In the state of New South Wales, Australia, there are many areas which are commonly known by regional names. Regions are areas that share similar characteristics. These characteristics may be natural such as the Murray River, the coastline, or the Snowy Mountains. Alternatively, the characteristics may be cultural, such as a viticulture land use. New South Wales is divided by numerous regional boundaries, based on different characteristics. In many cases boundaries defined by different agencies are coterminous.
In New South Wales on the third tier of elected government after the federal and state governments are the local government authorities, which are responsible for the local government areas. The types of LGAs in New South Wales are cities, municipalities, shires and regions.
New South Wales has more than 150 local government areas[1] which have an elected council and carry out various functions delegated to them by the Government of New South Wales.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics has moved towards a new Geographical Classification called the Australian Statistical Geography Standard.[2] Geography is now divided into Statistical Area Level 1, 2, 3, and 4. Statistical Area Level 4 is the highest (regions of a State) and Statistical Area Level 1 being the lower (Mesh blocks are more refined but not readily available apart from the Census of Population and Housing).
For older statistics, such as the 2006 Census of Population and Housing, the Australian Bureau of Statistics has multiple regional structures for which it analyses and reports data. These regional structures derive from the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (AGSC). The AGSC defines at the very smallest level, the Census Collection District (CCD). These CCD's aggregate to form the Statistical Local Area (SLA), which is the common base unit for each of the larger regional structures.[4] The boundaries of the SLA are designed to be typically coterminous with Local Government Areas unless the LGA does not fit entirely into a Statistical Subdivision (SSD), or is not of a comparative nature to other LGA's.[4] Bureau of Statistics provides statistics for Local Government Areas, as well as three other statistical structures: Statistical Divisions, Statistical Regions, and Statistical Districts.
Statistical Divisions
Statistical Divisions (SD) form the main structural hierarchy of statistical analysis. These regions are structured to provide a broad range of social, demographic and economic statistics.[4] The basis for the boundary delineations center on socioeconomic criteria.[4] The thirteen divisions for New South Wales are:
Central West, Far West, Hunter, Illawarra, Mid-North Coast, Murray, Murrumbidgee, North Western, Northern, Off-Shore Areas & Migratory, Richmond-Tweed, South Eastern, Sydney[5]
Statistical Regions
The Statistical Region (SR) structure was established in 1986 as a means for labor force analysis.[6]
Sydney: Canterbury-Bankstown, Central Northern Sydney, Central Western Sydney, Eastern Suburbs, Fairfield-Liverpool, Gosford-Wyong, Inner Sydney, Inner Western Sydney, Lower Northern Sydney, North Western Sydney, Northern Beaches, Outer South Western Sydney, St George-Sutherland
Balance of New South Wales: Central West, Far West-North Western, Hunter, Illawarra, Mid-North Coast, Murray-Murrumbidgee, Northern, Richmond-Tweed, South Eastern
Statistical Districts
The Statistical District (SDist) is a non-capital, urban region of one or more adjoining areas, with a population of 25,000 or more. The SDist is defined with consideration of a 20-year growth forecast. The SDist does not need to conform to LGA boundaries or to state territory boundaries.[7] The thirteen Statistical Districts in New South Wales are:
Newcastle, Wollongong, Nowra-Bomaderry, Bathurst-Orange, Lismore, Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie, Tamworth, Dubbo, Wagga Wagga, Albury-Wodonga (New South Wales and Victoria), Gold Coast-Tweed (New South Wales and Queensland), Canberra-Queanbeyan (New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory)
Biogeographic regions
IBRA 6.1 regions map
The Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) is a biogeographic regionalisation of Australia; divided into 89 bioregions and 419 subregions. Each region is a land area made up of a group of interacting ecosystems that are repeated in similar form across the landscape. Regions and subregion cross state and territory boundaries. The bioregions that are located within all or part of New South Wales include:[8]
New South Wales is also informally divided into a smaller number of regions. These regions have no general administrative function or status. Many of them are only vaguely defined, or are defined in different ways for different purposes. For example, departments of the New South Wales government, such as the New South Wales Police Force, or the Ministry of Health, define regions of the State for their own internal administrative purposes. These regions may be defined in completely different ways, as shown by the maps in the references.
The original basis for descriptive regional names in New South Wales is based on the geography of the State.
The State can be divided into four components:
the coastal regions fronting the Tasman Sea in the east of the State
North of Woolgoolga to the Queensland border. Towns include Casino and the tourist town of Byron Bay. Small cities of Tweed Heads lies on the border, adjacent the major Queensland city of Gold Coast and Lismore. The climate is humid subtropical, with mild winters and a warm-hot summers.
Lies between the Mid North Coast and the Central Coast, and includes the valley of the Hunter River (which extends far inland between the Northern Tablelands and the Central West), as well as the Newcastle–Lake Macquarie conurbation, the second largest urban area in NSW.
Generally that region centred around the cities of Bathurst and Orange and the three large towns Cowra, Parkes and Lithgow and other smaller centres which include Oberon, Mudgee, and Forbes, and other small towns and villages,
Lying on the alpine Monaro Plateau, south of the Australian Capital Territory/Canberra and west of the NSW South Coast. Main towns in the region are Cooma, Jindabyne, Berridale and Bombala.
North west refers to its location relative to Sydney and the region is in the northeast of the state, being the slopes and plains to the west of the Northern Tablelands. Mid-sized city of Tamworth and other towns of Moree, Gunnedah, Coonabarabran. A hilly, inland, temperate region.
The Murray is in the central south-west of the State, around the Murray River (which forms the border with Victoria). Albury is the largest city and is the main commercial hub. Other cities and towns being within the Murray include Wentworth, Balranald, Moama, Deniliquin, Holbrook, Corowa and Tocumwal aswell as other small villages and localities within the region.
Lies in the central south of the State which lies around the Murrumbidgee and Lachlan rivers. The borders and definitions of the region are ill-defined - it may or may not include the South West Slopes. Other cities and towns described as being in the Riverina include Wagga Wagga, Griffith, Narrandera, Leeton, Gundagai, Temora, Cootamundra, Hay and other various locations across the Riverina.
Its only city is Broken Hill and other significant towns are Bourke, Brewarrina, Cobar, Ivanhoe and Wentworth. Dry semi-arid climate, becoming a hot desert towards Broken Hill. Aboriginal-majority small town of Wilcannia is the only major settlement in the 450 km between Cobar and Broken Hill.
A broad region within Sydney's metropolitan area that conjoins the North-Westerly, South-West, Central-West, Far-West, Eastern Suburbs, St George-Sutherland, Macarthur-Wollondilly, North Shore, Northern Beaches, Hawkesbury and the Blue Mountains sub-regions of Sydney. Encompassing 33 local government areas, its major districts include Liverpool, Blacktown, Fairfield, Parramatta, Bankstown, Auburn, Penrith, Campbelltown, Hurstville, Cronulla, Mascot, Katoomba, Hornsby, Chatswood and Manly and among other commercial suburbs across Sydney.
The Office of Local Government listed twelve regions:[14]
Regional NSW
Central Coast
Central West
Far West
Hunter
Illawarra
Mid North Coast
Murray
New England
Northern Rivers
Orana
Riverina
South Coast and Southern Inland
Greater Sydney
Greater Metropolitan Sydney
Sydney Surrounds
Local governments in New South Wales have created regional groupings. The NSW Regional Organisations of Councils, typically with names like "Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils" (WSROC) have the main function of lobbying the State Government on various matters, coordinating economic development, joint purchasing between councils and regional promotion. They have no formal administrative function. There are thirteen networks of regional organisation, in addition to the six networks in Greater Metropolitan Sydney:[15]
Regional organisation
Canberra Region
Central Coast
Central NSW
Far North West
Far South West
Hunter
Illawarra Shoalhaven
Mid North Coast
Namoi
New England
Northern Rivers
Orana
Riverina and Murray
Metropolitan organisation
Shore Region
Macarthur Region
Northern Sydney Region
Southern Sydney Region
Western Sydney Region (including Blue Mountains)
Sydney Coastal
Department of Planning
The NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment divides New South Wales into ten regions:
Additionally, a small number of non-geographic specialty networks cover paediatric health, justice and forensic health, and the St' Vincent's Health network.
New South Wales Police Force
The New South Wales Police Force is organised into approximately 81 local area commands, which are aggregated into six regions:
Greater Sydney
Central Metro Region
North West Metro Region
Southwest Metro Region
Regional NSW
Northern Region
Southern Region
Western Region
New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service
The NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service uses the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia bioregions based on ecological factors. These bioregions extend into neighbouring States.
Australia travel
Yet another subdivision of New South Wales into regions is as follows:
Capital Country (similar to Southern Tablelands in other lists)
Northern Rivers
North Coast NSW (which is actually what other lists call the Mid North Coast)
New England North West (Northern Tablelands and North West Slopes)[17]
Central New South Wales
Riverina
The Murray
Outback New South Wales
This classification subdivides the most commonly accepted notion of "The Riverina" into two separate regions, "Riverina" and "The Murray". The "Blue Mountains" is also included as it own distinct region, which is usually considered a district of the state capital "Sydney".
^"Local Government Area populations". Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2006-2007. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 22 April 2009. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
