Australia States and territories[ 1]
The first one or two numbers usually show the state or territory that the postcode belongs to
2-digit postcode areas Australia
State/Territory | Abbreviation | Postcode range |
New South Wales | NSW | 1000—1999 (LVRs and PO Boxes only)
2000—2599
2619—2899
2921—2999 |
Australian Capital Territory | ACT | 0200—0299 (LVRs and PO Boxes only)
2600—2618
2900—2920 |
Victoria | VIC | 3000—3999
8000—8999 (LVRs and PO Boxes only) |
Queensland | QLD | 4000—4999
9000—9999 (LVRs and PO Boxes only) |
South Australia | SA | 5000—5799
5800—5999 (LVRs and PO Boxes only) |
Western Australia | WA | 6000—6797
6800—6999 (LVRs and PO Boxes only) |
Tasmania | TAS | 7000—7799
7800—7999 (LVRs and PO Boxes only) |
Northern Territory | NT | 0800—0899
0900—0999 (LVRs and PO Boxes only) |
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Sometimes near the state and territory borders, Australia Post finds it easier to nd mail through a nearby post office that is across the border:
Postcode | Locality | State derived from
Postcode ranges | Actual State
for this locality |
0872 | ALPURRURULAM | NT | QLD |
0872 | ERNABELLA | NT | SA |
0872 | FREGON | NT | SA |
0872 | INDULKANA | NT | SA |
0872 | MIMILI | NT | SA |
0872 | NGAANYATJARRA-GILES | NT | WA |
0872 | GIBSON DESERT NORTH | NT | WA |
0872 | GIBSON DESERT SOUTH | NT | WA |
2540 | HMAS CRESWELL | NSW | Jervis Bay Territory |
2540 | JERVIS BAY | NSW | Jervis Bay Territory |
2611 | BRINDABELLA | ACT | NSW |
2611 | URIARRA | ACT | NSW |
2620 | HUME | NSW | ACT |
2620 | KOWEN FOREST | NSW | ACT |
2620 | OAKS ESTATE | NSW | ACT |
2620 | THARWA | NSW | ACT |
2620 | TOP NAAS | NSW | ACT |
3500 | PARINGI | VIC | NSW |
3585 | MURRAY DOWNS | VIC | NSW |
3586 | MALLAN | VIC | NSW |
3644 | BAROOGA | VIC | NSW |
3644 | LALALTY | VIC | NSW |
3707 | BRINGENBRONG | VIC | NSW |
| | | |
The postcodes do not follow the rule above:
2406: | ∙ MUNGINDI, NSW ∙ WEEMELAH, NSW ∙ MUNGINDI, QLD |
2540: | ∙ HMAS CRESWELL, ACT ∙ JERVIS BAY, ACT ∙ many other localities in NSW |
2611: | ∙ BIMBERI, NSW ∙ BRINDABELLA, NSW ∙ COOLEMAN, NSW ∙ URIARRA, NSW ∙ many other localities in ACT |
4380: | ∙ MINGOOLA, NSW ∙ other localities in QLD |
4377: | ∙ MARYLAND, NSW ∙ GLEN NIVEN, QLD ∙ THE SUMMIT, QLD |
3691: | ∙ LAKE HUME VILLAGE, NSW ∙ other localities in VIC |
| |
Some or all of the postcodes above may cover two states. For example postcode 2620 covers both a locality in NSW (Gundaroo) as well as a locality in the ACT (Hume) - the postcode is within the ACT range.
Jervis Bay Territory, once an exclave of the ACT but now a parate territory, is geographically located on the coast of NSW. It is just south of the towns of Vincentia and Huskisson, with which it shares a postcode. Mail to the Jervis Bay Territory is still addresd to the ACT.
The numbers ud to show the state on each radio callsign in Australia are the same number as the first number for postcodes in that state, e.g. 2xxin New South Wales, 3xx in Victoria, etc. Radio callsigns pre-date postcodes in Australia by more than forty years.
External territories[ ]
Australia's external territories are also included in Australia Post's postcode system. Whil
e the territories do not belong to any state, they are addresd as such for mail sorting:
External territory | Postal state | Postcode |
Norfolk Island | NSW | 2899 |
Christmas Island | WA | 6798 |
Cocos (Keeling) Islands | WA | 6799 |
| | |
Three scientific bas in Antarctica operated by the Australian National Antarctic Rearch Exp ions share a postcode with the isolated sub-Antarctic island of Macquarie Island (part of Tasmania):
Antarctic ba | Postal state | Postcode |
Cay Station | TAS | 7151 |
Davis Station | TAS | 7151 |
Mawson Station | TAS | 7151 |
| | |
State and territory capital cities[ ]
Each state's capital city ends with three zeroes, while territorial capital cities end with two zeroes. Capital city postcodes were the lowest postcodes in their state or territory range, before new ranges for LVRs and PO Boxes were made available. The last number can usually be changed from "0" to "1" to get the postcode for General Post Office boxes in any capital city (though Perth now us a different range of postcodes for its GPO Boxes):
City | State/Territory | Street Address | GPO Box Address |
Sydney | NSW | 2000 | 2001 |
Canberra | ACT | 2600 | 2601 |
Melbourne | VIC | 3000 | 3001 |
Brisbane | QLD | 4000 | 4001 |
Adelaide | SA | 5000 | 5001 |
Perth | WA | 6000 | 6837—6848 |
Hobart | TAS | 7000 | 7001 |
Darwin | NT | 0800 | 0801 |
| | | |
Allocation within states[ ]
While the first number of a postcode usually shows the state or territory, the cond number usually shows a region within the state. However, postcodes with the same cond number are not always next to each other. As an example, postcodes in the range 2200–2299 are split between the southern suburbs of Sydney and the Central Coast of New South Wales.
Postcodes with a cond number of "0" or "1" are almost always located within the metropolitan area of the state's capital city. Postcodes with higher cond numbers are usually located in rural and regional areas. Common exceptions are where towns were rural when postcodes were first introduced in 1967, but have since been suburbanid and incorporated into metropolitan areas, e.g. Penrith, New South Wales has the postcode 2750 and Petrie, Queensland has the postcode 4502.
