In the state of New South Wales, Australia, there are many areas which are commonly known by regional names. Regions are areas that share similar characteristics. These characteristics may be natural such as the Murray River, the coastline, or the Snowy Mountains. Alternatively, the characteristics may be cultural, such as a viticulture land use. New South Wales is divided by numerous regional boundaries, based on different characteristics. In many cases boundaries defined by different agencies are coterminous.

Local government

In New South Wales on the third tier of elected government after the federal and state governments are the local government authorities, which are responsible for the local government areas. The types of LGAs in New South Wales are cities, municipalities, shires and regions.

New South Wales has more than 150 local government areas which have an elected council and carry out various functions delegated to them by the Government of New South Wales.

Australian Bureau of Statistics

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has moved towards a new Geographical Classification called the Australian Statistical Geography Standard. Geography is now divided into Statistical Area Level 1, 2, 3, and 4. Statistical Area Level 4 is the highest (regions of a State) and Statistical Area Level 1 being the lower (Mesh blocks are more refined but not readily available apart from the Census of Population and Housing).

+Population by Statistical Area Level 4 and 3 NSW rank Statistical Area Level 4 and 3 PopulationDecember 2014 10-yeargrowth rate Population density(people/km2) 1Greater Sydney 4,840,628 15.7 391.4 2 and Lake Macquarie 368,131 9.0 423.1 3Illawarra 296,845 9.3 192.9 4Hunter Valley excluding Newcastle 264,087 16.2 12.3 5Richmond Tweed 242,116 8.9 23.6 6Capital region 220,944 10.9 4.3 7Mid North Coast 212,787 9.2 11.3 8Central West 209,850 7.9 3.0 9New England and North West 186,262 5.3 1.9 10Riverina 158,144 4.7 2.8 11Southern Highlands and Shoalhaven 146,388 10.4 21.8 12Coffs Harbour-Grafton 136,418 7.6 10.3 13 Far West and Orana 119,742 0.3 0.4 14 Murray 116,130 4.0 1.2 New South Wales 7,518,472 10.4 13.0

For older statistics, such as the 2006 Census of Population and Housing, the Australian Bureau of Statistics has multiple regional structures for which it analyses and reports data. These regional structures derive from the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (AGSC). The AGSC defines at the very smallest level, the Census Collection District (CCD). These CCD's aggregate to form the Statistical Local Area (SLA), which is the common base unit for each of the larger regional structures.1216.0 - Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) - Electronic Publication, 2005 Australian Bureau of Statistics website, accessed 13 November 2006 The boundaries of the SLA are designed to be typically coterminous with Local Government Areas unless the LGA does not fit entirely into a Statistical Subdivision (SSD), or is not of a comparative nature to other LGA's. Bureau of Statistics provides statistics for Local Government Areas, as well as three other statistical structures: Statistical Divisions, Statistical Regions, and Statistical Districts.

Statistical Divisions Statistical Divisions (SD) form the main structural hierarchy of statistical analysis. These regions are structured to provide a broad range of social, demographic and economic statistics. The basis for the boundary delineations center on socioeconomic criteria. The thirteen divisions for New South Wales are: Central West, Far West, Hunter, Illawarra, Mid-North Coast, Murray, Murrumbidgee, North Western, Northern, Off-Shore Areas & Migratory, Richmond-Tweed, South Eastern, Sydney1216.0 - Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC), 2001: Statistical Divisions Structure Australian Bureau of Statistics, accessed 12 November 2006

Statistical Regions The Statistical Region (SR) structure was established in 1986 as a means for labor force analysis.1216.0 - Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC), 2001: Purpose and structure Australian Bureau of Statistics, accessed 12 November 2006 Sydney: Canterbury-Bankstown, Central Northern Sydney, Central Western Sydney, Eastern Suburbs, Fairfield-Liverpool, Gosford-Wyong, Inner Sydney, Inner Western Sydney, Lower Northern Sydney, North Western Sydney, Northern Beaches, Outer South Western Sydney, St George-Sutherland Balance of New South Wales: Central West, Far West-North Western, Hunter, Illawarra, Mid-North Coast, Murray-Murrumbidgee, Northern, Richmond-Tweed, South Eastern

Statistical Districts The Statistical District (SDist) is a non-capital, urban region of one or more adjoining areas, with a population of 25,000 or more. The SDist is defined with consideration of a 20-year growth forecast. The SDist does not need to conform to LGA boundaries or to state territory boundaries.1216.0 - Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC), 2001: The spatial units Australian Bureau of Statistics, accessed 12 November 2006 The thirteen Statistical Districts in New South Wales are: Newcastle, Wollongong, Nowra-Bomaderry, Bathurst-Orange, Lismore, Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie, Tamworth, Dubbo, Wagga Wagga, Albury-Wodonga (New South Wales and Victoria), Gold Coast-Tweed (New South Wales and Queensland), Canberra-Queanbeyan (New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory)

Biogeographic regions

The Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) is a biogeographic regionalisation of Australia; divided into 89 bioregions and 419 subregions. Each region is a land area made up of a group of interacting ecosystems that are repeated in similar form across the landscape. Regions and subregion cross state and territory boundaries. The bioregions that are located within all or part of New South Wales include: Australian Alps (part) Brigalow Belt South (part) Broken Hill Complex (part) Channel Country (part) Cobar Peneplain Darling Riverine Plains (part) Flinders Lofty Block (part) Mulga Lands (part) Murray Darling Depression (part) Nandewar (part) New England Tablelands NSW North Coast NSW South Western Slopes (part) Riverina (part) Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields (part) South East Corner (part) South Eastern Highlands (part) South East Queensland (part) Southern Volcanic Plain (part) Sydney Basin (Cumberland Plain)

Informal divisions

New South Wales is also informally divided into a smaller number of regions. These regions have no general administrative function or status. Many of them are only vaguely defined, or are defined in different ways for different purposes. For example, departments of the New South Wales government, such as the New South Wales Police Force, or the Ministry of Health, define regions of the State for their own internal administrative purposes. These regions may be defined in completely different ways, as shown by the maps in the references.

The original basis for descriptive regional names in New South Wales is based on the geography of the State.

The State can be divided into four components: the coastal regions fronting the Tasman Sea in the east of the State the highlands which form part of the Great Dividing Range the western (inland) slopes of the highlands, which form the main agricultural region of the State the arid western plains

These four components are then typically divided into north, central and southern components based upon their location relative to Sydney.

This two-way subdivision gives rise to the generic pattern of regions, and in some cases, subregions: