Which Parts of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane Count as Regional for Migration?

The rule in one paragraph

Regional status for migration comes from LIN 22/022, which has applied since 5 March 2022 and hasn't been amended as at 31 October 2026. Section 3(1) lists the Category 2 postcodes ('specified designated city or major regional centre') and section 3(2) the Category 3 postcodes ('specified regional centre or other regional area'). Both categories are designated regional areas. In New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, a postcode on neither list is Category 1, which is how Home Affairs describes Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane: 'Category 1 – Major cities: Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne (Non-Regional)'. So the question for anyone in these three cities isn't which city they live in but which postcode.

Sydney: 29 of 257 postal areas are regional

Sydney is Category 1, and no NSW postcode from 2000 to 2249 is on either regional list. In ABS geography, Parramatta (2150), Blacktown (2148), Liverpool (2170), Penrith (2750), Campbelltown (2560), Camden (2570), Hornsby (2077) and North Sydney (2060) are all in Category 1 postcodes.

The regional postcodes inside Greater Sydney sit in four ABS regions: the Central Coast, which the ABS counts as part of Greater Sydney; Outer West and Blue Mountains; Baulkham Hills and Hawkesbury; and Outer South West, where Bargo (2574) is.

Category 2 postcodes in Greater Sydney

• 2259: Hamlyn Terrace, Wyong, Lake Munmorah, Woongarrah, Kanwal and Gwandalan
• 2574: Bargo and Yanderra

Category 3 postcodes in Greater Sydney

• 2250 and 2251: Gosford, East Gosford, Narara, Wyoming, Kariong, Kincumber, Avoca Beach and Green Point
• 2256 to 2258: Woy Woy, Umina Beach, Ettalong Beach and Ourimbah
• 2260 to 2263: Terrigal, Bateau Bay, The Entrance, Long Jetty, Gorokan and Toukley
• 2753, 2754 and 2756 to 2758: Richmond, Hobartville, North Richmond, Windsor, South Windsor, Bligh Park, Pitt Town and Kurrajong
• 2773 to 2786 (the part of the 2773 to 2898 range inside Greater Sydney): Glenbrook, Blaxland, Springwood, Winmalee, Hazelbrook, Katoomba, Leura, Wentworth Falls and Blackheath

Beyond Greater Sydney, NSW's other Category 2 postcodes are 2264 to 2308, 2500 to 2526 and 2528 to 2535. Home Affairs names Newcastle/Lake Macquarie and Wollongong/Illawarra as the state's Category 2 cities.

Melbourne: 75 of 272 postal areas are regional

Melbourne is Category 1, and every Victorian postcode from 3000 to 3210 is Category 1 except 3097 to 3099 and 3139. In ABS geography, Bundoora (3083), Epping (3076), Port Melbourne (3207), Craigieburn (3064), Werribee (3030), Frankston (3199), Lilydale (3140), Sunbury (3429), Melton (3337) and Cranbourne (3977) are all in Category 1 postcodes.

Victoria's Category 3 list is where most of the regional postcodes inside Greater Melbourne come from. It includes 3430 to 3799, 3809 to 3909, 3912 to 3971 and 3978 to 3996.

Category 2 postcodes in Greater Melbourne

• 3211: Little River
• 3340: Bacchus Marsh, Darley and Maddingley

Category 3 postcodes in Greater Melbourne

• 3097 to 3099 and 3139: Hurstbridge, Woori Yallock, Seville and Wandin North
• 3431 to 3441: Gisborne, New Gisborne, Riddells Creek, Romsey, Lancefield and Macedon
• 3750 to 3799: Wollert, South Morang, Doreen, Mernda, Beveridge, Wallan, Whittlesea, Montrose, Mount Evelyn, Healesville, Emerald, Monbulk and Warburton
• 3809 to 3815: Officer, Pakenham, Garfield and Bunyip
• 3912 to 3944: Somerville, Hastings, Mount Eliza, Mornington, Mount Martha, Dromana, Rosebud, Rye and Sorrento
• 3978 to 3981: Clyde North, Clyde, Tooradin and Koo Wee Rup

The line can fall between consecutive postcodes. Cranbourne (3977) is Category 1 and Clyde North (3978) is Category 3; Sunbury (3429) is Category 1 and everything from 3430 to 3799 is Category 3, including Riddells Creek (3431); 3802 to 3808 are Category 1, while Officer (3809) and Pakenham (3810) are Category 3.

Victoria's full Category 2 list is 3211 to 3232, 3235, 3240, 3328, 3330 to 3333, 3340 and 3342, and Home Affairs names Geelong as the state's Category 2 city.

Brisbane: 52 of 139 postal areas are regional

Brisbane is Category 1, but a larger share of Greater Brisbane's postal areas is regional than of Sydney's or Melbourne's. Most of the Category 2 postcodes below were added on 5 March 2022, when LIN 22/022 added what its explanatory statement calls 'postcodes in the local government areas of Moreton Bay and Ipswich'. In ABS geography, Logan Central (4114) and Windsor (4030) are in Category 1 postcodes, and so is every postcode from 4000 to 4206 that isn't listed below.

Category 2 postcodes in Greater Brisbane

• 4019 to 4022 and 4025: Redcliffe, Scarborough, Margate, Woody Point, Clontarf, Kippa-Ring and Rothwell
• 4037: Eatons Hill
• 4074 and 4076 to 4078: Jindalee, Westlake, Riverhills, Middle Park, Darra, Wacol, Inala, Durack, Doolandella, Forest Lake and Ellen Grove
• 4207: Eagleby, Beenleigh, Yarrabilba, Mount Warren Park and Logan Village
• 4300, 4301 and 4303 to 4305: Springfield Lakes, Springfield, Goodna, Bellbird Park, Camira, Redbank Plains, Collingwood Park, Bundamba, Booval, Brassall, Raceview, North Ipswich and Ipswich
• 4500 to 4506 and 4508 to 4512: Strathpine, Warner, Bray Park, Lawnton, Petrie, Kallangur, Murrumba Downs, Narangba, Burpengary, Morayfield, Deception Bay, North Lakes, Mango Hill, Caboolture, Ningi and Wamuran
• 4514 to 4516 and 4521: Woodford, Kilcoy, Elimbah and Dayboro

Category 3 postcodes in Greater Brisbane

• 4124, 4125 and 4133: Greenbank, Boronia Heights, New Beith, Park Ridge, Munruben, Waterford West, Logan Reserve and Waterford
• 4183 and 4184: Point Lookout, Amity, Dunwich, Russell Island, Macleay Island, Coochiemudlo Island and Lamb Island
• 4507: Bongaree, Banksia Beach, Bellara and Woorim
• 4280, 4285 and 4287: Jimboomba, Flagstone, Beaudesert and Rathdowney
• 4306, 4307, 4309 to 4313, 4340 to 4342 and 4346 (all within the 4306 to 4498 range): Karalee, Karana Downs, Ripley, Deebing Heights, Fernvale, Lowood, Esk, Laidley, Rosewood, Boonah and Marburg

Beyond the postcodes above, Queensland's Category 2 list includes the rest of 4207 to 4275, plus 4550, 4551, 4553 to 4562, 4564 to 4569 and 4571 to 4575. Home Affairs names the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast as Queensland's Category 2 cities.

What it means for the 491, the 494 and the study points

Category 2 and Category 3 postcodes inside these cities are designated regional areas, the same as anywhere else on the list:

• 491 and 494 holders. Condition 8579 requires them to live, work and study only in a designated regional area. Home and work both have to be in a listed postcode: a 491 holder who lives in Pakenham (3810) but works in a Category 1 postcode is not working in a designated regional area.
• The 5 regional study points. Schedule 6D item 6D101 gives 5 points where the campus was in a designated regional area, you lived in a designated regional area while studying, you met the Australian study requirement and none of the study was by distance education. A campus in one of the postcodes above can count; a campus in a Category 1 postcode can't, wherever you lived.
• Category 2 or 3 doesn't matter here. For these three items both categories are designated regional areas.

State and territory nomination is separate again. A 491 nomination still depends on the state's own criteria, which this page doesn't cover.

What it means for a second 485

The Second Post-Higher Education Work stream gives graduates of a regional campus more time on a Temporary Graduate visa, and here the category matters. From Home Affairs' guide table (page updated 13 October 2026):

1. Living in a Category 1 postcode: not eligible, whatever the campus.
2. Studying at a campus in a Category 1 postcode: not eligible, wherever you lived.
3. Category 2 campus or Category 2 home (the other in Category 2 or 3): 1 extra year.
4. Category 3 campus and Category 3 home: 2 extra years.
5. Moving between categories: assessed for the shorter visa (the Tasmanian exception doesn't apply in these three cities).

You also need to have lived only in designated regional areas for at least 2 years immediately before applying, and to be within the stream's age limit. So a graduate whose campus and home for those 2 years were both in Category 3 postcodes, such as Gosford's 2250, falls in the 2-year row of the table, and one who lived in Redcliffe (4020, Category 2) falls in the 1-year row.

What it means for working holiday makers

Working holiday makers use a different list. The Regional Australia list in LIN 22/012 (417) and LIN 22/013 (462), compiled from 5 April 2025, decides where farm, construction and similar specified work counts towards a second or third visa, and it overlaps only partly with Categories 2 and 3:

• Greater Sydney: none of its postal areas is on the list. NSW's list starts at 2311.
• Greater Melbourne: 23 postal areas are on it: 3139, 3211, 3340, 3431, 3434, 3435, 3437, 3438, 3440, 3441, 3753, 3756, 3758, 3781, 3783, 3797, 3799, 3810, 3812 to 3815 and 3981. Several Category 3 postcodes aren't, such as Doreen and Mernda (3754), Officer (3809) and Mornington (3931).
• Greater Brisbane: 20 postal areas are on it, including 4124, 4125, 4133, 4280, 4285, 4287, 4510, 4512, 4515 and 4516. Redcliffe (4020) and North Lakes (4509) are Category 2 but not on the list; Caboolture (4510) is on both.

Two other kinds of specified work can count inside these cities. Paid or volunteer recovery work counts in declared disaster areas: the flood, cyclone and severe weather list (work after 31 December 2021) includes the Parramatta, Blacktown and Northern Beaches council areas in NSW, Melbourne, Yarra and Moonee Valley in Victoria, and Brisbane, Logan, Ipswich and Moreton Bay in Queensland. Critical COVID-19 work in healthcare counts anywhere in Australia if it was done after 31 January 2020. UK passport holders don't need specified work for a second or third 417 lodged on or after 1 July 2024.

How the postcodes were matched to each city

1. The categories are LIN 22/022's lists as printed, which the Home Affairs postcode table matches row for row.
2. Which postcodes are in each city comes from the ABS's 2021 allocation files. A postal area counts as in Greater Sydney, Greater Melbourne or Greater Brisbane when at least half its residential mesh blocks are in that ABS Greater Capital City area.
3. Suburb names are ABS suburbs and localities, each matched to the postal area that holds most of its residential mesh blocks. Only the larger suburbs in each postcode are named.
4. The working holiday lists are from LIN 22/012 and LIN 22/013 (compilation 3 of each) and the Home Affairs specified work pages updated 12 October 2026.

ABS postal areas approximate Australia Post postcodes, and a few suburbs straddle two postcodes. The postcode on your own address is the one to check.

Is Western Sydney regional for migration?

In ABS geography, Parramatta (2150), Blacktown (2148), Liverpool (2170), Penrith (2750) and Campbelltown (2560) are in Category 1 postcodes, so they aren't regional. Richmond (2753), Windsor (2756), Springwood (2777) and Katoomba (2780), in the ABS's Outer West and Blue Mountains region, are Category 3.

Is Bundoora, Epping or Port Melbourne regional?

No. Bundoora is in postcode 3083, Epping (Victoria) in 3076 and Port Melbourne in 3207, and every Victorian postcode from 3000 to 3210 is Category 1 except 3097 to 3099 and 3139.

Is Pakenham regional for the 491?

Pakenham is in postcode 3810, which is Category 3, a designated regional area. A 491 holder has to live, work and study only in designated regional areas, so working in a Category 1 postcode wouldn't meet the condition.

Are Ipswich and Moreton Bay regional?

The postcodes LIN 22/022 added for Moreton Bay and Ipswich on 5 March 2022 are Category 2, and Ipswich (4305), Redcliffe (4020), North Lakes (4509) and Caboolture (4510) are among them. Some postcodes further out, such as Ripley (4306) and Bongaree (4507), are Category 3.

Is the Central Coast part of Sydney for migration?

No. The ABS counts its Central Coast region as part of Greater Sydney, but for migration its postcodes are regional: 2250 to 2258 and 2260 to 2263 are Category 3 and 2259 is Category 2.

Do these regional postcodes count for my working holiday regional work?

Only if they are also on the separate working holiday list. None of Greater Sydney is; in Greater Melbourne 23 postal areas are and in Greater Brisbane 20 are. Check the 417 or 462 specified work list for your postcode.

Could these postcodes change?

Only if the Minister amends or replaces LIN 22/022. As at 31 October 2026 it is in force with no amendments, and the lists have been the same since 5 March 2022.