Australian State and Territory Abbreviations

10 abbreviations · part of Geography & Place Abbreviations

Australia has six states and two mainland territories, each with a short abbreviation used in postal addresses, news, sport and government. Australia Post asks for the abbreviation in capitals without full stops after the suburb and before the four-digit postcode (Parramatta NSW 2150), while running text often uses mixed-case forms such as Qld, Vic. and Tas.

AbbreviationStands forDescription
ACTAustralian Capital TerritoryFederal territory created in 1911 to hold the national capital, Canberra, which was purpose-built after a 1912 international design competition won by Walter Burley…
FNQFar North QueenslandTropical northern region of Queensland centered on Cairns and extending through Port Douglas, the Daintree Rainforest and the Atherton Tablelands toward Cape York…
NSWNew South WalesAustralia's most populous state, with about 8.3 million people, and the site of the first British colony, founded at Sydney Cove in 1788.
NTNorthern TerritorySparsely populated federal territory in central and northern Australia, with about 250,000 residents and Darwin as its capital.
QLDQueenslandSecond-largest state by area, stretching from the Gold Coast to Cape York, with Brisbane as its capital.
SASouth AustraliaSouthern state with Adelaide as its capital, founded in 1836 as a planned settlement of free colonists rather than convicts.
SEQSouth East QueenslandFast-growing urban region of Queensland that includes Brisbane, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, Ipswich, Logan and Toowoomba, home to about 3.8 million people…
TASTasmaniaIsland state about 240 kilometres south of the mainland across Bass Strait, with Hobart as its capital.
VICVictoriaSmallest mainland state and the second most populous, centered on Melbourne, its capital.
WAWestern AustraliaAustralia's largest state, covering about a third of the continent at roughly 2.5 million square kilometres, with Perth as its capital.

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