All states and territories in Australia and many overseas countries have geographical naming legislation. In South Australia it is the Geographical Names Act 1991. The Act regulates the practice of naming geographical places in South Australia. Under the Act, interested persons can make submissions on proposed name changes. The Current Naming Proposals can be viewed online by following the link in this page.

Geographic places include areas, regions, localities, cities, suburbs, towns, mountains and rivers, and places or buildings that may be of historical interest.

For more information on naming policy, refer to Geographical Naming Guidelines.

State Gazetteer

The State Gazetteer is a database of place names in South Australia. The general aim of the database is to record any place name that is, or has been used, in South Australia. Associated with each name is up to 38 fields of information relating to feature type, classification, location, derivation and cross-reference to current, previous and alternative names.

The purpose of the State Gazetteer is to provide an accurate and definitive listing of place names for mapping, emergency services and general enquiry purposes.

PlaceNames Online provides a simple search tool for obtaining useful information from the State Gazetteer.

Click here to go to PlaceNames Online

A download facility for State Gazetteer data is available for registered users.  Data downloaded from this service is not to be used for commercial purposes.

• Click here to register for data downloads and related information - (last updated 13 October 2008)

Place Names can also be located via a map on the Property Location Browser.

Contact Us

For more information about PlaceNames Online, if you have any information to add to the State Gazetteer, suggestions for improvements or if it is unavailable, please contact

Geographical Names Unit
Land Services Group
Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure
PO Box 1354
ADELAIDE   SA   5000

Or visit our office at:
Level 2, 101 Grenfell Street
ADELAIDE 5000

Phone: (61 8) 8204 8539
Fax: (61 8) 8204 8544
Email: lsg.placenames@saugov.sa.gov.au