My Areas> Add Custom Area > Based on standard area

You can create a new area by selecting from a list of the following standard areas:

• suburb
• postcode
• LGA
• state
• SA3
• SA2
• SA1

If your standard area is based on a suburb, postcode, LGA or state, a list of available options will appear as a list in the box below the dropdown menu, and a search bar will appear to its right. You can choose more than one option from the list. When defining an area that is constructed of four LGAs, for example, this may be preferable to drawing the big area and the data is likely to be more accurate.

SA1s, SA2s and SA3s

If you select SA3 from the dropdown menu, a list of SA3s will appear in the box below. The names of SA3s are sometimes the commonly used names for the area. For those that are not common, it may be useful to use this spreadsheet and search for the location you are interested in. The name of the location may be listed in the SA2 column, but the next columns will show the corresponding SA3.

If you select SA1 or SA2 from the dropdown menu, a list of SA3s will appear in the box to the right (see below).

Once you choose the SA3 you are interested in, the list of SA1s or SA2s will appear in a list below and you can select the ones you are interested in. You can select more than one SA1 or SA2, but they must be within the same SA3.

SA2s are referred to by name, but SA1s are referred to using ABS codes. To find the code for an SA1, you will need to use the map. For step by step instructions, please visit the page: Viewing the code or data for an SA1

The codes for the SA1s, SA2s and SA3s are related.

If you know the SA1 code or SA2 name, download this list of SA2s with corresponding SA3s to help you find which SA3 you should be searching under.

Click the save button when you have defined your area.

Allow a few minutes for the data for your area to appear on the dashboard and under ‘data for my areas’ on the map.