s not in an SUA are combined to form a 'Not in any significant urban area' region for each State or Territory (S/T). This means that SUAs cover the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps.

The SUA structure does not aggregate to State or Territory, as SUAs may cross State or Territory boundaries.