Street Addressing Working Group
and the
National Street Addressing Standard

In 1999, the Street Addressing Working Group of the Intergovernmental Committee on Surveying and Mapping (ICSM) undertook a review of existing Standards and Guidelines relating to addressing. ICSM agreed that a comprehensive addressing Standard needed to be developed to meet current and future needs of Australian and New Zealand users. The Street Addressing Working Group led the creation of the Rural and Urban Addressing Standard (AS/NZS 4819:2003) released by Standards Australia in 2003. In 2006 a revision to the Standard resulted in the release of Appendix H for the Standard, and this provided informative Guidelines for Assigning Addresses in Australia. The standard is targeted at local governments who are responsible for assigning addresses and road names, and can be purchased through Standards Australia or Standards New Zealand.

In 2009, the Street Addressing Special Interest Group was formed to undertake a review of the Standard under the guidance of ICSM. The work has progressed to the point where the Draft Standard was released for public consultation in April 2011. The Draft can be obtained directly through SAI Global at http://infostore.saiglobal.com/store2/Details.aspx?ProductID=1461019.

Publication of the final version of the Standard is planned for October 2011.

About the Standard

The revision of the Standard makes significant changes to its structure and seeks to provide more clarity in a shorter document. The new Standard combines the common aspects of rural and urban addressing and has sections covering::

1. Scope
2. Address Information
3. Locality Definition and Naming
4. Road Naming
5. Address Assignment
6. Water Address Assignment
7. Mapping and Geocoding
8. Signage

Benefits of the Standard

• Provides users with the requirements for assigning addresses, naming roads, and defining localities.
• Enables the creation of addresses that are suitable for inclusion in the Geocoded National Address File (G-NAF).
• Improved provision of services for Governments, Emergency Services, Commercial Interests, the Information Industry and the Community who use street addresses.

Developing the Standard

The following organisations were involved in developing the Standard:

• Landgate - WA
• Dept of Environment & Resource Management – QLD
• Dept of Sustainability & Environment – VIC
• Dept for Administrative and Information Services - SA
• ACT Planning and Land Authority – ACT
• Land & Property Information – NSW
• Dept of Primary Industries, Parks, Water & Environment – TAS
• Dept of Lands and Planning – NT
• Land Information New Zealand
• PSMA Australia Ltd
• Australia Post
• New Zealand Post
• Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations – Aust Govt
• Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority – VIC
• Standards Australia

[ Top ]