Public sector data frequently refers to location. For instance, a survey of public transport users may collect data based on postcodes, or a school may only accept students from a defined intake area.
However, over time, different government agencies have taken different approaches to dividing the State into areas relevant to their work. This can make public sector data difficult to interpret and compare.
The Geographic Boundaries in Western Australia guide provides an introduction to the geographic boundaries used by public sector agencies in Western Australia. It gives an overview of common problems encountered when working with Australian and Western Australian location-based data, and a starting point for overcoming some of these problems.
Download the Geographic Boundaries in Western Australia Guide
The Guide has been prepared for analysts with minimal experience in geography and spatial sciences, and covers the following:
- how location-based data is used, and some of the problems that arise when boundaries are designated on an ad hoc basis
- types of boundaries used by Western Australian agencies
- the Australian Statistical Geographic Standard
- guidance on working with location-based data,
- best practices in setting boundaries.
It also includes a set of detailed appendices documenting:
- types of boundaries included in the Australian Statistical Geographic Standard,
- an inventory of major boundaries in use in Australia and Western Australia, along with descriptions and information about how they have been set.
These appendices aim to help readers better understand the location context of agency data, and where possible, understand how different datasets are geographically related.
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WA Boundaries Data A collection of datasets defining the boundaries |
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Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) The most comprehensive Australian standard for defining geographic boundaries is maintained by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. |
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This guide has been compiled by the Department of Treasury’s Program Evaluation Unit (programevaluation.wa.gov.au) with the support of Landgate and data.wa.gov.au.
Found an error or dead link in this edition, or have additional information to contribute? Let us know so we can improve future versions of this handbook.
Send your suggestions and feedback to the Department of Treasury’s Program Evaluation Unit at programevaluation@treasury.wa.gov.au and copy in opendata@landgate.wa.gov.au.