1.1.1.1 Definitions used


Various regionalisations are referred to in this context statement, including (i) local land services (LLS) regions (NSW Government, 2014), (ii) Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) bioregions and subregions (SEWPaC, 2012) and (iii) NSW local government areas (LGAs) (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2011). Their relationships with the Sydney Basin bioregion are summarised below.

The Sydney Basin bioregion contains parts of four LLS regions (Table 3 and Figure 5). LLSs provide agricultural, biosecurity, natural resources management and emergency management services to regional NSW. About 43% and 30% of the Sydney Basin bioregion lie within the Greater Sydney and South East LLS regions, respectively. Smaller proportions of the bioregion lie within the Hunter and Central Tablelands LLS regions in the north and north-west (Table 3 and Figure 5).

Table 3 Local land services regions contained in the Sydney Basin bioregion


LLSa name

Area (km2)

Area in Sydney Basin bioregion

(km2)

Percentage of LLSa in Sydney Basin bioregion

(%)

Percentage of Sydney Basin bioregion

(%)

Greater Sydney

12,498

10,617

85%

43.2%

South East

55,627

7,383

13.3%

30.1%

Central Tablelands

31,347

4,715

15%

19.2%

Hunter

33,006

1,843

5.6%

7.5%

These data are listed in descending order based on their area in the Sydney Basin bioregion.

aLocal land services region

Data: Local Land Services, Trade and Investment NSW (Dataset 4)

The Sydney Basin bioregion aligns closely with the Sydney Basin IBRA bioregion (SEWPaC, 2012), but also includes parts of the NSW South Western Slopes and South Eastern Highlands IBRA bioregions. The IBRA bioregions are large, geographically distinct areas of land with common characteristics, such as climate, geology, landforms and ecosystems. The IBRA bioregions are further refined into subregions which are more localised and geomorphologically uniform. The (BA-defined) Sydney Basin bioregion contains all or parts of 18 IBRA subregions (Figure 6 and Table 4), although four of these along the western edge of the Sydney Basin bioregion intersect only slightly (i.e. <2%) and are likely an artefact of the mapping. In Table 4, they are identified and commented on in caption note (b). Nine IBRA subregions are almost wholly contained (i.e. >95%) within the Sydney Basin bioregion. The most significant in terms of areal extent are the Wollemi, Yengo, Cumberland and Burragorang IBRA subregions which cover just over 58% of the Sydney Basin bioregion. The names and spatial extents for the IBRA subregions contained within the Sydney Basin bioregion are provided in Table 4. Key characteristics of the main IBRA subregions contained in the Sydney Basin bioregion can be found in the geography (Section 1.1 .2) and ecology (Section 1.1 .7) sections of this context statement.

Figure 5

Figure 5 Local land services regions relative to the Sydney Basin bioregion

Data: Local Land Services, Trade and Investment NSW (Dataset 4)

Figure 6

Figure 6 Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) subregions relative to the Sydney Basin bioregion

Data: Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (Dataset 5)

Table 4 Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) subregions contained within the Sydney Basin bioregion


IBRAa name

IBRAa subregion code

Area (km2)

Area in Sydney Basin bioregion

(km2)

Percentage of IBRAa subregion in Sydney Basin bioregion

(%)

Percentage of Sydney Basin bioregion

(%)

Wollemi

SYB04

6,876

5885

85.6%

23.9%

Yengo

SYB05

4,613

3229

70.0%

13.1%

Cumberland

SYB08

2,757

2757

100.0%

11.2%

Burragorang

SYB09

2,576

2519

97.8%

10.2%

Ettrema

SYB13

1,791

1773

99.0%

7.2%

Cataract

SYB10

1,538

1538

100.0%

6.2%

Jervis

SYB14

1,360

1344

98.9%

5.5%

Pittwater

SYB07

1,484

1332

89.8%

5.4%

Illawarra

SYB12

1,228

1227

100.0%

5.0%

Capertee Valley

NSS03

1,015

975

96.0%

4.0%

Moss Vale

SYB11

969

969

100.0%

3.9%

Capertee Uplands

SEH17

805

767

95.3%

3.1%

Bungonia

SEH07

4,312

131

3.0%

0.5%

Kanangra

SEH08

1,313

86

6.5%

0.3%

Inland Slopesb

NSS01

40,741

40

0.1%

0.2%

Batemanb

SEC03

1,740

31

1.8%

0.1%

Hill Endb

SEH13

5,044

17

0.3%

0.1%

Bathurstb

SEH11

1,615

6

0.3%

0.0%

These data are listed in descending order based on their area in the Sydney Basin bioregion.

aInterim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia subregion

binclusion of this IBRA subregion could be an artefact of mapped boundaries.

Data: Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (Dataset 5)

As at May 2015, the Sydney Basin bioregion contained all or parts of 54 NSW LGAs (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2011) (Figure 7 and Table 5). The high number of LGAs reflects the high population density within the Sydney metropolitan area, which has 33 LGAs (listed in Figure 7). The largest LGAs (>1000 km2) are the non-Sydney metropolitan areas of Shoalhaven, Lithgow, Hawkesbury, Wingecarribee, Wollondilly, Singleton, Mid-Western Region and Blue Mountains. Sydney metropolitan LGAs vary in size from around 6 km2 (Hunters Hill LGA) to 460 km2 (Hornsby LGA).

Figure 7

Figure 7 Local government areas relative to the Sydney Basin bioregion

Data: Australian Bureau of Statistics (Dataset 6)

Table 5 Local government areas (LGAs) contained within the Sydney Basin bioregion


LGA namea

Area

(km2)

Area in Sydney Basin bioregion

(km2)

Percentage of LGA in Sydney Basin bioregion

(%)

Percentage of Sydney Basin bioregion

(%)

Shoalhaven (C)

4530

3547

78.3%

14.5%

Lithgow (C)

4512

3332

73.9%

13.6%

Hawkesbury (C)

2775

2774

100.0%

11.3%

Wingecarribee (A)

2688

2383

88.6%

9.7%

Greater Sydney LGAsb

2135

2126

99.6%

8.7%

Wollondilly (A)

2556

2046

80.0%

8.4%

Singleton (A)

4893

1462

29.9%

6.0%

Mid-Western Regional (A)

8753

1381

15.8%

5.6%

Blue Mountains (C)

1431

1328

92.8%

5.4%

Gosford (C)

940

698

74.3%

2.9%

Wollongong (C)

684

682

99.8%

2.8%

Penrith (C)

405

405

100.0%

1.7%

Cessnock (C)

1965

380

19.3%

1.6%

Sutherland Shire (A)

334

333

99.7%

1.4%

Campbelltown (C)

312

312

100.0%

1.3%

Liverpool (C)

305

305

100.0%

1.2%

Kiama (A)

258

257

99.7%

1.1%

Goulburn Mulwaree (A)

3220

203

6.3%

0.8%

Camden (A)

201

201

100.0%

0.8%

Shellharbour (C)

147

147

99.4%

0.6%

Palerang (A)

5147

84

1.6%

0.3%

Unincorp. Other Territories

218

66

30.3%

0.3%

These data are listed in descending order based on their area in the Sydney Basin bioregion.

aLGA names are as they appear in the database – (A) = area (i.e. shire) council; (C) = city council

bincludes LGAs of: Ashfield, Auburn, Bankstown, Blacktown, Botany Bay, Burwood, Canada Bay, Canterbury, Fairfield, Holroyd, Hornsby, Hunters Hill, Hurstville, Kogarah, Ku-ring-gai, Lane Cove, Leichhardt, Manly, Marrickville, Mosman, North Sydney, Parramatta, Pittwater, Randwick, Rockdale, Ryde, The Hills Shire, Strathfield, Sydney, Warringah, Waverley, Willoughby, Woollahra

Data: Australian Bureau of Statistics (Dataset 6)

Last updated:
21 January 2019
Thumbnail of the Sydney Basin bioregion

Product Finalisation date

2018