Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2)
Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2) are medium-sized geographical areas that represent communities that interacts together socially and economically. The SA2 is the smallest area at which Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) non-Census and Intercensal statistics can be released.
SA2s have an average population of about 10,000 persons (range 3,000 to 25,000 persons). SA2s in remote and regional areas generally have smaller populations than those in urban areas.
Where possible, SA2s are designed around whole suburbs or rural localities. In regional and remote areas, areas with smaller populations may be combined to form one SA2. In the major cities, SA2s often represent single suburbs.
In large urban areas, SA2s are named for the gazetted suburbs that comprise them:
where a SA2 is made from a single suburb, it will retain the name of the suburb (e.g., Ellenbrook)
where a single large suburb is split into more than one SA2, it will retain the name of the suburb and a geographic identifier (e.g., Canning Vale – East)
where a SA2 is made up from 2 or 3 suburbs, then the SA2 name is a concatenation of the suburb names (e.g., Midland-Guildford)
where a SA2 is made up of 4 or more suburbs it will be named for the larger or more prominent suburbs, or given a local identifier (e.g., Gingin-Dandaragan)
