Australian Postal Codes
The Australian Postal Corporation administers Australia's postal system, including the postal codes.
History
Postal codes were established in Australia by the Postmaster-General's Department in 1967. Administration of the system was passed to the (newly-established) Australian Postal Corporation in 1989.
Certain ranges of postal codes are reserved for PO boxes and large volume receivers (LVRs).
Specification
Australian Post postal codes are 4 digits long (zero-padded).
The leading digit is meant to mirror the radio callsign scheme that was used since the early 1900s.
Excepting the Australian Capital Territory, the leading two digits indicate the state or territory in which a postal region is serviced. There is a set of towns that are serviced by a postal office across a state border, and so the assigned postal code does not align with the state itself.
Postal Code Ranges by State
Postal Code Range |
State/Territory |
State/Territory Abbreviation |
Notes |
0200-0299 |
Australian Capital Territory |
ACT |
LVRs and PO Boxes only |
0800-0899 |
Northern Territory |
NT |
|
0900-0999 |
Northern Territory |
NT |
LVRs and PO Boxes only |
1000-1999 |
New South Wales |
NSW |
LVRs and PO Boxes only |
2000-2599 |
New South Wales |
NSW |
|
2600-2618 |
Australian Capital Territory |
ACT |
|
2619-2899 |
New South Wales |
NSW |
|
2900-2920 |
Australian Capital Territory |
ACT |
|
2921-2999 |
New South Wales |
NSW |
|
3000-3999 |
Victoria |
VIC |
|
4000-4999 |
Queensland |
QLD |
|
5000-5799 |
South Australia |
SA |
|
5800-5999 |
South Australia |
SA |
LVRs and PO Boxes only |
6000-6797 |
Western Australia |
WA |
|
6800-6999 |
Western Australia |
WA |
LVRs and PO Boxes only |
7000-7799 |
Tasmania |
TAS |
|
7800-7999 |
Tasmania |
TAS |
LVRs and PO Boxes only |
8000-8999 |
Victoria |
VIC |
LVRs and PO Boxes only |
9000-9999 |
Queensland |
QLD |
LVRs and PO Boxes only |
Furthermore, codes are assigned within a state following a standard scheme. The capital cities of states have codes ending in three zeros, while capital cities of territories have codes ending in two zeros.
City |
State/Territoy |
Postal Code |
Sydney |
NSW |
2000 |
Canberra |
ACT |
2600 |
Melbourne |
VIC |
3000 |
Brisbane |
QLD |
4000 |
Adelaide |
SA |
5000 |
Perth |
WA |
6000 |
Hobart |
TAS |
7000 |
Darwin |
NT |
0800 |
From there, codes are assigned in ascending order based on travel distance (i.e. taking railways and highways into account) from the capital. Codes with a secondary digit of "0" or "1" are almost always within the metropolitan area of the capital.