Statistical areas
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SA2 presented in the Australian Child and Youth Wellbeing Atlas are based on the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS): Volume 1 - Main Structure and Greater Capital City Statistical Areas, July 2016
Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2) are medium-sized geographical areas that represent communities that interacts together socially and economically. The SA2 is the smallest area at which Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) non-Census and Intercensal statistics can be released.
SA2s have an average population of about 10,000 persons (range 3,000 to 25,000 persons). SA2s in remote and regional areas generally have smaller populations than those in urban areas.
Where possible, SA2s are designed around whole suburbs or rural localities. In regional and remote areas, areas with smaller populations may be combined to form one SA2. In the major cities, SA2s often represent single suburbs.
In large urban areas, SA2s are named for the gazetted suburbs that comprise them:
where a SA2 is made from a single suburb, it will retain the name of the suburb (e.g., Ellenbrook)
where a single large suburb is split into more than one SA2, it will retain the name of the suburb and a geographic identifier (e.g., Canning Vale – East)
where a SA2 is made up from 2 or 3 suburbs, then the SA2 name is a concatenation of the suburb names (e.g., Midland-Guildford)
where a SA2 is made up of 4 or more suburbs it will be named for the larger or more prominent suburbs, or given a local identifier (e.g., Gingin-Dandaragan)
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The Statistical Areas 3 (SA3) presented in the Child Development Atlas are based on the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS): Volume 1 - Main Structure and Greater Capital City Statistical Areas, July 2016.
Statistical Areas Level 3 (SA3) are geographical areas that are made up of neighbouring Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2).
SA3s generally have a population of between 30,000 and 130,000 people. They often closely align to Local Government Areas. In outer regional and remote areas, SA3s represent areas which are widely recognised as having a distinct identity and similar social and economic characteristics.
SA3s are named according to the areas they represent:
where a SA3 represents a well-known regional area it is named after that region (e.g., Goldfields)
where a SA3 represents the functional area of a regional city it is named after that city (e.g., Bunbury)
where a SA3 represents an economic hub within a major city it is generally named to reflect that hub (e.g., Wanneroo)
where a SA3 represents a group of related suburbs it is named after one or more of those suburbs that reflect its location and extent (e.g., Belmont-Victoria Park)
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The Statistical Areas 4 (SA4) presented in the Australian Child and Youth Wellbeing Atlas are based on the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS): Volume 1 - Main Structure and Greater Capital City Statistical Areas, July 2016.
Statistical Areas 4 (SA4) are geographical areas that are made up of neighbouring Statistical Areas Level 3 (SA3s).
SA4s generally have a population of between 100,000 and 500,000. In regional areas, SA4s tend to have populations closer to the minimum (100,000 - 300,000). In metropolitan areas, the SA4s tend to have larger populations (300,000 - 500,000). There are 107 SA4 regions covering the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps.
SA4s are named according to the areas they represent:
where a SA4 represents a labour market of a major city it is named after that city (e.g., Bendigo)
where a SA4 represents an employment centre within a larger city it is generally named to reflect both the larger city and the employment centre or part of the city that it represents (e.g., Melbourne - Inner South; Sydney – Blacktown)
where a SA4 represents a collection of labour markets in regional areas it is named using either a description of that part of the State and Territory or after one or more well-known regional areas that it closely replicates (e.g., Latrobe – Gippsland)
where this name does not identify it within Australia, it is generally preceded by the State and Territory name (e.g., Western Australia - Wheat Belt; Queensland – Outback)
The Other Territories of Jervis Bay, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Christmas Island and Norfolk Island are together represented by a single SA4 in the 2016 ASGS.
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The Local Government Areas used in the Australian Child and Youth Wellbeing Atlas are based on the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS): Volume 3 - Non ABS Structures, June 2020.
Local Government Areas (LGAs) are an ABS approximation of officially gazetted LGAs as defined by State and Local Government departments. LGAs cover incorporated areas of Australia, which are geographical areas that are the responsibility of incorporated local governing bodies.