One of the Statistical Areas Level 2, the ABS's main unit for census and regional statistics, about 10,000 people each, with its code, name and the other columns the ABS publishes, and its shape in the GeoParquet, GeoJSON, GeoPackage and PMTiles files. The CSV, Excel and other table files hold the columns without the shape.

What coordinate system are the shapes in?

GDA2020 (EPSG:7844), the file the ABS publishes in that datum. GDA2020 differs from WGS84 by well under a metre, so web maps can use it as it is.

How does this join to other datasets here?

Each dataset here with point coordinates carries the code and name of the area each point falls in, matched by location against this layer. Those columns name the layer and its version in the dataset's schema, and the ABS's attribution is in every file.

Datasets / Commonwealth / ABS / ABS boundaries

Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2) boundaries, 2021, Australia

Name: Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2) boundaries, 2021, Australia
Creator: Australian Bureau of Statistics
Published: 2021-06-25
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

live

Publisher Australian Bureau of StatisticsUpdated when the ABS releases a new editionLicence CC BY 4.0Latest 2021-06-25Rows 2,473Fields 14

The ABS digital boundary file SA2_2021_AUST_SHP_GDA2020.zip, from the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Edition 3. Each row is one area with the columns the ABS publishes. The ABS adds rows for no usual address, migratory, offshore and shipping, which have no shape. They are kept, with a null geometry, so every ABS code is in the table.

Also called: ABS SA2 boundaries, Statistical Area Level 2 shapefile, SA2 2021 digital boundary file, SA2 GeoJSON Australia.

Part of ABS boundaries, 6 tables the publisher releases together: Local Government Area (council) boundaries, 2025, Australia, Suburb and locality boundaries, 2021, Australia, Postcode (postal area) boundaries, 2021, Australia, State electorate boundaries, 2025, Australia, Federal electorate boundaries, 2025, Australia.

Before you use it

What is in each row?: One of the Statistical Areas Level 2, the ABS's main unit for census and regional statistics, about 10,000 people each, with its code, name and the other columns the ABS publishes, and its shape in the GeoParquet, GeoJSON, GeoPackage and PMTiles files. The CSV, Excel and other table files hold the columns without the shape.
What coordinate system are the shapes in?: GDA2020 (EPSG:7844), the file the ABS publishes in that datum. GDA2020 differs from WGS84 by well under a metre, so web maps can use it as it is.
How does this join to other datasets here?: Each dataset here with point coordinates carries the code and name of the area each point falls in, matched by location against this layer. Those columns name the layer and its version in the dataset's schema, and the ABS's attribution is in every file.

Made for agents

Connect your AI agent

Any agent that connects to publicdata.au/mcp can find this dataset, read its 14 fields, count and filter across all 2,473 rows and diff its versions. Every answer names the version and carries ABS's attribution. No key.

Then ask it: What does Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2) boundaries, 2021, Australia hold, and what changed in the newest version?

claude mcp add --transport http publicdata https://publicdata.au/mcp

One command. No key, no account, no sign-up.

https://publicdata.au/mcp

Streamable HTTP. Cursor, VS Code or any client that connects to a remote MCP server.

Using https://publicdata.au/llms.txt, how many people died on Queensland roads in 2025, by month?

For an assistant that reads the web and has no connector.

ExploreChart every row in your browser

A dashboard over every row. Click to filter, add panels, share a link or embed a frame.

Query APIFilter and count from a URL

aggregate?group=gccsa_2021_name&metric=count&area_sqkm=gt.0

SA2s in each greater capital city area and the rest of each state: 373 Greater Sydney, 361 Greater Melbourne, 300 Rest of Qld, 269 Rest of NSW.

Download it as Excel, CSV, JSON and 9 more formats

Pick a format and a version. Excel is picked first because it opens in the tools most offices have. The URL is yours to keep. A dated version never changes.

Format

Version "Latest" redirects to the newest version and will change when the publisher releases again. A dated version never changes.

https://publicdata.au/d/abs-sa2-2021/latest/data.xlsx

Download

In your own tools

Use it in Excel, R, Python and more

Excel and Power BI read the CSV from its address and refresh from it. The R and Python packages take any dataset on this site by its slug, so a new dataset needs no new release. The DuckDB file attaches read-only over HTTPS, and a query reads only the blocks it touches.

The dated URL in the code never changes. https://publicdata.au/d/abs-sa2-2021/latest/ redirects to the newest version.

https://publicdata.au/d/abs-sa2-2021/latest/data.csv

In Excel choose Data, then From Web, and paste this address. Excel keeps it, so Refresh All reads the newest version. A sheet holds about a million rows; past that, load the query to the Data Model.

https://publicdata.au/d/abs-sa2-2021/latest/data.csv

In Power BI Desktop choose Get data, then Web, paste this address and choose Anonymous when asked how to sign in. A scheduled refresh reads the same address, so the report follows each new version.

library(publicdataau)
df <- pd_read("abs-sa2-2021")
pd_attribution(df)

install.packages("publicdataau"). pd_read() fetches the version's Parquet file; pd_rows() and pd_aggregate() ask the query API instead, and pd_connect() attaches the DuckDB file.

import publicdata_au as pd_au
df = pd_au.read("abs-sa2-2021")
df.attrs["publicdata"]["attribution"]

pip install "publicdata-au[pandas]". read() fetches the version's Parquet file; rows() and aggregate() ask the query API, and connect() attaches the DuckDB file.

INSTALL httpfs; LOAD httpfs;
ATTACH 'https://publicdata.au/d/abs-sa2-2021/v/2021-06-25/data.duckdb' AS abs_sa2_2021 (READ_ONLY);
SELECT sa2_2021_code, count(*) FROM abs_sa2_2021.records GROUP BY 1 ORDER BY 2 DESC;

The DuckDB file attaches read-only over HTTPS and only the blocks a query touches are read. Parquet works the same way: FROM read_parquet(url).

const res = await fetch("https://publicdata.au/api/v1/datasets/abs-sa2-2021/aggregate?group=gccsa_2021_name&metric=count&area_sqkm=gt.0");
const { rows, publicdata } = await res.json();
console.log(rows, publicdata.attribution);

The query API answers a page on any site as well as Node, with no key. It returns the rows and the attribution the licence asks for.

What is in it

Column names are made snake_case and the publisher's original header is kept beside each one. Blank cells are null. Nothing is added, removed, ranked or summarised.

Field	Type	Publisher's header
sa2_2021_code	string	SA2_CODE21
sa2_2021_name	string	SA2_NAME21
change_flag	string	CHG_FLAG21
change_label	string	CHG_LBL21
sa3_2021_code	string	SA3_CODE21
sa3_2021_name	string	SA3_NAME21
sa4_2021_code	string	SA4_CODE21
sa4_2021_name	string	SA4_NAME21
gccsa_2021_code	string	GCC_CODE21
gccsa_2021_name	string	GCC_NAME21
state_code	string	STE_CODE21
state_name	string	STE_NAME21
area_sqkm	number	AREASQKM21
loci_uri	string	LOCI_URI21

Download this table as a data dictionary (Excel), or read it as a Frictionless Table Schema at schema.json. The key is sa2_2021_code.

The first 10 rows

From the latest version, in the publisher's order, with every field. A blank cell is shown as null.

sa2_2021_code	sa2_2021_name	change_flag	change_label	sa3_2021_code	sa3_2021_name	sa4_2021_code	sa4_2021_name	gccsa_2021_code	gccsa_2021_name	state_code	state_name	area_sqkm	loci_uri
101021007	Braidwood	0	No change	10102	Queanbeyan	101	Capital Region	1RNSW	Rest of NSW	1	New South Wales	3418.3525	http://linked.data.gov.au/dataset/asgsed3/SA2/101021007
101021008	Karabar	0	No change	10102	Queanbeyan	101	Capital Region	1RNSW	Rest of NSW	1	New South Wales	6.9825	http://linked.data.gov.au/dataset/asgsed3/SA2/101021008
101021009	Queanbeyan	0	No change	10102	Queanbeyan	101	Capital Region	1RNSW	Rest of NSW	1	New South Wales	4.762	http://linked.data.gov.au/dataset/asgsed3/SA2/101021009
101021010	Queanbeyan - East	0	No change	10102	Queanbeyan	101	Capital Region	1RNSW	Rest of NSW	1	New South Wales	13.0032	http://linked.data.gov.au/dataset/asgsed3/SA2/101021010
101021012	Queanbeyan West - Jerrabomberra	0	No change	10102	Queanbeyan	101	Capital Region	1RNSW	Rest of NSW	1	New South Wales	13.6748	http://linked.data.gov.au/dataset/asgsed3/SA2/101021012
101021610	Googong	1	New	10102	Queanbeyan	101	Capital Region	1RNSW	Rest of NSW	1	New South Wales	6.9164	http://linked.data.gov.au/dataset/asgsed3/SA2/101021610
101021611	Queanbeyan Surrounds	1	New	10102	Queanbeyan	101	Capital Region	1RNSW	Rest of NSW	1	New South Wales	3047.7057	http://linked.data.gov.au/dataset/asgsed3/SA2/101021611
101031013	Bombala	0	No change	10103	Snowy Mountains	101	Capital Region	1RNSW	Rest of NSW	1	New South Wales	3990.144	http://linked.data.gov.au/dataset/asgsed3/SA2/101031013
101031014	Cooma	0	No change	10103	Snowy Mountains	101	Capital Region	1RNSW	Rest of NSW	1	New South Wales	103.6371	http://linked.data.gov.au/dataset/asgsed3/SA2/101031014
101031015	Cooma Surrounds	3	Name change	10103	Snowy Mountains	101	Capital Region	1RNSW	Rest of NSW	1	New South Wales	6251.0158	http://linked.data.gov.au/dataset/asgsed3/SA2/101031015

The first row as JSON

As it appears in data.json.

GET https://publicdata.au/d/abs-sa2-2021/latest/data.json
{
  "sa2_2021_code": "101021007",
  "sa2_2021_name": "Braidwood",
  "change_flag": "0",
  "change_label": "No change",
  "sa3_2021_code": "10102",
  "sa3_2021_name": "Queanbeyan",
  "sa4_2021_code": "101",
  "sa4_2021_name": "Capital Region",
  "gccsa_2021_code": "1RNSW",
  "gccsa_2021_name": "Rest of NSW",
  "state_code": "1",
  "state_name": "New South Wales",
  "area_sqkm": 3418.3525,
  "loci_uri": "http://linked.data.gov.au/dataset/asgsed3/SA2/101021007"
}

Query it without downloading

The query API returns only the rows you ask for, as JSON, NDJSON or CSV, from the same typed rows as the files. It needs no key. Build a query here and run it, then copy the URL or the code into your own work.

Try rows or aggregate for this dataset. The query builder needs JavaScript.

How filters work

Each filter is field=operator.value in the query string, and every filter must match. A number or date field compares as a number or date, and a text field compares as text. Values are case-sensitive except with ilike. Prefix not. to negate a filter, as not.eq.value.

Operator	What it matches
eq.value	Equal to the value.
neq.value	Not equal to the value. A blank cell does not match.
gt.value	Greater than the value.
gte.value	Greater than or equal to the value.
lt.value	Less than the value.
lte.value	Less than or equal to the value.
like.text	Matches a pattern where * stands for any run of characters. Case-sensitive.
ilike.text	The same as like, ignoring case.
in.(a,b,c)	Equal to any value in the list. A value cannot contain a comma.
is.null	Blank in the source, or suppressed by the publisher.

Parameter	What it does
select	Fields to return, comma-separated. Every field when absent.
order	field.asc or field.desc, comma-separated. The publisher's row order when absent.
limit	Rows per page, 1 to 10,000. 100 when absent.
offset	Rows to skip. The next URL in each answer sets it for you.
group	On aggregate, fields to group by, comma-separated.
metric	On aggregate, count, sum.field, avg.field, min.field or max.field, comma-separated. count when absent.
format	json, ndjson or csv. JSON carries the provenance header, and the others carry it in response headers.

Without a version the API answers from the newest loaded version, and that answer changes when the publisher releases again. Put versions/<date>/ before rows or aggregate for an answer that never changes. /api/v1/datasets/<slug>/versions lists the loaded versions. The 1 newest version is loaded; versions lists them.

The API allows 60 requests in 10 seconds from one address. Above that it answers 429 for 10 seconds with a Retry-After header, a RateLimit-Policy header and a JSON body that gives the limit. Every API answer carries the same RateLimit-Policy. A client should wait the Retry-After seconds, or read the files, which have no limit. openapi.json describes this dataset's query paths for client generators and agents.

https://publicdata.au/mcp is a remote MCP server over Streamable HTTP with the same tools, defined in the same place, so a tool added to the pages is added here too. It needs no key and no account. The row tools are held to the query API's limit of 60 queries in 10 seconds from one address, and each call is two queries because it also counts the matching rows. Add it to Claude Code with claude mcp add --transport http publicdata https://publicdata.au/mcp, add the URL in Claude as a custom connector, or give it to any client that connects to remote MCP servers. Each queryable dataset is also a resource at https://publicdata.au/d/<slug>/fields.json, which lists its fields with their types, the publisher's descriptions, their ranges and the values they hold, so an agent can read a dataset's shape before it writes a query.

What changed

One version for every release the publisher has made since this site started following the dataset. The date is the day the file changed on the portal.

2021-06-25
2,473 rows14 fieldszipc4dc5bac209f

versions.json · changes.json · history.tar.zst (62 MB, every version's Parquet and manifest)

Questions

How do I download Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2) boundaries, 2021 as a CSV file?

Open https://publicdata.au/d/abs-sa2-2021/latest/data.csv. It redirects to the newest dated version, which is https://publicdata.au/d/abs-sa2-2021/v/2021-06-25/data.csv today. The same path serves Excel, JSON, GeoJSON, Parquet, SQLite, DuckDB, GeoPackage, PMTiles, NDJSON, Arrow. A dated URL never changes, so use it when the file must stay the same.

Can I open Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2) boundaries, 2021 in Excel?

Yes. https://publicdata.au/d/abs-sa2-2021/v/2021-06-25/data.xlsx is a workbook with the 2,473 rows on a records sheet, the field list on a second sheet and the provenance on a third. The CSV also opens in Excel. https://publicdata.au/d/abs-sa2-2021/v/2021-06-25/data.csv.gz is the CSV at about a tenth of the size.

How often is Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2) boundaries, 2021 updated?

ABS releases it when the ABS releases a new edition. This site checks the portal every week and adds a dated version when the file changes.

Can I use Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2) boundaries, 2021 commercially?

Yes. CC BY 4.0 allows commercial use, redistribution and derived works as long as the attribution is kept. The attribution string is in this page's side column and inside every file.

Is this the official source for Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2) boundaries, 2021?

No. The publisher is Australian Bureau of Statistics, and its page is https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/standards/australian-statistical-geography-standard-asgs/edition-3-july-2021-june-2026/access-and-downloads/digital-boundary-files. This site republishes the publisher's file without changing its content. The original sits beside every version as source.zip with its SHA-256, so the two can be compared.

What coordinate system does Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2) boundaries, 2021 use?

Shapes in GDA2020 (EPSG:7844), as the ABS publishes them. The GeoJSON file uses GDA2020 as well, which differs from the WGS84 GeoJSON expects by well under a metre.

What this site did to the data. Cells were typed, headers were renamed and the encoding was made UTF-8. Rows were left alone. The publisher's file sits beside every version as source.zip so the change can be checked.

ABS boundaries is 6 tables here, and each takes its version date from its own file.

Attribution and citation

The licence requires the publisher's attribution. We ask that you also name publicdata.au and link to the version you used.

Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Edition 3, SA2_2021_AUST_SHP_GDA2020.zip, sourced 1 October 2026, https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/standards/australian-statistical-geography-standard-asgs/edition-3-july-2021-june-2026/access-and-downloads/digital-boundary-files, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Serialised and versioned by National Digital at publicdata.au, https://publicdata.au/d/abs-sa2-2021/v/2021-06-25/

The attribution alone is inside every file. Harvard is the author-date form a report or a brief asks for. Paste the HTML on a web page so the links carry.

Licence record

Australian Bureau of Statistics states the licence, CC BY 4.0, on its own page, which was read and recorded here on 1 October 2026.

Every fetch reads the licence again and stops when it has changed. The fetch that made version 2021-06-25 read it from www.abs.gov.au on 1 October 2026.

Also published on

Hugging Faceload_dataset("National-Digital/abs-sa2-2021")
Kagglewith a starter notebook
ZenodoDOI 10.5281/zenodo.23089025

Each copy carries the same attribution and links back to this page.

For agents and tools

datapackage.jsonFrictionless data package pointing at the latest version
schema.jsonTable Schema for every field
schema.xlsxthe same field list as an Excel data dictionary
versions.jsonevery version with date, rows, fields and hash
changes.jsondiff for every consecutive pair
manifest.jsonwhere the bytes came from and when
Query APIfiltered rows and counts without a download
openapi.jsonOpenAPI 3.1 for this dataset's query paths
explore/charts and dashboards in the browser, shareable and embeddable
index.mdthis page as Markdown

This page carries a schema.org Dataset record and is listed in /.well-known/ard.json and /catalog.json.

Source

Australian Bureau of Statistics publishes this table on www.abs.gov.au. Questions about the content go to the publisher. Questions about the files here go to corrections.

Fetched 1 October 2026. Source SHA-256 c4dc5bac209f0117…

Improve this dataset

This page is built from register/abs-sa2-2021.yaml on GitHub. Anyone can propose a fix to it, such as a clearer description or a field the publisher renamed, as a pull request.

Report a file that differs from the publisher's · How to contribute