Australia - Formatting standards & code snippets

  1. I18N Standards - Code Snippets
  2. Australia

Here is a complete list of standards and formats used in Australia. It includes a full list of ISO codes, number, date, currency, telephone and address formats. You will also get code examples on how to perform the most common formatting operations in Java, C#, JavaScript and PHP. Multiple resource files are made available, mainly the complete list of states, in different formats such as CSV, XML, JSON, HTML and SQL.

What are the ISO-3166-1 codes for Australia?

  • Alpha-2: AU
  • Alpha-3: AUS
  • Numeric: 036
  • Java Locale Code: en_AU
  • .Net CultureInfo Code: en-AU
  • PHP Locale Code: en_AU

What is the official language in Australia?

  • English

What is the date format in Australia?

The date format in Australia is big-endian:

  • Format: yyyy-MM-dd
    Ex: 2014-12-03 for December 3rd 2014
Formatting a date in Java:
Locale locale = new Locale("en", "AU");
SimpleDateFormat sdf = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy-MM-dd", locale);
sdf.format(new Date());
Formatting a date in C#:
CultureInfo ci = CultureInfo.GetCultureInfo("en-AU");
DateTime.Now.ToString("yyyy-MM-dd", ci);
Formatting a date in JavaScript:
let date = new Date();
date.toLocaleDateString('en-AU');
Formatting a date in PHP:
date("Y-m-d")

What is the time format in Australia?

The time format in Australia is mostly 12-hour notation, but 24-hour format is also commonly adopted.

  • Format: h:mm[:ss] AM|PM
    Ex: 9:00 AM, 9:00 PM
  • Format: HH:mm[:ss]
    Ex: 09:00 for 9:00 AM, 21:00 for 9:00 PM
Formatting time in Java:
Locale locale = new Locale("en", "AU");
SimpleDateFormat sdf = new SimpleDateFormat("h:mm:ss a", locale);
sdf.format(new Date());
Formatting time in C#:
CultureInfo ci = CultureInfo.GetCultureInfo("en-AU");
DateTime.Now.ToString("h:mm:ss tt", ci); // or "HH:mm:ss"
Formatting time in JavaScript:
let date = new Date();
date.toLocaleTimeString('en-AU', {hour12: true}); // or {hour12: false}
Formatting time in PHP:
date("g:i:s a"); // or date("H:i:s");

What is the numeric format in Australia?

  • Format: 999,999,999.99
    • Group Size: 3
    • Grouping Character: , (comma)
    • Decimal Character: . (dot)
Formatting numbers in Java:
Locale locale = new Locale("en", "AU");
NumberFormat numberFormat = NumberFormat.getNumberInstance(locale);
numberFormat.format(999999999.99d);
Formatting numbers in C#:
double d = 999999999.99d;
d.ToString("n", CultureInfo.GetCultureInfo("en-AU")));
Formatting numbers in JavaScript:
let number = 999999999.99;
number.toLocaleString('en-AU');
Formatting numbers in PHP:
$fmt = new NumberFormatter($locale = 'en_AU', NumberFormatter::DECIMAL);
$fmt->format(999999999.99);

What is the currency format in Australia?

  • Format: $999,999,999.99
    • Group Size: 3
    • Grouping Character: , (comma)
    • Decimal Character: . (dot)
    • Currency Symbol: $
    • Currency Symbol Position: Before number
    • Currency Name: Australian Dollar (AUD)
Formatting currency in Java:
Locale locale = new Locale("en", "AU");
NumberFormat numberFormat = NumberFormat.getCurrencyInstance(locale);
numberFormat.format(999999999.99d);
Formatting currency in C#:
double d = 999999999.99d;
d.ToString("c", CultureInfo.GetCultureInfo("en-AU")));
Formatting currency in JavaScript:
let number = 999999999.99;
number.toLocaleString('en-AU', {currency: 'AUD', style: 'currency'});
Formatting currency in PHP:
$fmt = new NumberFormatter($locale = 'en_AU', NumberFormatter::CURRENCY);
$fmt->format(999999999.99);

Download list of states for Australia in CSV, JSON, HTML, SQL and XML

List of states: HTML - Select Control

----------------------------------
 ISO-3166-2 code + Name - English
----------------------------------
<select>
	<option value="AU-NSW">New South Wales</option>
	<option value="AU-QLD">Queensland</option>
	<option value="AU-SA">South Australia</option>
	<option value="AU-TAS">Tasmania</option>
	<option value="AU-VIC">Victoria</option>
	<option value="AU-WA">Western Australia</option>
	<option value="AU-ACT">Australian Capital Territory</option>
	<option value="AU-NT">Northern Territory</option>
</select>

List of states: CSV

code,name
AU-ACT,"Australian Capital Territory"
AU-NSW,"New South Wales"
AU-NT,"Northern Territory"
AU-QLD,"Queensland"
AU-SA,"South Australia"
AU-TAS,"Tasmania"
AU-VIC,"Victoria"
AU-WA,"Western Australia"

List of states: JSON

----------------------------------
 ISO-3166-2 code + Name - English
----------------------------------
[
	{code: "AU-ACT", name: "Australian Capital Territory"},
	{code: "AU-NSW", name: "New South Wales"},
	{code: "AU-NT", name: "Northern Territory"},
	{code: "AU-QLD", name: "Queensland"},
	{code: "AU-SA", name: "South Australia"},
	{code: "AU-TAS", name: "Tasmania"},
	{code: "AU-VIC", name: "Victoria"},
	{code: "AU-WA", name: "Western Australia"}
]

List of states: SQL

-- -----------------------------------------------------
-- Table `state`
-- -----------------------------------------------------
DROP TABLE IF EXISTS state;

CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS state (
  id INT(10) UNSIGNED NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,
  code VARCHAR(6) NOT NULL,
  name VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL
  PRIMARY KEY (id),
  UNIQUE INDEX id_UNIQUE (id ASC),
  UNIQUE INDEX code_UNIQUE (code ASC)
) ENGINE = InnoDB;

INSERT INTO state (id, code, name) VALUES (null, 'AU-ACT', 'Australian Capital Territory');
INSERT INTO state (id, code, name) VALUES (null, 'AU-NSW', 'New South Wales');
INSERT INTO state (id, code, name) VALUES (null, 'AU-NT', 'Northern Territory');
INSERT INTO state (id, code, name) VALUES (null, 'AU-QLD', 'Queensland');
INSERT INTO state (id, code, name) VALUES (null, 'AU-SA', 'South Australia');
INSERT INTO state (id, code, name) VALUES (null, 'AU-TAS', 'Tasmania');
INSERT INTO state (id, code, name) VALUES (null, 'AU-VIC', 'Victoria');
INSERT INTO state (id, code, name) VALUES (null, 'AU-WA', 'Western Australia');

List of states: XML

<!-- ISO 3166-2 code + name - English -->
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<states>
	<state>
		<code>AU-ACT</code>
		<name>Australian Capital Territory</name>
	</state>
	<state>
		<code>AU-NSW</code>
		<name>New South Wales</name>
	</state>
	<state>
		<code>AU-NT</code>
		<name>Northern Territory</name>
	</state>
	<state>
		<code>AU-QLD</code>
		<name>Queensland</name>
	</state>
	<state>
		<code>AU-SA</code>
		<name>South Australia</name>
	</state>
	<state>
		<code>AU-TAS</code>
		<name>Tasmania</name>
	</state>
	<state>
		<code>AU-VIC</code>
		<name>Victoria</name>
	</state>
	<state>
		<code>AU-WA</code>
		<name>Western Australia</name>
	</state>
</states>