--- title: Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2) boundaries, 2021, Australia resource: https://publicdata.au/d/abs-sa2-2021/ publisher: Australian Bureau of Statistics licence: CC BY 4.0 licence_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ version: 2021-06-25 rows: 2473 fields: 14 source: https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/standards/australian-statistical-geography-standard-asgs/edition-3-july-2021-june-2026/access-and-downloads/digital-boundary-files/SA2_2021_AUST_SHP_GDA2020.zip source_sha256: c4dc5bac209f01177eaa0715d27f32cdb09ab5784fb82979741556d2f8e6d148 language: en-AU operator: National Digital not_endorsed: true --- # Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2) boundaries, 2021, Australia The 2,454 Statistical Areas Level 2 of the ABS's Australian Statistical Geography Standard, Edition 3 (2021), with their SA3, SA4, capital city and state, as shapes in GDA2020. Published by Australian Bureau of Statistics under CC BY 4.0 and republished here in other formats, with cells typed and suppressed values made null. Australian Bureau of Statistics has not endorsed this site. Also called: ABS SA2 boundaries, Statistical Area Level 2 shapefile, SA2 2021 digital boundary file, SA2 GeoJSON Australia. ## Download Latest version, redirects to `https://publicdata.au/d/abs-sa2-2021/v/2021-06-25/`: - csv: https://publicdata.au/d/abs-sa2-2021/latest/data.csv (519 KB) - xlsx: https://publicdata.au/d/abs-sa2-2021/latest/data.xlsx (198 KB) - json: https://publicdata.au/d/abs-sa2-2021/latest/data.json (1.0 MB) - geojson: https://publicdata.au/d/abs-sa2-2021/latest/data.geojson (177 MB) - parquet: https://publicdata.au/d/abs-sa2-2021/latest/data.parquet (62 MB) - sqlite: https://publicdata.au/d/abs-sa2-2021/latest/data.sqlite (561 KB) - duckdb: https://publicdata.au/d/abs-sa2-2021/latest/data.duckdb (300 KB) - gpkg: https://publicdata.au/d/abs-sa2-2021/latest/data.gpkg (73 MB) - pmtiles: https://publicdata.au/d/abs-sa2-2021/latest/data.pmtiles (9.7 MB) - ndjson: https://publicdata.au/d/abs-sa2-2021/latest/data.ndjson (1.0 MB) - arrow: https://publicdata.au/d/abs-sa2-2021/latest/data.arrow (133 KB) - csv.gz: https://publicdata.au/d/abs-sa2-2021/latest/data.csv.gz (61 KB) Pinned version 2021-06-25: `https://publicdata.au/d/abs-sa2-2021/v/2021-06-25/data.`. Dated versions never change. ## Query 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. Rows: https://publicdata.au/api/v1/datasets/abs-sa2-2021/rows. Counts and sums: https://publicdata.au/api/v1/datasets/abs-sa2-2021/aggregate. - Rows: https://publicdata.au/api/v1/datasets/abs-sa2-2021/rows?area_sqkm=gt.0&limit=5 - Aggregate: https://publicdata.au/api/v1/datasets/abs-sa2-2021/aggregate?group=gccsa_2021_name&metric=count&area_sqkm=gt.0 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`. Operators: `eq.value`, `neq.value`, `gt.value`, `gte.value`, `lt.value`, `lte.value`, `like.*text*`, `ilike.*text*`, `in.(a,b,c)`, `is.null`. - `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//` before `rows` or `aggregate` for an answer that never changes. `/api/v1/datasets//versions` lists the loaded versions. 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 for this dataset: https://publicdata.au/d/abs-sa2-2021/openapi.json ## Explore Charts and dashboards in the browser: https://publicdata.au/d/abs-sa2-2021/explore/. A dashboard can be shared as a link or embedded. ## Fields | field | type | publisher's header | note | |---|---|---|---| | `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 | | Key: `sa2_2021_code`. ## Versions - 2021-06-25: 2473 rows, 14 fields, sha256 c4dc5bac209f. https://publicdata.au/d/abs-sa2-2021/v/2021-06-25/ Machine-readable: https://publicdata.au/d/abs-sa2-2021/versions.json, https://publicdata.au/d/abs-sa2-2021/changes.json, https://publicdata.au/d/abs-sa2-2021/datapackage.json, https://publicdata.au/d/abs-sa2-2021/schema.json, https://publicdata.au/d/abs-sa2-2021/history.tar.zst ## Part of ABS boundaries - [Local Government Area (council) boundaries, 2025, Australia](https://publicdata.au/d/abs-lga-2025/) - [Suburb and locality boundaries, 2021, Australia](https://publicdata.au/d/abs-suburbs-localities-2021/) - [Postcode (postal area) boundaries, 2021, Australia](https://publicdata.au/d/abs-postal-areas-2021/) - [State electorate boundaries, 2025, Australia](https://publicdata.au/d/abs-state-electoral-divisions-2025/) - [Federal electorate boundaries, 2025, Australia](https://publicdata.au/d/abs-federal-electoral-divisions-2025/) ## Same subject, other publishers - [Suburb and locality boundaries, New South Wales (Geoscape)](https://publicdata.au/d/au-localities-nsw/) (Cth) - [Suburb and locality boundaries, Victoria (Geoscape)](https://publicdata.au/d/au-localities-vic/) (Cth) - [Suburb and locality boundaries, South Australia (Geoscape)](https://publicdata.au/d/au-localities-sa/) (Cth) - [Suburb and locality boundaries, Western Australia (Geoscape)](https://publicdata.au/d/au-localities-wa/) (Cth) - [Suburb and locality boundaries, Tasmania (Geoscape)](https://publicdata.au/d/au-localities-tas/) (Cth) - [Commonwealth Heritage List places, boundaries, Australia](https://publicdata.au/d/au-commonwealth-heritage-list-places/) (Cth) - [Suburb and locality boundaries, Northern Territory (Geoscape)](https://publicdata.au/d/au-localities-nt/) (Cth) - [National Heritage List places, boundaries, Australia](https://publicdata.au/d/au-national-heritage-list-places/) (Cth) - [Suburb and locality boundaries, Australian Capital Territory (Geoscape)](https://publicdata.au/d/au-localities-act/) (Cth) - [Suburb and locality boundaries, Other Territories (Geoscape)](https://publicdata.au/d/au-localities-ot/) (Cth) - [Suburb and locality boundaries, South Australia](https://publicdata.au/d/sa-suburb-boundaries/) (SA) - [Locality boundaries, Queensland](https://publicdata.au/d/qld-locality-boundaries/) (Qld) ## Attribution and citation 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. The licence requires the publisher's attribution. We ask that you also name publicdata.au and link to the version you used. Plain text: 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/ Harvard: Australian Bureau of Statistics (2021) Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2) boundaries, 2021, Australia, version 2021-06-25 [data set], CC BY 4.0, sourced 1 October 2026. Serialised and versioned by National Digital at publicdata.au. Available at: https://publicdata.au/d/abs-sa2-2021/v/2021-06-25/ Markdown: Data: [ABS boundaries](https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/standards/australian-statistical-geography-standard-asgs/edition-3-july-2021-june-2026/access-and-downloads/digital-boundary-files), Australian Bureau of Statistics, [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), sourced 1 October 2026. Files: [publicdata.au](https://publicdata.au/d/abs-sa2-2021/v/2021-06-25/) by [National Digital](https://nationaldigital.com.au/). ## 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 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. ## What this site did to the data Cells were typed, headers were renamed to snake_case and the encoding was made UTF-8. Rows were left alone. Nothing is derived. The publisher's file is beside every version as `source.zip`. ## Improve this dataset This page is built from [register/abs-sa2-2021.yaml](https://github.com/National-Digital/publicdata.au/blob/main/register/abs-sa2-2021.yaml) on GitHub, and a fix to it is welcome as a pull request. https://publicdata.au/contribute/ explains how.