Regions of New South Wales - Informal Divisions

Informal Divisions

New South Wales is also informally divided into a smaller number of regions. These regions have no general administrative function or status. Many of them are only vaguely defined, or are defined in different ways for different purposes. For example, departments of the New South Wales government, such as the New South Wales Police Force, or the Department of Health, define regions of the State for their own internal administrative purposes. These regions may be defined in completely different ways, as shown by the maps in the references.

The original basis for descriptive regional names in New South Wales is based on the geography of the State.

The State can be divided into four components:

• the coastal regions fronting the Tasman Sea in the east of the State
• the highlands which form part of the Great Dividing Range
• the western (inland) slopes of the highlands, which form the main agricultural region of the State
• the arid western plains

These four components are then typically divided into north, central and southern components based upon their location relative to Sydney.

This two-way subdivision gives rise to the generic pattern of regions:

• North Coast
• Central Coast
• South Coast
• Northern Tablelands
• Central Tablelands
• Southern Tablelands
• North-West Slopes
• Central Western Slopes
• South-West Slopes
• Western Plains

The "North Coast" is often subdivided into the "Mid North Coast" and the "Northern Rivers" in the far north east of the State.

The "South Coast" is often divided into the "Illawarra" (between Royal National Park and Nowra), and "South Coast" (south of Nowra).

Two additional regions are typically defined. The "Hunter Region" lies between the North Coast and the Central Coast, and includes the valley of the Hunter River which extends far inland between the Northern Tablelands and the Central Tablelands, as well as the Newcastle, New South Wales–Lake Macquarie conurbation.

The "Riverina" region lies in the central south of the State, around the Murray and Murrumbidgee Rivers. This region may, or may not, include the South-West Slopes, depending on the context.