To increase our compliance with the Australia Post address standard the following standards are applied to the capture of Australian Addresses.
Punctuation
Unless specifically part of address details (a hyphen in a range of numbers ie 17-18) punctuation is not captured in address information. In particular commas used to denote the start of a new line are not captured as part of the address.
Post Office Box
- Post Office Box information is captured in the abbreviated form in uppercase. For example Private Mail Bag Service is captured as PRIVATE BAG or General Post Office Box as GPO BOX.
| Code | Description |
| CARE PO | Care Of Post Office |
| CMA | Community Mail Agent |
| CMB | Community Mail Bag |
| CPA | Community Postal Agent |
| GPO BOX | General Post Office Box |
| LOCKED BAG | Locked Mail Bag Service |
| MS | Mail Service |
| PO BOX | Post Office Box |
| CARE PO | Poste Restante |
| PRIVATE BAG | Private Mail Bag Service |
| RSD | Roadside Delivery |
| RMB | Roadside Mail Bag |
| RMB | Roadside Mail Box |
| RMS | Roadside Mail Service |
Room Information
- An AddressRoom prefix is not mandatory, if supplied it will be captured in the abbreviated form
- If only the identifier is supplied then it is placed immediately before the street number, with a forward slash (/) separating the AddressRoom from the street number
- The room prefix will be captured in the abbreviated form
- If the word Number is used in the room name it will be shortened to No
| Sub Unit Type | Abbreviation |
| Apartment | Apt |
| Cottage | Ctge |
| Duplex | Dup |
| Factory | Fy |
| Flat | F |
| House | Hse |
| Kiosk | Ksk |
| Maisonette | Msnt |
| Marine Berth | Mb |
| Office | Off |
| Penthouse | Pths |
| Room | Rm |
| Stall | Sl |
| Studio | Stu |
| Suite | Se |
| Townhouse | Tnhs |
| Unit | U |
| Villa | Vlla |
| Warehouse | We |
Floor Information
- Floor information will be abbreviated in accordance with the table below
| Level Type | Abbreviation |
| Basement | B |
| Floor | Fl |
| Ground Floor | G |
| Level | L |
| Lower Ground Floor | Lg |
| Mezzanine | M |
| Upper Ground Floor | Ug |
- Ranged level numbers are not to be used. Either the correct applicable floor should be used or, if unknown, the first number in the range
- If the word Number is used in the room name it will be shortened to No
Building Complex Information
- The Building Complex is the name used to identify the physical building or property. It is not abbreviated, and may include reference to a wing or other components of a building complex
- The Address Building is captured in title case
Street Number
- The Address Street Number is positioned immediately before the Address Street Name
- If the Address Street Number number includes a number range, the range should be separated by a hyphen (-), with no spaces. For example:
17-19 Pitt St
- The Address Street Number may contain alpha characters. These are captured in upper case, with no spaces between alpha and numeric characters. For example:
11A Dorset Rd
- If the word Number is used in the room name it will be shortened to No
- The Address Street Number may contain a Lot or Section number. These are commonly used while land is in the process of being subdivided, prior to formal allocation of street numbers. The Lot or Section number is positioned immediately before the Address Street Name, and prefixed by the word 'Lot' or 'Section'. For Example:
Lot 17 Jones St
Section 36 Godfrey Ave
Street Name
- Address Street Name contains the following elements:
- street name
- street suffix
- street type
- The street name should be in title case
- The street name should be spelled out in full, with the exception of some prefixes which are usually based on common acceptance, for example:
St Kilda Rd
- Street suffix is abbreviated as per below
| Street Suffix | Abbreviation |
| Central | CN |
| East | E |
| Extension | EX |
| Lower | LR |
| North | N |
| North East | NE |
| North West | NW |
| South | S |
| South East | SE |
| South West | SW |
| Upper | UP |
| West | W |
- Street Type is abbreviated as per the below table
| Street Type | Abbreviation |
| ACCESS | Accs |
| ALLEY | Ally |
| ALLEYWAY | Alwy |
| AMBLE | Ambl |
| ANCHORAGE | Ancg |
| APPROACH | App |
| ARCADE | Arc |
| ARTERY | Art |
| AVENUE | Ave |
| BASIN | Basn |
| BEACH | Bch |
| BEND | Bend |
| BLOCK | Blk |
| BOULEVARD | Bvd |
| BRACE | Brce |
| BRAE | Brae |
| BREAK | Brk |
| BRIDGE | Bdge |
| BROADWAY | Bdwy |
| BROW | Brow |
| BYPASS | Bypa |
| BYWAY | Bywy |
| CAUSEWAY | Caus |
| CENTRE | Ctr |
| CENTREWAY | Cnwy |
| CHASE | Ch |
| CIRCLE | Cir |
| CIRCLET | Clt |
| CIRCUIT | Cct |
| CIRCUS | Crcs |
| CLOSE | Cl |
| COLONNADE | Clde |
| COMMON | Cmmn |
| CONCOURSE | Con |
| COPSE | Cps |
| CORNER | Cnr |
| CORSO | Cso |
| COURT | Ct |
| COURTYARD | Ctyd |
| COVE | Cove |
| CRESCENT | Cres |
| CREST | Crst |
| CROSS | Crss |
| CROSSING | Crsg |
| CROSSROAD | Crd |
| CROSSWAY | Cowy |
| CRUISEWAY | Cuwy |
| CUL-DE-SAC | Cds |
| CUTTING | Cttg |
| DALE | Dale |
| DELL | Dell |
| DEVIATION | Devn |
| DIP | Dip |
| DISTRIBUTOR | Dstr |
| DRIVE | Dr |
| DRIVEWAY | Drwy |
| EDGE | Edge |
| ELBOW | Elb |
| END | End |
| ENTRANCE | Ent |
| ESPLANADE | Esp |
| ESTATE | Est |
| EXPRESSWAY | Exp |
| EXTENSION | Extn |
| FAIRWAY | Fawy |
| FIRE TRACK | Ftrk |
| FIRETRAIL | Fitr |
| FLAT | Flat |
| FOLLOW | Folw |
| FOOTWAY | Ftwy |
| FORESHORE | Fshr |
| FORMATION | Form |
| FREEWAY | Fwy |
| FRONT | Frnt |
| FRONTAGE | Frtg |
| GAP | Gap |
| GARDEN | Gdn |
| GARDENS | Gdns |
| GATE | Gte |
| GATES | Gtes |
| GLADE | Gld |
| GLEN | Glen |
| GRANGE | Gra |
| GREEN | Grn |
| GROUND | Grnd |
| GROVE | Gr |
| GULLY | Gly |
| HEIGHTS | Hts |
| HIGHROAD | Hrd |
| HIGHWAY | Hwy |
| HILL | Hill |
| INTERCHANGE | Intg |
| INTERSECTION | Intn |
| JUNCTION | Jnc |
| KEY | Key |
| LANDING | Ldg |
| LANE | Lane |
| LANEWAY | Lnwy |
| LEES | Lees |
| LINE | Line |
| LINK | Link |
| LITTLE | Lt |
| LOOKOUT | Lkt |
| LOOP | Loop |
| LOWER | Lwr |
| MALL | Mall |
| MEANDER | Mndr |
| MEW | Mew |
| MEWS | Mews |
| MOTORWAY | Mwy |
| MOUNT | Mt |
| NOOK | Nook |
| OUTLOOK | Otlk |
| PARADE | Pde |
| PARK | Park |
| PARKLANDS | Pkld |
| PARKWAY | Pkwy |
| PART | Part |
| PASS | Pass |
| PATH | Path |
| PATHWAY | Phwy |
| PIAZZA | Piaz |
| PLACE | Pl |
| PLATEAU | Plat |
| PLAZA | Plza |
| POCKET | Pkt |
| POINT | Pnt |
| PORT | Port |
| PROMENADE | Prom |
| QUAD | Quad |
| QUADRANGLE | Qdgl |
| QUADRANT | Qdrt |
| QUAY | Qy |
| QUAYS | Qys |
| RAMBLE | Rmbl |
| RAMP | Ramp |
| RANGE | Rnge |
| REACH | Rch |
| RESERVE | Res |
| REST | Rest |
| RETREAT | Rtt |
| RIDE | Ride |
| RIDGE | Rdge |
| RIDGEWAY | Rgwy |
| RIGHT OF WAY | Rowy |
| RING | Ring |
| RISE | Rise |
| RIVER | Rvr |
| RIVERWAY | Rvwy |
| RIVIERA | Rvra |
| ROAD | Rd |
| ROADS | Rds |
| ROADSIDE | Rdsd |
| ROADWAY | Rdwy |
| RONDE | Rnde |
| ROSEBOWL | Rsbl |
| ROTARY | Rty |
| ROUND | Rnd |
| ROUTE | Rte |
| ROW | Row |
| RUE | Rue |
| RUN | Run |
| SERVICE WAY | Swy |
| SIDING | Sdng |
| SLOPE | Slpe |
| SOUND | Snd |
| SPUR | Spur |
| SQUARE | Sq |
| STAIRS | Strs |
| STATE HIGHWAY | Shwy |
| STEPS | Stps |
| STRAND | Stra |
| STREET | St |
| STRIP | Strp |
| SUBWAY | Sbwy |
| TARN | Tarn |
| TERRACE | Tce |
| THOROUGHFARE | Thor |
| TOLLWAY | Tlwy |
| TOP | Top |
| TOR | Tor |
| TOWERS | Twrs |
| TRACK | Trk |
| TRAIL | Trl |
| TRAILER | Trlr |
| TRIANGLE | Tri |
| TRUNKWAY | Tkwy |
| TURN | Turn |
| UNDERPASS | Upas |
| UPPER | Upr |
| VALE | Vale |
| VIADUCT | Vdct |
| VIEW | View |
| VILLAS | Vlls |
| VISTA | Vsta |
| WADE | Wade |
| WALK | Walk |
| WALKWAY | Wkwy |
| WAY | Way |
| WHARF | Whrf |
| WYND | Wynd |
| YARD | Yard |
Suburb/Localities/City/County
- Generally suburbs/localities are fully spelled out, but commonly accepted abbreviations such as St Kilda are presented in the abbreviated form, without full stops. Note that where Australian suburbs/localities contain 'Mount', the word Mount is always fully spelled out, however the treatment of 'Saint' varies from locality to locality. Words such as Heights, Creek, North or Island that form part of a suburb/locality name are NOT abbreviated.
- Australian place names involving possessives are written without apostrophes. For example:
Kings Cross Dianas Basin Queens Park
- Suburbs/Localities are captured in title case .
State Information
- For Australia when used in an address block on a piece of mail, the Address State Name must:
- appear in its abbreviated form (see domain values)
- be located in the last line of the address, after the suburb/locality
- be printed in upper case, with no punctuation
Post Code
- Australia: the postcode:
- is located in the last line of the address, two spaces after the state or territory abbreviation
- not punctuated
- must be the last item in an Australian address
- Australia: Postcodes may begin with zero (0). The leading zero must not be suppressed. For example: the postcode for Darwin is 0800.
- Postcodes have been allocated to each Australian state and territory as follows:
| State/Territory | State Code | Post Code Ranges |
| Australian Capital Territory | ACT | 0200-0299, 2600-2620, 2900-2921 |
| New South Wales | NSW | 1000-2599, 2620-2899,2921-2999 |
| Northern Territory | NT | 0800-0899 |
| Queensland | QLD | 4000-4999, 9000-9799 |
| South Australia | SA | 5000-5999 |
| Tasmania | TAS | 7000-7999 |
| Victoria | VIC | 3000-3999, 8000-8999 |
| Western Australia | WA | 6000-6999 |
Last Updated: 30/8/2013
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