Contact usBookmark this pagePrint pageResize downResize up

Addressing

The basic principle of addressing is that addresses must be simple, singular (i.e. non-duplicated), intuitively understood and relevant to place.

The rise of electronic communication mediums has seen an exponential increase in demands from a wide variety of sectors to obtain not only relevant, but accurate and timely addressing information to suit a range of needs including navigation, emergency response, service delivery and statistical analysis.

Road and locality names are important navigation tools; not only for residents but for councils, emergency services and mapping services. The gazettal of these names reduces confusion, lowers the incidents of duplication and ensures appropriate names are made official.

Consequently, the naming process has been standardised to ensure that any changes are easily understood by community members and service providers. See Road naming for more information on online road naming and road naming legislation.

A unified solution to addressing will be achieved through the alignment of legislation, process and systems. Various pieces of legislation touch on requirements for creation, maintenance and/or delivery of addresses. In response to this requirement the board has developed a suite of guidelines and policies which are provided below. 

The following Acts and Regulation explicitly reference governance arrangements for components of addressing:

  • Roads Act 1993
  • Geographical Names Act 1966
  • Local Government Act 1993 and
  • Roads Regulation 2018.

The Geographical Names Board has a statutory responsibility to determine definitive boundaries for suburbs and localities throughout NSW.

The Board works closely with local councils when defining boundaries because local residents are one of the most significant users of the names. The process of determining boundaries is one of acknowledging existing names and formalising their extent according to common local usage.

The Board must be notified of all road naming proposals. The Surveyor General can object to any road naming proposal that doesn’t meet the Board's guidelines as set out in the following publications:

NSW Address Policy and User Manual (PDF 5.4 MB) June 2021

Reference guides

Addresses for data users (under review)  (PDF 1.2 MB) April 2015

Addressing for developers (under review) (PDF 957.7 KB) April  2015

Addressing for government agencies (under review) (PDF 1.3 MB) April  2015

Addressing for surveyors (under review) (PDF 2.3 MB) April  2015

 

back to top