What Is the Address Format of Australia?

The Slash in Australian Addresses

In Australian addresses, the number in front of the slash refers to the unit number, and the number behind it refers to the street number.

For example, let's take a look at this dummy Australian address:

The address above locates Unit 12 on 78 Kangaroo Street, in the City of Koalaford, in the State of New South Wales, with the postal code 3456.

Note that Australia uses a 4-digit postal code format.

The Hyphen in Australian Addresses

One thing that is quite uncommon in Australian addresses when compared to the rest of the world is how hyphens are used. 

Hyphens in Australian addresses refer to ranged addresses, where it's often used to refer to a housing complex that spans over a few stretches of roads. This hyphen does not exist in all Australian addresses, but only in those involving ranged addresses.

Let's expand on the previous example:

In this example, the address above locates Unit 12 on 78-80 Kangaroo Street. Simply think of these hyphenated numbers as part of the street address, and just remember that the number in front of the slash is the unit number.

The 6 Australian States and the 2 Territories

You may have noticed in the examples above that when writing out Australian States, you can use an abbreviated version. The same applies to the Australian Territories.

Here are the 6 Australian States along with its abbreviation for mailing purposes:

• New South Wales: NSW
• Victoria: VIC
• Queensland: QLD
• Western Australia: WA
• South Australia: SA
• Tasmania: TAS

And here are the 2 Main Australian Territories:

• Australian Capital Territory: ACT
• Northern Territory: NT