SA Government Regions

The South Australian Government is introducing 12 State Government Regions for uniform use in planning and reporting across all state government departments and agencies.

These uniform regions are being adopted by departments and agencies over a two year period and will be fully in use by mid-2009 (with use of the regions in place in most departments and agencies by December 2008).

Planning SA is the lead agency working with departments to coordinate implementation of the new uniform boundaries and is reporting to State Cabinet on implementation.

The regions which appear below are the current boundaries and should be used (please note: some non-metropolitan boundaries were adjusted in December 2007; previous maps should be replaced with those below).

The 12 Regions

Under the project the State has been divided into 12 reporting regions, which can be viewed on these maps:

There are four regions in the Adelaide metropolitan area; three regions in the Greater Adelaide area; and five country regions. They are:

Adelaide Metropolitan area (detailed maps which can be printed up to A1 size)

Greater Adelaide area (detailed maps which can be printed up to A1 size)

Country regions (detailed maps which can be printed up to A1 size)

Suburbs, localities and ABS collection districts

A table detailing which suburbs, localities and ABS collection districts are found in which Region is available here:

Online Atlas of SA 

The SA Government Regions have also been added as a layer to the online Atlas of South Australia (Atlas of South Australia). Go to the Atlas' Land Administration map topic (found under the Land Management category).

Data Download

SA Government Regions and other GIS datasets are available for free download via Planning SA's Spatial Data Download service.

Population Projections by SA Government Regions, 2001 - 2021

These population projections are for the 12 SA Government Regions (SGR) and their related Statistical Local Area’s (SLA’s).  They are based on the current medium age-sex population projections released by the State Government in July 2007 which are based on 2001 Census data and the 2001 ASGC.  These projections are available by sex and by 5 year age cohorts, and by 5 year periods from 2001 to 2021.

Note that the SA Government Regions used are based on 2001 boundaries to match the 2001 based population projections.  Since the 2001 Census several new SLA’s have been created including the SLA of Maralinga Tjarutja (AC).  In 2001 the several hundred persons living in the area later to be designated as Maralinga Tjarutja (AC) were included in the SLA of Unincorp. Far North and therefore in these tables are included in the Far North SGR.  The new SLA of Maralinga Tjarutja (AC) in now part of the Eyre & Western SGR and as such future population projections for this SLA will be included in the Eyre and Western SGR.  The 2001 base year population does not exactly match the 2001 Census total due to rounding and the exclusion of some unincorporated SLA’s with very small populations.

These projections are based on population estimates from the 2001 ABS Census of Population and Housing and other relevant data.  Demographic data required to produce a new set of population projections based on the 2006 ABS Census of Population and Housing will not be available until late 2008.  Therefore, a 2006 set of population projections will not be available until the second half of 2009.

These population projections should not be regarded as forecasts, but as calculations of future populations based on particular assumptions about future fertility, mortality and migration.  Actual future populations will vary from these projections.  For further information about the projections and the assumptions used in their construction, please refer to the Population Projections Enquiry System on the Planning SA web site.

DISCLAIMER: These projections are provided in good faith. The State of South Australia, its agents and employees are not liable for any damage or loss which may occur as a result of any person or organization taking or not taking action based on these population projections.

Purpose & background: uniform boundaries

Historically, different departments and agencies have used differing regional boundaries across government; that is, different departments have had different definitions of what areas a particular region includes.

For example Health, Police and Education have had different boundaries for the Adelaide region, often splitting local council boundaries, which makes it confusing for community engagement and reporting.

In 2006, the former Government Reform Commission drove negotiations with departments across government about creating one set of consistent, uniform regional boundaries for use across government. The new uniform boundaries use local government areas and Australian Bureau of Statistics 'Statistical Local Areas' as a basis.

This change will support better planning, reporting and coordination of government services, leading to better customer service. The adoption of the uniform regions will also strengthen links to the South Australian Strategic Plan (SASP) and in particular aid the process of ‘regionalisation’ of the SASP.

State departments and agencies are currently developing reporting, planning and service delivery systems aligned with the new uniform regions, and are committed to working with other public sector and local government partners on service delivery, including - where appropriate - considering co-location and sharing regional staff resources.

A two-year implementation period for the uniform regional boundaries was chosen to help avoid sudden and costly business changes.

Planning SA is responsible for the liaison with government departments on the implementation process and collating and submitting six monthly progress reports to State Cabinet.

Following the completion of implementation, Planning SA will undertake a post-implementation review followed by five-yearly reviews of the regions coinciding with the ABS Census. These reviews will principally consider whether any further changes to the regions are required, and manage any change to the regions caused by amendments in local government boundaries.

Key Contacts

For further information or detailed data requests, please contact: