Statistics and Indicators

• In the five year period (2016 to 2020), many ACT town centres experienced growth.  The highest rates of growth occurred in the town centres of Molonglo and Gungahlin. However, the town centres with the largest absolute increase in numbers were Gungahlin (12,329 people) and North Canberra (4,739 people).
• The Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) is broadly based on the concept of a functional area. The functional area is the area within which many people commute or travel to access services. Depending on the level in the Main Structure hierarchy, this area may be a rural town and its hinterland, a regional city, an urban commercial hub or a capital city central business district. For smaller areas they may represent neighbourhoods or communities.
• Statistical Areas Level 3 (SA3) are geographical areas built from whole Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2). In the major cities, SA3s represent the area serviced by a major transport and commercial hub. They often closely align to large urban Local Government Areas. SA3s are often the functional areas of regional towns and cities with a population in excess of 20,000 or clusters of related suburbs around urban commercial and transport hubs within the major urban areas.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). 1270.0.55.001 - Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS): Volume 1 - Main Structure and Greater Capital City Statistical Areas, July 2016. Canberra: ABS; 2017 [cited 2020 Dec 21]. Available from: https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/1270.0.55.001Main+Features10018July%202016?OpenDocument.