States and territories of Australia - Wikipedia States and territories of Australia Australian states and territories A clickable map of Australia 's states, mainland territories and their capitals Category Federated states ( 6 ) Internal federal territories ( 3 ) External federal territories ( 7 ) Location Commonwealth of Australia Populations 0 ( Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Heard and McDonald Islands ) -- 7,704,300 ( New South Wales ) Areas 10 km ( 3.9 sq mi ) ( Coral Sea Islands ) -- 5,896,500 km ( 2,276,700 sq mi ) ( Australian Antarctic Territory ) Subdivisions Local government areas Cadastral divisions Australia ( officially known as the Commonwealth of Australia ) is a federation of six states, together with ten federal territories. The Australian mainland consists of five of the six federated states and three of the federal territories ( the `` internal '' territories ). The state of Tasmania is an island about 200 kilometres ( 120 mi ) south of the mainland. The remaining seven territories are classified for some purposes as `` external '' territories. Aside from the Australian Antarctic Territory, which is Australia 's claim to part of Antarctica, Australia is the world 's sixth - largest country by total area. All states and the two largest internal territories are partially self - governing, as well as being represented in the federal parliament ; the other territories are administered by the federal government. Since 2015, federal control has also been extended to the formerly self - governing territory of Norfolk Island. The third internal territory is the Jervis Bay Territory ( JBT ) which is located on the coast of New South Wales south of Sydney and east of Canberra. Three of the external territories are inhabited ; the others are uninhabited, apart from temporary - resident scientists. Contents 1 Geographic Australia 2 States, territories, and external territories 2.1 Proposed states 2.2 Proposed external territories 2.3 Defunct territories 3 Background and overview 4 Comparative terminology 5 Governors and Administrators of states and territories 6 Premiers and Chief Ministers of states and territories 7 State and territorial parliaments 8 State and territory supreme courts 9 State and territory police forces 10 State and territory borders 11 Statistics 12 Distance table 13 State and territory codes 14 See also 15 Notes 16 References 17 External links Geographic Australia The term geographic Australia is used by the Australian Government to describe the area covered by demographic statistics such as national population figures. This area comprises Christmas Island and the Cocos ( Keeling ) Islands in addition to the six states and three mainland territories ; Norfolk Island is the only territory with a permanent population that is not part of geographic Australia. States, territories, and external territories Administrative divisions of Australia First level State Territory Second level Local Government Area unincorporated area Reference map for states and territories of Australia States and territories of Australia Flag State / territory name Abbrev ISO Postal Type Capital ( or largest settlement ) Population Area ( km2 ) New South Wales NSW AU - NSW NSW State Sydney 7006770430000000000 ♠ 7,704,300 800,642 Queensland Qld AU - QLD QLD State Brisbane 7006482700000000000 ♠ 4,827,000 1,730,648 South Australia SA AU - SA SA State Adelaide 7006170650000000000 ♠ 1,706,500 983,482 Tasmania Tas AU - TAS TAS State Hobart 7005518500000000000 ♠ 518,500 68,401 Victoria Vic AU - VIC VIC State Melbourne 7006603910000000000 ♠ 6,039,100 227,416 Western Australia WA AU - WA WA State Perth 7006261370000000000 ♠ 2,613,700 2,529,875 Australian Capital Territory ACT AU - ACT ACT Territory Canberra 7005397397000000000 ♠ 397,397 2,358 Jervis Bay Territory JBT JBT Territory ( Jervis Bay Village ) 7002391000000000000 ♠ 391 70 Northern Territory NT AU - NT NT Territory Darwin 7005244000000000000 ♠ 244,000 1,349,129 Ashmore and Cartier Islands External ( Offshore anchorage ) 5000000000000000000 ♠ 0 199 Australian Antarctic Territory AAT AQ External Davis Station 7003100000000000000 ♠ 1,000 5,896,500 Christmas Island CX External Flying Fish Cove 7003207200000000000 ♠ 2,072 135 Cocos ( Keeling ) Islands CC External West Island / Pulu Panjang 7002596000000000000 ♠ 596 14 Coral Sea Islands External ( Willis Island ) 7000400000000000000 ♠ 4 10 Heard Island and McDonald Islands HIMI HM External ( Atlas Cove ) 5000000000000000000 ♠ 0 372 Norfolk Island NF External Kingston 7003230200000000000 ♠ 2,302 35 All states, ( internal ) territories and the external territory of Coral Sea Islands were part of Australia at federation and are constitutionally part of the Commonwealth. Northern Territory was part of South Australia, Australian Capital Territory and Jervis Bay Territory were part of New South Wales, and Coral Sea Islands was part of Queensland. Ashmore and Cartier Islands was accepted by Australia in 1934 and annexed to Northern Territory prior to the adoption of the Statute of Westminster in 1942 and, as such, is deemed to form part of Australia proper. Cocos ( Keeling ) Islands voted for integration in 1984. Together with Christmas Island, Commonwealth laws apply automatically to the territory unless expressly stated otherwise and residents of both external territories are associated with Northern Territory for federal elections. They are, thus, constitutionally part of Australia. Uninhabited Heard and McDonald Island is treated as constitutionally part of Australia by the central government. The constitutional status of the Australian Antarctic Territory is unclear, with successive governments treating it either as a separate territory ( as in the United Kingdom and Norway ) or an integral part of the state ( as in New Zealand and France ). As of 2018, the present government appears to take the view that it is not constitutionally part of Australia. Norfolk Island 's status is controversial, with the present ( as of 2018 ) government taking measures to integrate the territory into Australia proper ( including representation in parliament and compulsory voting ). The Norfolk Islanders have not formally consented to this change in constitutional status and assert that they are not Australian. Proposed states Northern Australia, currently Northern Territory Proposed external territories Lord Howe Island, currently part of New South Wales Macquarie Island, currently part of Tasmania Defunct territories Australia has had three now - defunct territories in its history : From 1926 to 1931, the Northern Territory was divided into Central Australia and North Australia, with the border at the 20th parallel south. Both territories were reincorporated as the Northern Territory at the end of this period. From 1923 to 1968, the United Nations Trust Territory of Nauru was under Australian administration, until independence as the Republic of Nauru. From 1949 to 1975, the Territory of Papua and New Guinea was a territory of Australia, remaining so until the independence of the country of Papua New Guinea. Background and overview The states originated as separate British colonies prior to Federation in 1901. The Colony of New South Wales was founded in 1788 and originally comprised much of the Australian mainland, as well as Lord Howe Island, New Zealand, Norfolk Island, and Van Diemen 's Land, in addition to the area currently referred to as the state of New South Wales. During the 19th century, large areas were successively separated to form the Colony of Tasmania ( initially established as a separate colony named Van Diemen 's Land in 1825 ), the Colony of Western Australia ( initially established as the smaller Swan River Colony in 1829 ), the Province of South Australia ( 1836 ), the Colony of New Zealand ( 1840 ), the Victoria Colony ( 1851 ) and the Colony of Queensland ( 1859 ). Upon Federation, the six colonies of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, and Tasmania became the founding states of the new Commonwealth of Australia. Legislative powers of the states are protected by the Australian constitution, section 107, and under the principle of federalism Commonwealth legislation only applies to the states where permitted by the constitution. The territories, by contrast, are from a constitutional perspective directly subject to the Commonwealth Government ; laws for territories are determined by the Australian Parliament. Most of the territories are directly administered by the Commonwealth Government, while two ( the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory ) have some degree of self - government although less than that of the states. In the self - governing territories, the Australian Parliament retains the full power to legislate, and can override laws made by the territorial institutions, which it has done on rare occasions. For the purposes of Australian ( and joint Australia - New Zealand ) intergovernmental bodies, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are treated as if they were states. Each state has a Governor, appointed by the Queen, which by convention she does on the advice of the state Premier. The Administrator of the Northern Territory, by contrast, is appointed by the Governor - General. The Australian Capital Territory has neither a Governor nor an Administrator, but the Governor - General exercises some powers that in other jurisdictions are exercised by the Governor of a state or Administrator of a territory, such as the power to dissolve the Legislative Assembly. Jervis Bay Territory is the only non-self - governing internal territory. Until 1989, it was administered as if it were a part of the ACT, although it has always been a separate territory. Under the terms of the Jervis Bay Territory Acceptance Act 1915, the laws of the ACT apply to the Jervis Bay Territory insofar as they are applicable and providing they are not inconsistent with an Ordinance. Although residents of the Jervis Bay Territory are generally subject to laws made by the ACT Legislative Assembly, they are not represented in the Assembly. They are represented in the Parliament of Australia as part of the Electoral Division of Fraser in the ACT and by the ACT 's two Senators. In other respects, the territory is administered directly by the Federal Government through the Territories portfolio. The external territory of Norfolk Island possessed a degree of self - government from 1979 until 2015. Each state has a bicameral parliament except Queensland, which abolished its upper house in 1922. The lower house is called the Legislative Assembly, except in South Australia and Tasmania, where it is called the House of Assembly. Tasmania is the only state to use proportional representation for elections to its lower house ; all others elect members from single member constituencies, using preferential voting. The upper house is called the Legislative Council and is generally elected from multi-member constituencies using proportional representation. The three self - governing territories, the ACT, the Northern Territory, and Norfolk Island, each have unicameral Legislative Assemblies. The head of government of each state is called the Premier, appointed by the state 's Governor. In normal circumstances, the Governor will appoint as Premier whoever leads the party or coalition which exercises control of the lower house ( in the case of Queensland, the only house ) of the state Parliament. However, in times of constitutional crisis, the Governor can appoint someone else as Premier. The head of government of the self - governing internal territories is called the Chief Minister. The Northern Territory 's Chief Minister, in normal circumstances whoever controls the Legislative Assembly, is appointed by the Administrator. Comparative terminology Entity Type of entity Tie to the Queen Domestic administrator Head of Government Upper House of Parliament Lower House of Parliament Member of Parliament Upper house Lower house Commonwealth of Australia Federal government Direct Governor - General Prime Minister Senate House of Representatives Senator MP South Australia Federated state Direct ( established by the Australia Act 1986 ) Governor Premier Legislative Council House of Assembly MLC MHA Tasmania New South Wales Legislative Assembly MP Victoria MLA Western Australia Queensland N / A ( abolished 1922 ) N / A MP Australian Capital Territory Self - governing territory Indirect ( through Governor - General acting as `` Administrator '' ) Assembly and Chief Minister Chief Minister N / A MLA Northern Territory Indirect ( through Governor - General ) Administrator Christmas Island External territory Mayor / Shire President Shire Council Councillor Cocos ( Keeling ) Islands Norfolk Island Regional Council Note : Jump up ^ The abbreviation MP is an acceptable, and indeed more common, term for members of each lower house. Jump up ^ Between 1979 and 2015 Norfolk Island was a self - governing external territory with its own legislature, the Norfolk Legislative Assembly, until this was abolished by the Commonwealth Parliament. Governors and Administrators of states and territories Main article : Governors of the Australian states Post Incumbent Appointed Governor of New South Wales Hurley ! His Excellency David Hurley 000000002014 - 10 - 02 - 0000 2 October 2014 Governor of Queensland De Jersey ! His Excellency Paul de Jersey 000000002014 - 07 - 29 - 0000 29 July 2014 Governor of South Australia Le ! His Excellency Hieu Van Le 000000002014 - 09 - 01 - 0000 1 September 2014 Governor of Tasmania Warner ! Her Excellency Kate Warner 000000002014 - 12 - 10 - 0000 10 December 2014 Governor of Victoria Chernov ! Her Excellency Linda Dessau 000000002015 - 07 - 01 - 0000 1 July 2015 Governor of Western Australia Sanderson ! Her Excellency Kerry Sanderson 000000002014 - 10 - 20 - 0000 20 October 2014 Administrator of the Northern Territory OHalloran ! Her Honour Vicki O'Halloran 000000002017 - 10 - 31 - 0000 31 October 2017 Administrator of Norfolk Island Hutchinson ! His Honour Eric Hutchinson 000000002017 - 04 - 01 - 0000 1 April 2017 Administrator of Australian Indian Ocean Territories ( Christmas Island and Cocos ( Keeling ) Islands ) Griggs ! Her Honour Natasha Griggs 000000002017 - 10 - 05 - 0000 5 October 2017 Premiers and Chief ministers of states and territories Main article : Premiers of the Australian states Post Incumbent Political party Appointed Premier of New South Wales Berejiklian, Gladys Gladys Berejiklian MP Liberal 000000002017 - 01 - 23 - 0000 23 January 2017 Premier of Queensland Palaszczuk, Annastacia Annastacia Palaszczuk MP Labor 000000002015 - 02 - 14 - 0000 14 February 2015 Premier of South Australia Marshall, Steven Steven Marshall MHA Liberal 000000002018 - 03 - 19 - 0000 19 March 2018 Premier of Tasmania Hodgman, Will Will Hodgman MP Liberal 000000002014 - 03 - 31 - 0000 31 March 2014 Premier of Victoria Andrews, Daniel Daniel Andrews MP Labor 000000002014 - 12 - 04 - 0000 4 December 2014 Premier of Western Australia McGowan, Mark Mark McGowan MLA Labor 000000002017 - 03 - 17 - 0000 17 March 2017 Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory Barr, Andrew Andrew Barr MLA Labor 000000002014 - 12 - 11 - 0000 11 December 2014 Chief Minister of the Northern Territory Gunner, Michael Michael Gunner MLA Labor 000000002016 - 08 - 31 - 0000 31 August 2016 Mayor of Norfolk Island Council Councillor Robin Adams 000000002016 - 07 - 06 - 0000 6 July 2016 Presidents of Australian Indian Ocean Territories : President of the Shire of Christmas Island President of the Shire of Cocos Council Councillor Heng, Foo Kee Foo Kee Heng Councillor Pirus, Balmut Balmut Pirus 000000002011 - 10 - 18 - 0000 18 October 2011 000000002013 - 05 - 01 - 0000 May 2013 State and territorial parliaments Main article : Parliaments of the Australian states and territories Parliament of New South Wales Parliament of Queensland Parliament of South Australia Parliament of Tasmania Parliament of Victoria Parliament of Western Australia Northern Territory Legislative Assembly Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly State and territory supreme courts Main article : Australian court hierarchy Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory Supreme Court of New South Wales Supreme Court of the Northern Territory Supreme Court of Queensland Supreme Court of South Australia Supreme Court of Tasmania Supreme Court of Victoria Supreme Court of Western Australia Supreme Court of Norfolk Island State and territory police forces Main article : Law enforcement in Australia Australian Capital Territory Police ( performed by Australian Federal Police ) New South Wales Police Northern Territory Police Queensland Police South Australia Police Tasmania Police Victoria Police Western Australia Police State and territory borders Main article : Territorial evolution of Australia Australian Capital Territory border New South Wales borders Northern Territory borders Queensland borders South Australian borders Tasmanian borders Victorian borders Western Australian border Statistics State / territory Abbreviation Land area Population ( 2016 census ) Population density % of population in capital Notes km sq mi Rank Number Rank / km / sq mi Rank % Rank Australian Capital Territory ACT 2,358 910 7000800000000000000 ♠ 8 7005395200000000000 ♠ 395,200 7000700000000000000 ♠ 7 167.6 434 7000100000000000000 ♠ 1 99.6 % 7000100000000000000 ♠ 1 New South Wales NSW 800,642 309,130 7000500000000000000 ♠ 5 7006770430000000000 ♠ 7,704,300 7000100000000000000 ♠ 1 9.62 24.9 7000300000000000000 ♠ 3 63.0 % 7000500000000000000 ♠ 5 Northern Territory NT 1,349,129 520,902 7000300000000000000 ♠ 3 7005244000000000000 ♠ 244,000 7000800000000000000 ♠ 8 0.18 0.47 7000800000000000000 ♠ 8 54.0 % 7000600000000000000 ♠ 6 Queensland QLD 1,730,648 668,207 7000200000000000000 ♠ 2 7006482700000000000 ♠ 4,827,000 7000300000000000000 ♠ 3 2.79 7.2 7000500000000000000 ♠ 5 46.0 % 7000700000000000000 ♠ 7 South Australia SA 983,482 379,725 7000400000000000000 ♠ 4 7006170650000000000 ♠ 1,706,500 7000500000000000000 ♠ 5 1.74 4.5 7000600000000000000 ♠ 6 73.5 % 7000200000000000000 ♠ 2 Tasmania TAS 68,401 26,410 7000700000000000000 ♠ 7 7005518500000000000 ♠ 518,500 7000600000000000000 ♠ 6 7.58 19.6 7000400000000000000 ♠ 4 41.0 % 7000800000000000000 ♠ 8 Victoria VIC 227,416 87,806 7000600000000000000 ♠ 6 7006603910000000000 ♠ 6,039,100 7000200000000000000 ♠ 2 26.56 68.8 7000200000000000000 ♠ 2 71.0 % 7000400000000000000 ♠ 4 Western Australia WA 2,529,875 976,790 7000100000000000000 ♠ 1 7006261370000000000 ♠ 2,613,700 7000400000000000000 ♠ 4 1.03 2.7 7000700000000000000 ♠ 7 73.4 % 7000300000000000000 ♠ 3 Distance table Australian distance table Adelaide 2673 Albany 1533 3588 Alice Springs 1578 3633 443 Uluru 2045 4349 3038 3254 Brisbane 2483 1943 2483 1223 3317 Broome 3352 5656 2457 2900 1716 2496 Cairns 1196 3846 3706 2751 1261 3275 2568 Canberra 3022 4614 1489 1932 3463 1803 2882 4195 Darwin 1001 3674 2534 2579 1944 3636 3251 918 4023 Hobart 3219 3787 1686 2129 3660 1045 3079 4392 827 4220 Kununurra 2783 5087 2505 2948 976 2840 740 1999 2930 2682 3127 Mackay 731 3404 2264 2309 1674 3124 2981 648 3753 609 3950 2412 Melbourne 2742 5106 1209 1652 1829 1834 1248 2561 1634 3075 1831 1296 2805 Mount Isa 2781 409 3696 3741 4457 2389 5764 3954 4205 3782 3378 5195 3512 4905 Perth 1412 3970 3830 2875 1001 3373 2495 286 4034 1142 4516 1926 872 2400 4078 Sydney Distance in kilometres from the corresponding city on the X-Y axis. State and Territory codes State / territory Abbrev. Call signs Postal Telephone numbers in Australia Time zone AM / FM TV Amateur Abbrev. Postcode Std Summer Australian Capital Territory ACT 1xx ( x ) xx ( x ) Cn VK1xx ACT 02nn, 26nn, 29nn + 61 2 62xx xxxx + 61 2 61xx xxxx + 10 + 11 New South Wales NSW 2xx ( x ) xx ( x ) Nn VK2xx NSW 1nnn, 2nnn + 61 2 xxxx xxxx + 10 ( + ​ 9 ⁄ ) + 11 Victoria Vic 3xx ( x ) xx ( x ) Vn VK3xx VIC 3nnn, 8nnn + 61 3 xxxx xxxx + 10 + 11 Queensland Qld 4xx ( x ) xx ( x ) Qn VK4xx QLD 4nnn, 9nnn + 61 7 xxxx xxxx + 10 South Australia SA 5xx ( x ) xx ( x ) Sn VK5xx SA 5nnn + 61 8 8xxx xxxx + 61 8 7xxx xxxx + ​ 9 ⁄ + ​ 10 ⁄ Western Australia WA 6xx ( x ) xx ( x ) Wn VK6xx WA 6nnn + 61 8 9xxx xxxx + 61 8 6xxx xxxx + 8 Tasmania Tas 7xx ( x ) xx ( x ) Tn VK7xx TAS 7nnn + 61 3 6xxx xxxx + 10 + 11 Northern Territory NT 8xx ( x ) xx ( x ) Dn VK8xx NT 08nn + 61 8 89xx xxxx + ​ 9 ⁄ External territories Norfolk Island 2xx ( x ) xx ( x ) Nn VK2xx NSW 2899 + 672 3 xx xxx + 11 Christmas Island 6xx ( x ) xx ( x ) Wn VK9xx WA 6798 + 61 8 9164 xxxx + 7 Cocos Island 6xx ( x ) xx ( x ) Wn VK9xx WA 6799 + 61 8 9162 xxxx + ​ 6 ⁄ Australian Antarctic Territory AAT none VK0xx TAS + 672 1 + 6 to + 8 Macquarie Island none + 10 + 11 ^ Jump up to : A number of broadcast stations in the ACT have call signs allocated as if ACT were part of New South Wales. ^ Jump up to : This is used for some PO box and large users only. ^ Jump up to : Some exceptions apply to numbers in this state 's number range. See also Australia portal ISO 3166 - 2 : AU, the ISO codes for the states and territories of Australia. Australian regional rivalries List of Australian demonyms List of proposed states of Australia Notes Jump up ^ Unless provided, references and details on data provided in the table can be found within the individual state and territory articles. Jump up ^ Perth was defined as the capital by statute in 2016 : City of Perth Act 2016 ( WA ) in AustLII. ^ Jump up to : The national Flag of Australia is used in territories which have no flag of their own. Jump up ^ Under the definitions in ISO 3166 - 1, the AAT is covered by the Antarctican ISO 3166 - 1 alpha - 2 code `` AQ ''. Jump up ^ No permanent population, research station with fluctuating staff numbers. ^ Jump up to : Part of geographic Australia Jump up ^ No permanent population, weather monitoring station generally with four staff. References Jump up ^ Strom, Marcus ( 1 June 2016 ). `` Norfolk Island elects council that supports self - determination ''. Sydney Morning Herald. Jump up ^ Pink, Brian ( 2010 ). `` Definition of Australia ''. Australian Standard Geographical Classification ( ASGC ) ( Report ). Australian Bureau of Statistics. p. 5. Jump up ^ ISO 3166 - 2 : AU ( ISO 3166 - 2 codes for the states and territories of Australia ) Jump up ^ `` 3101.0 -- Australian Demographic Statistics, Mar 2016 ''. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 22 September 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` Area of Australia - States and Territories ''. Geoscience Australia : National Location Information. Geoscience Australia. Retrieved 2 November 2016. Jump up ^ https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2008C00341 Jump up ^ https://www.alrc.gov.au/publications/alrc-80-legal-risk-international-transactions/10-external-territories Jump up ^ http://heardisland.antarctica.gov.au/about/frequently-asked-questions Jump up ^ http://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-antarctica/australia-in-antarctica/australian-antarctic-territory Jump up ^ https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/may/21/were-not-australian-norfolk-islanders-adjust-to-shock-of-takeover-by-mainland Jump up ^ A.H. McLintock ( ed ), An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, 3 vols, Wellington, NZ : R.E. Owen, Government Printer, 1966, vol 3 p. 526. ' Jump up ^ Constitution of Australia, section 122 Jump up ^ Jervis Bay Territory Acceptance Act 1915 ( Cth ). Jump up ^ `` Jervis Bay Territory Governance and Administration ''. The Department of Regional Australia, Local Government, Arts and Sport. Retrieved 17 January 2013. Although the Jervis Bay Territory is not part of the Australian Capital Territory, the laws of the ACT apply, insofar as they are applicable and, providing they are not inconsistent with an Ordinance, in the Territory by virtue of the ' Jervis Bay Acceptance Act 1915 ' Jump up ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics ( 27 June 2017 ). `` Australian Capital Territory ''. 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 2 July 2017. Jump up ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics ( 27 June 2017 ). `` New South Wales ''. 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 2 July 2017. Jump up ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics ( 27 June 2017 ). `` Northern Territory ''. 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 2 July 2017. Jump up ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics ( 27 June 2017 ). `` Queensland ''. 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 2 July 2017. Jump up ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics ( 27 June 2017 ). `` South Australia ''. 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 2 July 2017. Jump up ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics ( 27 June 2017 ). `` Tasmania ''. 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 2 July 2017. Jump up ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics ( 27 June 2017 ). `` Victoria ''. 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 2 July 2017. Jump up ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics ( 31 October 2012 ). `` Western Australia ''. 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 12 February 2013. External links Local government in Australia less powerful than in other countries States and territories of Australia Federal district Australian Capital Territory States New South Wales Queensland South Australia Tasmania Victoria Western Australia Internal territories Jervis Bay Territory Northern Territory External territories Ashmore and Cartier Islands Australian Antarctic Territory Christmas Island Cocos ( Keeling ) Islands Coral Sea Islands Heard Island and McDonald Islands Norfolk Island Former territories Central Australia ( 1927 -- 1931 ) North Australia ( 1927 -- 1931 ) Papua New Guinea ( 1949 -- 1975 ) Politics of Australia Commonwealth Monarch Governor - General Prime Minister Cabinet ( Shadow Cabinet ) Executive Council Ministry Foreign relations Parliament House of Representatives Senate Opposition Leader High Court Lower courts Constitution Statute of Westminster Australia Act Federal elections pre-1969 1969 1972 1977 1980 1984 1998 2007 2013 2016 next by - elections State / Territory governments Governors and Administrators Premiers and Chief Ministers Parliaments and Assemblies NSW Vic Qld WA SA Tas ACT NT State / Territory elections Vic 2014 NSW 2015 ACT 2016 NT 2016 WA 2017 Qld 2017 Tas 2018 SA 2018 Vic 2018 NSW 2019 ACT 2020 NT 2020 WA 2021 Qld 2020 Tas 2022 SA 2022 Timeline of Elections Amalgamated Timeline Local government NSW Vic Qld WA SA Tas NT Political parties Coalition ( Liberal, National, Liberal National, Country Liberal ) Conservatives Greens Hinch Katter Labor Lambie Liberal Democrat One Nation Xenophon Other parties Political terminology Bjelkemander Branch stacking Casual vacancies Caucus revolt Champagne socialist Contempt of Parliament Despatch box Donkey vote Dorothy Dixer Double dissolution Faceless men Group voting ticket Hardworking families How - to - vote card Independent politicians Kirribilli agreement Langer vote Leadership spill Mortgage belt Nationalism Parliamentary secretary Responsible government Stolen Generations Working family Worm Articles on first - level administrative divisions of Oceanian countries Australasia Australia New Zealand Melanesia East Timor Fiji Indonesia Papua New Guinea Solomon Islands Vanuatu Micronesia Marshall Islands Federated States of Micronesia Nauru Palau Polynesia Niue Samoa Tonga Tuvalu Table of administrative country subdivisions by country Australia articles History Timeline Bibliography Prehistory Archaeology European Exploration Territorial evolution 1788 -- 1850 1851 -- 1900 1901 -- 1945 Since 1945 By topic Constitutional Diplomatic Economic Federation Immigration Indigenous Military Monarchy Railway Geography Climate Continent Deserts Environment issues Earthquakes Flora Fauna Forests Geology Islands Mountains Regions Protected areas Rivers Subdivisions States and Territories Capitals Cities Politics Constitution Courts Elections Donations Electoral system Parties Federal budget Foreign relations Government Governor - 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Question: australia is made up of how many states and territories
Answer: six states