The Australian usage is closer to the American or British use of "neighbourhood" or "district", and can be used to refer to any portion of a city.
Unlike the use in British or American English, this term can include inner-city, outer-metropolitan and industrial areas.
Localities existed in the past as informal units, but in 1996 the Intergovernmental Committee on Surveying and Mapping and the Committee for Geographical Names in Australasia (CGNA) decided to name and establish official boundaries for all localities and suburbs.
[citation needed] In March 2006, only South Australia and the Northern Territory had not completed this process.
Local council decisions are, however, subject to approval by the state's geographical names board.