Australian States

Australia, it’s a big country. It has six states and two territories, eight capital cities, over 100 major towns, more than 1,000 suburbs and around 2,600 post code areas, with places by the sea, places inland and a whole lot of outback.

Australian states mapThe big decision is, where are you going to live? Hopefully, this website can help.

Australian States & Territories

Find out more about each state or territory by clicking on the links:

Don’t forget to check out the many comments made on each page about what it’s really like to live in these places. And if you have a question, feel free to ask in these comments.

Visa Assessment Service
{ 34 comments… add one }
  • Scott Skylar December 30, 2018, 7:26 pm |

    Hi there,

    Seruously, thanks for the detailed information you provide for us moving to Australia.
    I was bent on living in Sydney but after reading about the different cities, Perth and Gold Coast sound like my kind of places.

    Problem is, I’m a Computer Network and Systems Administrator. Will i be able to find jobs related to my field in these cities?

    Thanks

    • BobinOz January 7, 2019, 4:26 pm |

      That’s a tough one to answer, the only way you can properly check into it is by doing thorough research.

      If you go to my page Getting a Job or a Sponsorship you will find some links to help you do that. You will be able to select exactly what it is you do and then find out how many opportunities there are in Perth and then separately, Gold Coast.

      Of course, Sydney will always have more job opportunities, but it also has a much higher population and property is expensive. Definitely wise to take a look for yourself to see what’s available in the places you are considering moving to.

  • Balwinder singh May 16, 2018, 12:17 pm |

    Dear Sir , I am Balwinder Singh from India and 31 year old.
    I want do online IELTS course and immigrate to Australia as permanent resident.I have Master’s in Economics,so as I am post graduate candidate to apply for recruitment consultant which job code is 223112.As per minimum qualifications require for it, I am eligible for this job.I need your help. Please reply to me as soon as possible.
    Yours sincerely
    Balwinder Singh

    • BobinOz May 16, 2018, 9:09 pm |

      I do not offer this kind of help myself, I am not qualified to do that. You would need to speak to a MARA registered migration agent, see my page Would I Qualify?

  • Daniel April 11, 2016, 1:22 am |

    Hi Bob, thanks for this website, its great!
    I am currently saving for my big adventure to Australia from London.
    I am a chef so will be hopefully (fingers and toes crossed) be getting a skilled trade visa.
    I was set on Brisbane but my wife is adament we be in short distance from a nice beach.
    Can you reccomend anywhere? We have children and dont want to be in a place like London but Perth has sounded way to isolated. So i guess somewhere in between but not too expensive to rent.
    Thanks and See you soon! 😉

    • BobinOz April 11, 2016, 8:50 pm |

      Sounds like you may want to look at the Gold Coast, it’s a bit commercialised, quite touristy, but then that does mean more opportunities for a chef. It’s an hour a quarters drive from Brisbane and it does have some very good beaches.

      Sunshine Coast is not so commercialised, but in my view has better beaches, if you can get work up that way, and apparently that’s not easy, that would also be a good choice. Again, being a chef you might stand a chance, it is another tourist destination.

      Other than that, maybe check out the Tweed Coast, Northern New South Wales, I’ve been a couple of times and really like it down that way. See…

      https://www.bobinoz.com/blog/16519/the-tweed-coast-northern-new-south-wales-australia/

      Good luck, Bob

      • Daniel April 13, 2016, 12:08 am |

        Thanks for taking the time to reply Bob.
        I will check it out! Wife is coming around to the idea of Perth now. We dont mind being isolated. Also I think my Visa will restrict me from Queensland for two years unfortunately!
        Im sure ill be back for some more advice at some point! Cheers Bob.
        Dan

    • deon October 24, 2017, 6:06 pm |

      well my names deona nd i reccomenr sydney

  • Marcos March 14, 2016, 10:08 am |

    Hi Bob! I’m a Brazilian surfer\ Dj\ journalist . I’m living in California but I always been a Australian fan. Do you think the Gold Coast is the best place for me and my family try a down under experience? Any tips or sweet spots to cool city’s in the region of Golddy and NSW? Thanks and keep rockin Mate!

    • BobinOz March 14, 2016, 5:53 pm |

      Yes, Surfers would probably suit you by the sound of things. Alternatively if you want cool, like laid-back and hippie, check out Byron Bay.

      You may also want to know that serious surfers head to the Margaret River region in Western Australia, they sometimes hold world surf championships over there…

      https://www.bobinoz.com/blog/17131/margaret-river-a-real-surfers-paradise/

      Good luck, Bob

      • Marcos Bocayuva April 2, 2016, 10:34 am |

        Thanks a lot Bob! I’ve been down under and I have a special relationship with Melbourne and Goldy, but BBay can be awesome for us too.
        Cheers Mate!

        • BobinOz April 4, 2016, 4:34 pm |

          Excellent, have fun, Bob

  • hassan January 2, 2016, 6:15 pm |

    Hi… Can you tell me about permenent residence of Australia which can live in every cities in deferent time like 5 years in Sydney 6 years in Adelaide or like this in another cities… Thanks

    • BobinOz January 3, 2016, 8:38 pm |

      Well, if you get the right visa type, you can live anywhere you want in Australia. You should really talk to a MARA registered migration agent about your options or if you want to look into it yourself, check out the information on my page about Visas.

  • Monica July 22, 2015, 5:44 pm |

    Hello Bob! This site is perfect for someone who’s seriously thinking about moving to Australia from the U.S. Any chance you (or someone you know) has an idea area (city) for an enrolled nurse to consider living? I notice that everyone has commented that many cities are quite expensive to live. Thank You for any advice you may be able to give me!

    • BobinOz July 22, 2015, 8:25 pm |

      If you visit my page called Getting a Job or a Sponsorship you will find that I sort of answer the question you have asked about where to head, given your profession.

      And yes, many people do say some cities are quite expensive, but wages are generally much higher here so it’s all relative. I have written a lot about that as well, I have a complete category on the costs of living in Australia, you will find links to it on the right-hand side of every page.

      Good luck with your journey, Bob

  • lauren May 12, 2015, 1:09 am |

    Hey Bob,
    I’ve been looking into australia for about 5 years now trying to narrow down where to go. I’m sure different parts of australia attract different animals and my main concern is where the least amount of threatening on land animals would be (snakes especially). I love the beach and the sun and am so lost on where the best place for me is another concern would be safety people wise and expense but mostly the snakes hiding around my home aha let me know if you have any suggestions. not sure if queensland is the best for me or not? thanks a ton!!!

    • BobinOz May 12, 2015, 7:34 pm |

      I am going to be quite direct with you on this Lauren, if I were you I would not base your decision on where to live in Australia on the activity of snakes.

      Snakes are all around Australia, but our snakes are very reclusive and you hardly ever see them. I know people who have lived here for years and never seen a snake in the wild. I have actively been looking for snakes and I’ve only seen about seven or eight in the same number of years.

      Every single one did its best to get away from me as quickly as possible.

      Northern Territory would clearly not be for you, or anywhere more than a few hundred kilometres north of Brisbane, but I would choose anywhere from the rest of the country based on where you WANT to live, not based on whether there are fewer snakes or not.

      Good luck, I hope you find somewhere that’s just perfect for you.

  • Bri C. March 1, 2015, 12:38 pm |

    Hi, Bob,

    I’ve been having a blast meandering around your website and seeing everyone talk about the different cities and regions of Australia. I’m a creative writing major at my university in the USA, and I’m currently working on a project featuring a main character from Australia, so this has been helpful in deciding which part of the country the character is from. My research has hit one or two stumbling blocks, so I’m curious about any information you might have regarding the horse ranching business in Australia, and which areas/regions tend to hold the most ranches. If not, might you (or any other folks who care to comment) be able to point me in the direction of some resources that could help me find answers on the subject?

    Thanks for hosting such a great platform for information!

    – Bri

    • BobinOz March 1, 2015, 11:42 pm |

      This is not something I know too much about Bri, all I do know is that Australians do love horses, we have them pretty much everywhere. So anywhere where there is a bit of outback or just some land (basically anywhere in Australia) you will find horses and ranches.

      Where would you find the most? I just don’t know, but hopefully somebody else reading this does; anybody have any idea?

      Glad to hear you have been enjoying my website, good luck with your book. Cheers, Bob

  • Lata November 30, 2014, 10:40 pm |

    Hello there !!
    We are planning to shift to Australia for 2 years to fulfill the PR requirement and after 2 years, we will shift to Canada for 2 years for the same. After that only we would decide where( which country) we plan to stay permanently.
    For us , the whole Australia is open. It would be a great help if I could know of a cheap and safe town/city in Australia with good public primary schools as my two kids son ( 9 yrs) and daughter ( 3 yrs) would be studying there only for two years.

    Thanks in advance 🙂

    • BobinOz December 1, 2014, 5:56 pm |

      All of Australia is quite safe, but obviously there are good areas and bad areas in most of our major cities. Cheap cities are Adelaide and Hobart I would say, but not easy to get work in those places.

      Check out my page A Quick Guide to Choosing a City in Australia for more information about where to live and my page called Which school? to research those schools.

      Good luck, Bob

  • kenneth henson March 13, 2014, 3:46 pm |

    Can you tell me what the hospitals like there ????
    What kind of jobs are there for truck drivers ????
    What about living off Social Security There ????

    • BobinOz March 14, 2014, 11:37 pm |

      Hospitals good, no idea about jobs for truck drivers. Living of social doesn’t sound like a plan to me.

  • Tia February 25, 2014, 2:20 am |

    Dear Bob,

    How are you doing?
    First of all, Congratulations for all your marvels work for this website. I think you have really put in lot of efforts which reflects your hard work.

    My case is a lil different! I am an Indian resident but I am working for Higher Education in Thailand from last three years. I work for International Affairs and International Admission Manager. I have reached to a point where I am planning to settle down and what better country then Australia ! But I have no idea who to approach and how to approach.

    Any kind of help will be much appreciated 🙂

    Thank you in advance!

    Tia

    • BobinOz February 25, 2014, 3:51 pm |

      Hi Tia, I am doing very well, thank you.

      Your case isn’t very much different really, you simply need to find out if there is a way for you to migrate to Australia and if so, how. That’s exactly what my Visa Assessment Service will tell you and I highly recommend it.

      Good luck, Bob

  • Vivak February 20, 2014, 3:57 am |

    Thanks Bob for your reply,
    I have seen the list for the desired professionals on Australian Govt website . Is there any site or place where I can search the jobs related to these professions?

    • BobinOz February 20, 2014, 10:02 pm |

      There are a few about, if you search, but I can’t recommend one to you personally because I am not able to thoroughly check any of them out. I don’t like to send people to places when I don’t know whether they are good or bad.

  • Vivak February 18, 2014, 4:28 am |

    Hi Bob,
    Before asking anything I must say your website is a great help in understanding Australia and most of the requirements any migrant can think of , before planing to settle in Australia . Coming to my requirements :-
    Is there any city or area in Australia like silicon valley in US which suits to IT professionals? if yes can you please suggest some job portals where I can see IT requirements to choose from ?

    Also, Is there any specific region which is know as agricultural or horticultural region for Australia ,If yes can you please name some of them for me. what are the main crops for Australia ?

    • BobinOz February 18, 2014, 5:55 pm |

      Well, we don’t have anywhere anything like Silicon Valley as far as I’m aware, nothing even close. As for horticulture here, that pretty much happens all over the country in regional areas, basically places a long way from our major cities.

      I have no idea what our main crops are, whatever they are though, I’m sure we have lots of them. We have quite a bit of land you know 🙂

      Good luck, Bob

  • robyn stavrou September 30, 2013, 7:18 pm |

    Hi, I am an Australian citizen that has been living in Greece for the last 11 years. Time has come for us to return for a better future and I need guidance as to what city would be best for us. I was born and raised in Darwin, but I hear that lately it is not a safe city. I have 5 children, ages 8, 11, 12, 14 and 17. Any ideas? My only son is 12 and wants to follow a soccer career…

    • BobinOz October 1, 2013, 12:56 pm |

      Hi Robyn

      Firstly, let me say welcome back for when you do get here.

      I don’t know what you mean by Darwin no longer being safe, I was there just a couple of months ago for a 10 day holiday and felt totally safe walking the streets at night in the city. Or do you mean crocodiles, jellyfish, wild weather, dingoes and snakes? 🙂

      Anyway, hard to advise you on which state without knowing what kind of thing you are looking for. It might be an idea if you read my page A Quick Guide to Choosing a City in Australia, it may help you narrow down a bit.

      Cheers, Bob

      • robyn stavrou October 1, 2013, 3:14 pm |

        Haha Crocs, dingoes and Jellyfish dont bother me… Gangs, drugs, theft do however concern me.. but if it is like you said that you felt safe at night, well then Darwin hasnt changed at all… Thanks for your answer 🙂

        • BobinOz October 2, 2013, 1:12 pm |

          Well, yes, it seemed perfectly safe to me, even the crocs were well-behaved 🙂 but if you are seriously looking for somewhere new to live, maybe you should check the official crime stats first for each region and area, my rule of thumb isn’t exactly scientific.

          Good luck, I hope you find the right place for you.

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