The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Australia:
General reference
Pronunciation: Common English country name: Australia Official English country name: Commonwealth of Australia Common endonym(s): Australia Official endonym(s): Commonwealth of Australia Nicknames / colloquial names: Land Down Under, Oz Adjectival(s): Australian Demonym(s): Australian; Aussie (colloquial) Etymology: Name of Australia International rankings of Australia ISO country codes: AU, AUS, 036 ISO region codes: See ISO 3166-2:AU Internet country code top-level domain: .au
Geography
Geography of Australia Australia is: a continent a country a sovereign state a nation state a Commonwealth realm a federation a megadiverse country Location: Earth Southern Hemisphere Eastern Hemisphere Oceania Australasia Australia lies between: Indian Ocean Pacific Ocean Southern Ocean Time zones: Australian Western Standard Time (AWST) – UTC+08 Australian Central Standard Time (ACST) – UTC+09:30 Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) – UTC+10 Daylight saving time Australian Central Daylight Time (ACDT) – UTC+10:30 Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT) – UTC+11 Unofficial time zones Central Western Standard Time (CWST) – UTC+08:45 Extreme points of Australia (mainland) Northernmost Point – Cape York, Queensland (10°41' S) Southernmost Point – South Point, Wilsons Promontory, Victoria (39°08' S) Westernmost Point – Steep Point, Western Australia (113°09' E) Easternmost Point – Cape Byron, New South Wales (153°38' E) Highest Point – Mount Kosciuszko Lowest Point – Lake Eyre Land boundaries: none Coastline: 25,760 km Population of Australia: 27,915,880 people (March 2026) – 54th most populous country Area of Australia: – 6th largest country Capital of Australia: Canberra Atlas of Australia Surveying in Australia
Environment
Environment of Australia Climate of Australia Bushfires in Australia Climate change in Australia Effects of global warming on Australia Ecoregions of Australia Environmental issues in Australia Renewable energy in Australia Geothermal power in Australia Solar power in Australia Wind power in Australia Geology of Australia National parks of Australia Protected areas of Australia Wildlife of Australia Flora of Australia Fauna of Australia Birds of Australia Mammals of Australia
Geographic features
Islands of Australia Lakes of Australia Mountains of Australia Volcanoes in Australia Rivers of Australia Valleys of Australia Waterfalls of Australia World Heritage Sites in Australia
Regions
Ecoregions in Australia
Multi-state regions Barkly Tableland Capital Country Eastern states of Australia East Coast of Australia Lake Eyre basin Murray–Darling basin Northern Australia The Nullarbor Outback Southern Australia
Administrative divisions
States and territories of Australia
States New South Wales Victoria Queensland Western Australia South Australia Tasmania
Territories
Mainland territories Australian Capital Territory Northern Territory Jervis Bay Territory
External territories Ashmore and Cartier Islands Australian Antarctic Territory Norfolk Island Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Coral Sea Islands Territory Heard and McDonald Islands
Municipalities
Local government in Australia Cities of Australia
Demography
State/territory Land area (km2) Rank Population (2025) Rank Population density (/km2) Rank % of population in capital Rank New South Wales 801,150 5th 8,593,871 1st 10.49 3rd 64.7% 5th Victoria 227,444 6th 7,074,468 2nd 30.18 2nd 75.6% 4th Queensland 1,723,030 2nd 5,674,834 3rd 3.18 5th 49.0% 7th Western Australia 2,527,013 1st 3,043,731 4th 1.15 7th 78.3% 2nd South Australia 984,321 4th 1,902,331 5th 1.89 6th 77.2% 3rd Tasmania 68,402 7th 575,960 6th 8.89 4th 44.3% 8th Australian Capital Territory 2,358 8th 484,792 7th 198.97 1st 97.7% 1st Northern Territory 1,347,791 3rd 264,411 8th 0.19 8th 57.7% 6th List of Adelaide suburbs List of Adelaide obsolete suburb names List of Albany suburbs
List of Brisbane suburbs List of Bunbury suburbs
List of Canberra suburbs List of Central Coast, New South Wales suburbs
List of Darwin suburbs
List of Gold Coast suburbs
List of Hobart suburbs
List of Karratha suburbs
List of Mackay suburbs List of Mandurah suburbs List of Melbourne suburbs
List of suburbs in Greater Newcastle, New South Wales
List of Perth suburbs
List of Rockhampton suburbs
List of Sunshine Coast Region suburbs List of Sydney suburbs
Suburbs of Thuringowa City List of Townsville suburbs
List of Wagga Wagga suburbs and localities Western suburbs (Melbourne) List of Wollongong suburbs
Government and politics
Form of government: Federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy Capital of Australia: Canberra Far-right politics in Australia Political scandals of Australia Socialism in Australia Republicanism in Australia Taxation in Australia
Elections in Australia Elections in Australia Section 44 of the Constitution of Australia 1901 – 1972 – 1974 – 1975 – 1977 – 1980 – 1983 – 1984 – 1987 – 1990 – 1993 – 1996 – 1998 – 2001 – 2004 – 2007 – 2010 – 2013 – 2016 – 2019 – 2022 – 2025 Australian electoral system Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 Australian Electoral Commission Compulsory voting Preferential voting Electorates of the Australian House of Representatives Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives
Political parties in Australia
List of political parties in Australia List of historical political parties in Australia
Federal parties
Current major parties/groupings (May 2025)
Australian Labor Party Liberal Party of Australia National Party of Australia Coalition (Australia)
Minor parties/groupings
Australian Greens Centre Alliance Australia's Voice Katter's Australian Party Teal independents Independent politicians in Australia
State/territory parties
Queensland
Liberal National Party of Queensland Queensland Labor Party
Northern Territory
Country Liberal Party
Federal government of Australia
Government of Australia Separation of powers in Australia
Executive branch Head of state: King of Australia (King Charles III) Head of state's representative: Governor-General (Sam Mostyn) Head of government: Prime Minister of Australia (Anthony Albanese) Cabinet of Australia Second Albanese ministry (Current ministry as of May 2025) List of Australian ministries Federal Executive Council
Legislative branch Parliament of Australia Australian monarch Australian Senate President of the Australian Senate Australian House of Representatives Speaker of the House of Representatives Opposition Leader (at last election: Peter Dutton) Leader of the Opposition Angus Taylor (As of February 2026)
Judicial branch
Judiciary of Australia High Court of Australia Australian court hierarchy Constitution of Australia
Military
Australian Defence Force (ADF) Command Commander-in-chief: Governor-General as the King's representative. Minister for Defence of Australia (Richard Marles)
Forces Army of Australia: Australian Army Navy of Australia: Royal Australian Navy Air force of Australia: Royal Australian Air Force Special forces of Australia Military history of Australia Australian Defence Force ranks
Foreign relations
ANZUS Australia–United States relations Australia–New Zealand relations Australia–Indonesia relations Australia–China relations Australia–Japan relations Anglo-Australian relations Australia and the United Nations
International organisation membership The Commonwealth of Australia is a member of:
Asian Development Bank (ADB) Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) (dialogue partner) Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum (ARF) Australia Group Australia-New Zealand-United States Security Treaty (ANZUS) Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Colombo Plan (CP) Commonwealth of Nations East Asia Summit (EAS) European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (G20) Informal social partnership (MIKTA) International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) International Criminal Court (ICCt) International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) International Development Association (IDA) International Energy Agency (IEA) International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRCS) International Finance Corporation (IFC) International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) International Labour Organization (ILO) International Maritime Organization (IMO) International Mobile Satellite Organization (IMSO) International Monetary Fund (IMF) International Olympic Committee (IOC) International Organization for Migration (IOM) International Organization for Standardization (ISO) International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (ICRM) International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (ITSO) International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) (guest) Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) The Pacific Community (SPC) Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Paris Club Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) (observer) South Pacific Regional Trade and Economic Co-operation Agreement (Sparteca) United Nations (UN) United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) United Nations Mission in the Sudan (UNMIS) United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) Universal Postal Union (UPU) World Customs Organization (WCO) World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) World Health Organization (WHO) World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) World Meteorological Organization (WMO) World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) World Trade Organization (WTO) World Veterans Federation Zangger Committee (ZC)
Law and order
Law of Australia Citizenship Cannabis in Australia Constitution of Australia Crime in Australia Human rights in Australia LGBTQ rights in Australia Referendums in Australia 2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum
Law enforcement in Australia Law enforcement in Australia National law enforcement agencies Australian Border Force (ABF) Australian Federal Police (AFP) Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) Australian Crime Commission (ACC) Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) Australian Taxation Office (ATO) Regional law enforcement agencies – the following policing agencies are regulated by their respective State or Territory Government and are highly visible: Australian Capital Territory Police New South Wales Police Force Northern Territory Police Queensland Police Service South Australia Police Tasmania Police Victoria Police Western Australia Police
State and territory governments The states of Australia are governed by Premiers, and the territories are governed by Chief Ministers.
Governors of the Australian states Parliaments of the Australian states and territories Premiers of the Australian states Government of New South Wales