Download Australia LGAs (Local Government Areas) Boundaries
Free download of all ~537 Australian Local Government Areas in one file. Loads automatically — pick the format you need: GeoJSON, Shapefile, KML, SVG, DXF, GeoPackage, TopoJSON, or FlatGeobuf.
Boundary data provided by geoBoundaries (Runfola et al., 2020), licensed CC-BY 4.0. Please provide attribution when using this data.
About the Australia LGAs dataset
This page provides a one-click download of all Australian Local Government Areas (LGAs) — the second-level administrative geography that nests inside the states and territories. Data is sourced from geoBoundaries — released under CC-BY 4.0. The authoritative Australian source is the ABS LGA boundary files.
For state-level (ADM1) boundaries see the Australia states page.
LGA structure by state and territory
- • New South Wales — about 128 LGAs: Cities, Councils, Shires. Includes Sydney metropolitan councils plus regional councils.
- • Victoria — 79 LGAs: Cities, Shires, Rural Cities, Boroughs. Includes the Melbourne metropolitan area.
- • Queensland — about 78 LGAs: Regional Councils, City Councils, Shire Councils, Aboriginal Shire Councils, Island Councils.
- • Western Australia — about 137 LGAs: Cities, Towns, Shires. Includes the very large rural shires of the Pilbara and Kimberley.
- • South Australia — about 68 LGAs.
- • Tasmania — 29 LGAs.
- • Northern Territory — about 17 LGAs, mostly Regional Councils, plus a few municipalities and the unincorporated area.
- • Australian Capital Territory — no LGAs; the ACT is administered directly by its territory government.
When to use which format
GeoJSON
The most flexible choice — opens in QGIS, ArcGIS Pro, Mapbox, Leaflet, MapLibre, D3. Use the simplified version for client-side web maps.
Shapefile
Use for desktop GIS workflows in ArcGIS, QGIS, or MapInfo. ZIP contains .shp / .dbf / .prj / .shx.
KML
Use for Google Earth and Google My Maps. Each LGA appears as a labelled polygon.
SVG
Designer-ready vector paths with each LGA as a separate path. Opens in Illustrator, Figma, Sketch, or Inkscape.
DXF
AutoCAD format for engineers and architects. Each LGA becomes a closed polyline.
TopoJSON
Topology-encoded GeoJSON, much smaller for choropleths of all 537 LGAs. Common in D3.js dashboards.
GeoPackage
OGC-standard single-file SQLite container. Ideal for portable GIS workflows.
FlatGeobuf
Binary streaming format optimised for fast loading in MapLibre, OpenLayers, or Leaflet.
Common uses for Australian LGA boundaries
- • LGA-level election mapping (local council elections)
- • Joining ABS Census, SEIFA, or LGA-level statistics to geometry
- • Public-health reporting at LGA scale
- • Service-area mapping for utilities, telecom, logistics, or government services
- • Insurance and risk modelling at LGA scale
- • Sales-territory mapping for the Australian market
- • Backgrounds for D3.js / MapLibre choropleths and dashboards
- • Spatial joins to assign an LGA to point data (customers, incidents, addresses)
Need to process these boundaries before download?
Download the Australian LGAs GeoJSON above, then drop it into the Workflow Builder to simplify, buffer, clip to a bounding box, generate centroids, or chain multiple operations before exporting in any format.
Alternative Australian sources
- • ABS LGA digital boundaries — authoritative federal source. Annual vintages, freely available, includes ABS LGA codes.
- • data.gov.au — federal open-data portal, often mirrors ABS releases and state-level data.
- • State open-data portals — NSW, Victoria, Queensland, and others publish official boundary layers directly.
- • OpenStreetMap — community-edited boundaries via Overpass queries or Geofabrik extracts.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Local Government Area in Australia?
A Local Government Area (LGA) is the second-tier administrative division in Australia, below the states and territories. LGAs include cities, shires, regional councils, and municipalities. There are approximately 537 LGAs across Australia, though the exact count changes slightly over time as councils are amalgamated or split.
How does an LGA differ from a Statistical Area in ABS data?
LGAs are administrative units — actual local governments with elected councils. Statistical Areas (SA1, SA2, SA3, SA4) are statistical units defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics for census aggregation. SA boundaries are not the same as LGA boundaries, although they are designed to nest within them where possible. This page covers LGAs only — for Statistical Areas use the ABS ASGS dataset directly.
Where does this Australia boundary data come from?
The boundaries are sourced from geoBoundaries (Runfola et al., 2020), an open peer-reviewed dataset. The authoritative source is the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) via the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) and the LGA digital boundary files. geoBoundaries data is released under CC-BY 4.0.
Are LGAs the same across all states?
No — the structure and naming varies by state. New South Wales uses Local Government Areas with names ending in "City", "Council", "Shire". Victoria uses similar Cities and Shires. Queensland has Regional Councils, City Councils, and Shire Councils. Western Australia uses Cities, Towns, and Shires. The Australian Capital Territory has no LGAs (the entire ACT is administered by its territory government). Northern Territory has 17 Regional Councils plus a few Shires.
How big is the Australia LGAs GeoJSON file?
The full-resolution Australia ADM2 GeoJSON is typically 30–80 MB because the WA and NT LGAs are very large with detailed coastlines. The simplified version is well under 4 MB. The SVG export is around 300–700 KB.
Can I download a single state’s LGAs only?
This page is the full set of Australian LGAs in one file. To extract just one state — for example, only the LGAs of Victoria — download the GeoJSON above, then use the QuickMapTools Workflow Builder to filter by the parent state name or clip by the state boundary.
Can I use this data commercially?
Yes — geoBoundaries data is released under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY) licence. You may use it in commercial products, modify it, and redistribute it as long as you provide attribution to geoBoundaries (Runfola et al., 2020).