List of cities in Australia by population

The fifty largest Urban Centres (built-up area) are then ranked and, lastly, the fifty largest Local Government Areas (the units of local government below the states and territories) are also ranked.

Urban centres are defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as being a population cluster of 1,000 or more people.

The figures below represent the populations of the contiguous built-up areas of each city; with state and territory capitals in bold.

They may be termed cities, councils, regions, shires, towns, or other names, and all function similarly.

In other capital cities, the central LGA covers a much smaller proportion of the total urban area.

The significant urban areas are designated by solid orange lines with stippled fill and red text.

These are the 31 local government areas that are commonly understood as comprising Sydney, albeit unofficially.