Lyla Lindsey
Australia's states and territories are federated administrative divisions ruled by regional governments that constitute the second level of governance between the federal government and local governments. The Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) uses geographic definitions of the country and its states and territories for statistical purposes. The ASGS Edition 3 code for Geographic Australia is AUS, which is a three-character alpha code. The Australian Bureau of Statistics has also defined ASGC codes, which include codes for several levels of subdivisions. The top-level divisions are assigned S/T codes (state or territory). ISO 3166-2 codes are defined for six states and two territories in Australia. Each code consists of two parts, separated by a hyphen. The first part is AU, the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code for Australia, and the second part is two or three letters, which is the conventional abbreviation of the state or territory.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Code for Geographic Australia | AUS |
| Number of States | 6 |
| Number of Territories | 2 |
| Territories with own ISO 3166-1 codes | Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Norfolk Island |
| Territories administered by the Commonwealth government | Jervis Bay Territory, Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Coral Sea Islands |
| Territories with separate country codes | Ashmore and Cartier Islands (XA, XAC), Coral Sea Islands Territory (XC, XCS) |
| Territories included in New South Wales | Lord Howe Island, Ball's Pyramid, Jervis Bay Territory |
| Territories included in Queensland | Islands in the Torres Strait, Saibai Island, Boigu Island, Talbot Islands, Bramble Cay |
| Territory included in Tasmania | Macquarie Island |
| Territory included in Western Australia | Reefs within 400 km |
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What You'll Learn
Australia's ISO 3166-2 codes
ISO 3166 is a system of codes that defines codes for the names of countries and their subdivisions. It has three parts: codes for countries, codes for subdivisions, and formerly used codes. The country codes can be represented as a two-letter code (alpha-2), a three-letter code (alpha-3), or a three-digit numeric code (numeric-3).
ISO 3166-2 is the second part of the ISO 3166 standard and defines codes for the names of the principal subdivisions (e.g. provinces, states, departments, regions) of all countries coded in ISO 3166-1.
ISO 3166-2:AU is the entry for Australia in ISO 3166-2. Each code consists of two parts, separated by a hyphen. The first part is "AU", the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code of Australia. The second part is two or three letters, which is the conventional abbreviation of the state or territory.
Currently, for Australia, ISO 3166-2 codes are defined for six states and two territories. The external territories of Christmas Island, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Norfolk Island are not included in Australia's entry in ISO 3166-2 as they have their own ISO 3166-1 codes.
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State and territory boundaries
Australia is divided into six states and ten federal territories. The six states are New South Wales (including Lord Howe Island), Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, and Tasmania (including Macquarie Island). The ten federal territories include three internal territories: the Australian Capital Territory, the Jervis Bay Territory, and the Northern Territory on the Australian mainland. The seven external territories are the Ashmore and Cartier Islands, the Australian Antarctic Territory, Christmas Island, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, the Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, and Norfolk Island.
Each state is a successor to a historical British colony and has its own constitution, legislature, executive government, judiciary, and law enforcement agencies. They are partially sovereign and self-governing, having ceded some rights to the federal government. The territories are also autonomous, administering local policies and programs, but they are legally subordinate to the federal government.
The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and Northern Territory operate very similarly to the states, with representation in Parliament since 1948 and in the Senate since 1975. However, they do not have constitutional status as states, and their territorial legislation can be overridden by the federal government.
Each state and internal territory (except Jervis Bay Territory) has its own legislature, although the Federal Parliament can override territorial legislation. The Federal High Court of Australia acts as the final court of appeal for all matters and can override any state judiciary. While all states and internal territories have their own judicial system, most external territories are subject to the judiciary and legislature of either a state or internal territory.
The ASGS State and Territory boundaries are a cartographic representation of legally designated boundaries and should not be used for legal purposes. The total area of each state and territory, including offshore islands, is used for statistical purposes as a separate geographic area in the ASGS.
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Australian Standard AS 4212-1994
Australia uses state and territory codes for statistical and addressing purposes. The Australian Standard AS 4212-1994, published on 1 January 1994, is a set of guidelines for the electronic transfer of street address information. The standard includes data items such as person and organisation details and postal delivery services, and can be applied to databases.
The Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) is another set of codes used for geographic representation and statistical purposes. The ASGS uses a unique three-character alpha code, 'AUS', to identify Australia as a geographic area. This code replaces the previous three-digit numeric code of '036'. The ASGS also includes codes for individual states and territories, which are identified by unique one-digit codes. These codes are used to represent the legally designated boundaries of each state and territory, including their offshore islands.
However, it is important to note that the ASGS State and Territory boundaries are not intended for legal purposes. While they are based on legally designated boundaries, they should not be used as a substitute for legal definitions.
In addition to the state and territory codes, Australia also uses postal codes, which are known as postcodes. Postcodes are used to facilitate the efficient delivery of mail and are typically included in postal addresses. Each state and territory in Australia has its own range of postcodes, which are allocated based on geographic areas.
Overall, the use of state and territory codes, including those outlined in Australian Standard AS 4212-1994, plays an important role in various contexts in Australia, including geography, statistics, and postal services. These codes help to identify and organise information related to different regions within the country.
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Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS)
The Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) is the current geographical framework defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) for disseminating geographically classified statistics. The ASGS was introduced on 1 July 2011 and has since replaced the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) in various ABS publications. It offers a more comprehensive, flexible, and consistent way of defining Australia's statistical geography.
The ASGS State and Territory boundaries are a cartographic representation of legally designated boundaries. The total area of each State and Territory, including their offshore islands, is used 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 grouped into one geographic area under the "Other Territories" category.
The ASGS uses the geographic definition of Australia, aligning with the ISO 3166 standard. The code for Geographic Australia is identified by the unique three-character alpha code "AUS," replacing the three-digit numeric code of 036 in the ASGS 2016 edition.
The ASGS consists of various structures, including the Main Structure, Greater Capital City Statistical Areas, Indigenous Structure, Non-ABS Structures, Significant Urban Areas, Urban Centres and Localities, and Remoteness Structure. Mesh Blocks, the smallest geographic region in the ASGS, form the basis for larger regions. Statistical units like households and businesses are assigned to these Mesh Blocks, and the data collected is compiled into ASGS-defined geographic regions for publication, subject to confidentiality restrictions.
The ABS previously undertook a review of the ASGS, conducting a consultation survey from May to July 2019. The outcomes of this review are available to the public.
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Territories with their own country codes
Australia is divided into six states and five territories. The country codes for the territories are defined by ISO 3166-2, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Each code consists of two parts, separated by a hyphen. The first part is "AU", the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code of Australia. The second part is two or three letters, which is the conventional abbreviation of the state or territory.
Four of the external territories of Australia are officially assigned their own country codes in ISO 3166-1. The Ashmore and Cartier Islands and the Coral Sea Islands are covered by Australia, and the Australian Antarctic Territory is covered by Antarctica. The Ashmore and Cartier Islands are uninhabited and are administered as part of the Northern Territory. The Australian Antarctic Territory is governed by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.
The Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Christmas Island, Norfolk Island, and Heard and McDonald Islands are also external territories of Australia. These territories are treated as separate countries by ISO 3166-1 and are not included in the Australian country code. The Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island are located in the Indian Ocean.
The Jervis Bay Territory is an internal territory of Australia, situated on the east coast of New South Wales, occupying a peninsula and Bowen Island. It is legally separate from the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), which is another internal territory of Australia. The ACT and the Northern Territory operate indistinguishably from the states, with representation in Parliament and the Senate, even though they do not have constitutional status as states and their territorial legislation can be overridden.
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Frequently asked questions
State codes are unique identifiers for states and territories in Australia. They are defined by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in the ISO 3166-2 standard. Each code consists of two parts: the first part is the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code for Australia, which is "AU", and the second part is the abbreviation of the state or territory, ranging from two to three letters.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics has defined ASGC codes, which include codes for several levels of subdivisions. The top-level divisions are assigned "S/T" codes (state or territory). The former ISO codes were: CT for Australian Capital Territory, NS for New South Wales, QL for Queensland, TS for Tasmania, and VI for Victoria.
Currently, ISO 3166-2 codes are defined for six states and two territories in Australia. Lesser territories under the administration of the Commonwealth government, such as the Jervis Bay Territory and the Ashmore and Cartier Islands, are not listed. The ISO 3166-2 code for geographic Australia is a three-character alpha code, "AUS", which replaced the three-digit numeric code of 036.
