Australia and State/Territory
Australia is the largest geographic area in the Main Structure of the ASGS. The ASGS uses the geographic definition of Australia described in further detail in the definition of Australia section of this publication.
To align with the ISO 3166 standard, the ASGS Edition 3 code for Geographic Australia is identified by the unique three-character alpha code of AUS which replaces the three-digit numeric code of 036 (also ISO 3166 standard) as used in ASGS 2016.
Australia is broken up into the States and Territories that are separately recognised in the ASGS:
- New South Wales
- Victoria
- Queensland
- South Australia
- Western Australia
- Tasmania
- Northern Territory
- Australian Capital Territory
- Other Territories (Jervis Bay Territory, Territory of Christmas Island, Territory of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Norfolk Island)
The ASGS State and Territory boundaries are a cartographic representation of legally designated boundaries and therefore should not be used for legal purposes. In general, the total area of each State and Territory, including their offshore islands, is used for statistical purposes as a separate geographic area in the ASGS. However, the Jervis Bay Territory, and the Territories of Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Norfolk Island are included as one geographic area at the State and Territory level under the category of Other Territories.
States and Territories consist of one or more Statistical Areas Level 4 (SA4). In aggregate, they cover Australia without gaps or overlaps.
Australia and State/Territory coding structure
States and Territories are identified by unique one-digit codes as follows:
| Code | State or Territory name |
|---|---|
| 1 | New South Wales |
| 2 | Victoria |
| 3 | Queensland |
| 4 | South Australia |
| 5 | Western Australia |
| 6 | Tasmania |
| 7 | Northern Territory |
| 8 | Australian Capital Territory |
| 9 | Other Territories |