One suburb or locality of New South Wales, with Geoscape's identifiers for the polygon and the locality, the date the record was created, the locality's name, its class, such as Gazetted Locality, and the state. Its shape is in the GeoParquet, GeoJSON, GeoPackage and PMTiles files. A locality made of separate pieces, such as one with islands, has a row for each piece.

How do these differ from the ABS suburbs and localities?

These follow the official locality boundaries in the NSW cadastre and change each quarter as localities are named or moved. The ABS Suburbs and Localities layer is built from mesh blocks for one census, so its edges differ from these.

Can I use it for a commercial product?

The Commonwealth released Administrative Boundaries under CC BY 4.0. The release notes ask that use is consistent with the Australian Privacy Principles and that adapted material carry the words in the attribution here, which every file carries. Geoscape Australia has not endorsed this site.

Datasets / Commonwealth / DISR / Geoscape suburb and locality boundaries

Suburb and locality boundaries, New South Wales (Geoscape)

Name: Suburb and locality boundaries, New South Wales (Geoscape)
Creator: Department of Industry, Science and Resources
Published: 2026-08-17
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

live

Publisher Department of Industry, Science and ResourcesUpdated quarterlyLicence CC BY 4.0Latest 2026-08-17Rows 4,611Fields 6

The NSW suburb and locality layer of Geoscape Administrative Boundaries, read from the GDA2020 Esri shapefile release on data.gov.au. Each row is one locality polygon with Geoscape's polygon and locality identifiers, its creation date, name, class and state. The newest quarterly release is followed.

Also called: NSW suburb boundaries, NSW locality boundaries GeoJSON, Sydney suburb boundaries shapefile, Geoscape Localities NSW.

Before you use it

What is in each row?: One suburb or locality of New South Wales, with Geoscape's identifiers for the polygon and the locality, the date the record was created, the locality's name, its class, such as Gazetted Locality, and the state. Its shape is in the GeoParquet, GeoJSON, GeoPackage and PMTiles files. A locality made of separate pieces, such as one with islands, has a row for each piece.
How do these differ from the ABS suburbs and localities?: These follow the official locality boundaries in the NSW cadastre and change each quarter as localities are named or moved. The ABS Suburbs and Localities layer is built from mesh blocks for one census, so its edges differ from these.
Can I use it for a commercial product?: The Commonwealth released Administrative Boundaries under CC BY 4.0. The release notes ask that use is consistent with the Australian Privacy Principles and that adapted material carry the words in the attribution here, which every file carries. Geoscape Australia has not endorsed this site.

4,611localities

2022 to 2025years drawn

6fields

12formats

1version

Locality polygons by the year Geoscape created their current record per year, 2022 to 2025. 2021 is not drawn because the rows begin on 24 June 2021. 2026 is not drawn because the rows run to 24 June 2026. The figure is a count of rows from version 2026-08-17, worked out in the build. Nothing else is added.

Open this dashboard in the explorer Download Query

Made for agents

Connect your AI agent

Any agent that connects to publicdata.au/mcp can find this dataset, read its 6 fields, count and filter across all 4,611 rows and diff its versions. Every answer names the version and carries DISR's attribution. No key.

Then ask it: What does Suburb and locality boundaries, New South Wales (Geoscape) 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

The dashboard above, live. Click to filter, add panels, share a link or embed a frame.

Query APIFilter and count from a URL

aggregate?group=date_created&metric=count

Locality polygons by the date Geoscape created their current record: 991 2021-06-24, 624 2026-06-24, 506 2025-09-25, 478 2026-03-21.

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/au-localities-nsw/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/au-localities-nsw/latest/ redirects to the newest version.

https://publicdata.au/d/au-localities-nsw/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/au-localities-nsw/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("au-localities-nsw")
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("au-localities-nsw")
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/au-localities-nsw/v/2026-08-17/data.duckdb' AS au_localities_nsw (READ_ONLY);
SELECT lc_ply_pid, count(*) FROM au_localities_nsw.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/au-localities-nsw/aggregate?group=date_created&metric=count");
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
lc_ply_pid	string	LC_PLY_PID
loc_pid	string	LOC_PID
date_created	date	DT_CREATE
locality_name	string	LOC_NAME
locality_class	string	LOC_CLASS
state	string	STATE

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

A sample of 10 rows

From the latest version, newest first by date created, then in the publisher's order, with every field. A blank cell is shown as null.

lc_ply_pid	loc_pid	date_created	locality_name	locality_class	state
lcppkquWqgQdLbq	loced90abd69559	2026-06-24	Larnook	Gazetted Locality	NSW
lcp6rSf7gcM3nMz	loce057c225ca6d	2026-06-24	Condobolin	Gazetted Locality	NSW
lcpvDqzi8td_yfg	loc7810ba818b78	2026-06-24	Lorn	Gazetted Locality	NSW
lcp0lHZIgGRnCmU	locc7db8f18469c	2026-06-24	Batemans Bay	Gazetted Locality	NSW
lcpBwrNTv-U19bW	loc07e4221a6f10	2026-06-24	Booti Booti	Gazetted Locality	NSW
lcp4SMf7WYHIaS_	loc96e4127f1047	2026-06-24	Berowra Heights	Gazetted Locality	NSW
lcp5FCTC1fxcErq	loc9a09c93a8c4e	2026-06-24	Theresa Park	Gazetted Locality	NSW
lcpSTmKXyDEMbUL	loc6fd694169c65	2026-06-24	Kiama Downs	Gazetted Locality	NSW
lcphcJZB6PxtvDd	locd16a0e11ef7e	2026-06-24	Pittwater	Gazetted Locality	NSW
lcpVS8Nbq0Boc7i	loc8fd76f88db07	2026-06-24	Ben Lomond	Gazetted Locality	NSW

The first row as JSON

As it appears in data.json.

GET https://publicdata.au/d/au-localities-nsw/latest/data.json
{
  "lc_ply_pid": "lcppkquWqgQdLbq",
  "loc_pid": "loced90abd69559",
  "date_created": "2026-06-24",
  "locality_name": "Larnook",
  "locality_class": "Gazetted Locality",
  "state": "NSW"
}

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.

2026-08-17
4,611 rows6 fieldszipea4b90cdea28

versions.json · changes.json · history.tar.zst (81 MB, every version's Parquet and manifest)

Questions

How do I download Suburb and locality boundaries as a CSV file?

Open https://publicdata.au/d/au-localities-nsw/latest/data.csv. It redirects to the newest dated version, which is https://publicdata.au/d/au-localities-nsw/v/2026-08-17/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 Suburb and locality boundaries in Excel?

Yes. https://publicdata.au/d/au-localities-nsw/v/2026-08-17/data.xlsx is a workbook with the 4,611 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/au-localities-nsw/v/2026-08-17/data.csv.gz is the CSV at about a tenth of the size.

What years does Suburb and locality boundaries cover?

The current version covers 2022 to 2025. Each release from DISR becomes a new dated version here, and earlier versions stay online.

How often is Suburb and locality boundaries updated?

DISR releases it quarterly. This site checks the portal every week and adds a dated version when the file changes.

Can I use Suburb and locality boundaries 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 Suburb and locality boundaries?

No. The publisher is Department of Industry, Science and Resources, and its page is https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/nsw-suburb-locality-boundaries-geoscape-administrative-boundaries. 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 Suburb and locality boundaries use?

Shapes in GDA2020 (EPSG:7844), the datum of the shapefile release read. 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.

The publisher releases Geoscape suburb and locality boundaries as 8 files at once, so all 8 tables here share a version date.

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.

Incorporates or developed using Administrative Boundaries © Geoscape Australia licensed by the Commonwealth of Australia under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence (CC BY 4.0). NSW Suburb/Locality Boundaries - Geoscape Administrative Boundaries, sourced 3 October 2026, https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/nsw-suburb-locality-boundaries-geoscape-administrative-boundaries, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Serialised and versioned by National Digital at publicdata.au, https://publicdata.au/d/au-localities-nsw/v/2026-08-17/

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

Department of Industry, Science and Resources 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 2026-08-17 read it from data.gov.au on 3 October 2026.

Also published on

Hugging Faceload_dataset("National-Digital/au-localities-nsw")
Kagglewith a starter notebook
ZenodoDOI 10.5281/zenodo.23123816

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

Department of Industry, Science and Resources publishes this table on data.gov.au. Questions about the content go to the publisher. Questions about the files here go to corrections.

Fetched 3 October 2026. Source SHA-256 ea4b90cdea289570…

Improve this dataset

This page is built from register/au-localities-nsw.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