Geographic Divisions of New South Wales

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Geographic Divisions of New South Wales describes the numerous types of regions that have been established for New South Wales.

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.

Contents

[edit] Local Government

In New South Wales the third tier of elected governemnnt after the federal and state governments is the Local Government Authorities, which are responsible for the Local Government areas. The types of LGA's in New South Wales are cities, municipalities, shires and regions.

[edit] Australian Bureau of Statistics

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has multiple regional structures for which it analyses and reports data. Thse 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 the Statistical Local Area (SLA), which is the common base unit for each of the larger regional structures [1]. 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 [1]. Bureau of Statistics provides statistics for Local Government Areas, as well as three other statistical structures: Statistical Divisions, Statistical Regions, and Statistical Districts.

[edit] Statistical Divisions

Statistical Divisions (SD) form the main structural heirarchy of statistical analysis. These regions are structured to provide a broad range of social, demographic and economic statistics [1]. The basis for the boundary delineations center on socioeconomic criteria [1]. 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 [2]

[edit] Statistical Regions

The Statistical Region (SR) structure was established in 1986 as a means for labor force analysis [3].

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

[edit] 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.[4]. 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)

[edit] Department of State and Regional Development

The Department of State and Regional Development lists fourteen regions in New South Wales.

Australian Capital Region, Central Coast, Central West, Greater Western Sydney, Far West, The Hunter, Illawarra, Mid North Coast, Murray, New England - North West, Northern Rivers, Orana, Riverina, and Sydney [5]

[edit] Department of Local Government

The Department of Local Government lists twelve regions

Central West, Mid North Coast, North Western, Far West, Murray, Richmond Tweed, Hunter, Murrumbidgee, South Eastern, Illawarra, Northern, and Sydney Surrounds [6]

[edit] Department of Planning

The Department of Planning divides New South Wales into seven regions:

Alpine region, Central Coast, Hunter, Illawarra, South Coast, North Coast, Western NSW [7]

[edit] Bureau of Meteorology

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology divides New South Wales into fifteen districts which it groups into four broader regions.[8]

North East: Northern Rivers, Mid North Coast, Hunter, Northern Tablelands
Metropolitan
South East: Illawarra, South Coast, Central Tablelands, Southern Tablelands
Western Inland: North West Slopes and Plains, Central West Slopes and Plains, South West Slopes, Riverina, Lower Western, Upper Western.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d 1216.0 - Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) - Electronic Publication, 2005 Australian Bureau of Statistics website, accessed November 13, 2006
  2. ^ 1216.0 - Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC), 2001: Statistical Divisions Structure Australian Bureau of Statistics, accessed November 12, 2006
  3. ^ 1216.0 - Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC), 2001: Purpose and structure Australian Bureau of Statistics, accessed November 12, 2006
  4. ^ 1216.0 - Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC), 2001: The spatial units Australian Bureau of Statistics, accessed November 12, 2006
  5. ^ Regional New South Wales Department of State and Regional Development website accessed November 13, 2006
  6. ^ Local Areas In NSW - Regional Map Department of Local Government website, accessed November 13, 2006
  7. ^ Regional Planning NSW Department of Planning website, accessed November 13, 2006
  8. ^ Regional map Bureau of Meteorology website, accessed November 12, 2006