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Australian States and Territories

Can you name the eight Australian states and territories?
Not counting external territories or the Jervis Bay territory
Quiz by LBA
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Last updated: December 21, 2019
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First submittedFebruary 11, 2012
Times taken130,730
Average score75.0%
Rating4.96
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State or Territory
Australian Capital Territory
New South Wales
Northern Territory
Queensland
South Australia
Tasmania
Victoria
Western Australia
101 Recent Comments
+9
Level 41
Sep 14, 2016
Please accept Tasmania for the Capital Territory.
+19
Level 75
Apr 27, 2017
Those are completly different things
+9
Level 63
Feb 12, 2024
Please accept Kingstown for Queensland.
+3
Level 32
Mar 25, 2025
Please accept Old North Wales for New South Wales
+3
Level 66
Nov 22, 2017
Must be a Tazmanian.
+5
Level 69
Dec 15, 2016
Only missed Victoria, had trouble with ACT but I finally remembered the name, thought it was just Canberra.
+1
Level 44
Feb 17, 2017
0:44 remaining
+6
Level 34
Apr 6, 2017
Can you make "capital" work for the capital territory?
+2
Level 70
Apr 10, 2017
Why?
+9
Level 58
Oct 21, 2021
Geography Master? Hardly if you're unwilling to learn the correct names for places! (for future reference, ACT works, and that's what it's often called in everyday usage).
+8
Level 51
Apr 11, 2017
Jervis Bay Territory. Not Jarvis.
+1
Level 80
Jan 26, 2018
Yup. Note at the top of the quiz needs to be changed to fix this.
+1
Level 53
Jul 30, 2017
100% with 1:30 left, mates!
+1
Level 43
Sep 16, 2024
Done in 12 seconds. matey!
+1
Level 28
Oct 20, 2017
Can you please add the official abbreviations?
+3
Level 20
Nov 16, 2017
Got it in 6 seconds by putting Queensland in copy-paste clipboard, typing NSW, ACT, WA, NT, SA, Tasmania, Victoria then hitting Paste to load in Queensland.
+1
Level 70
Nov 21, 2017
What a lot of messing around just to cheat!
+4
Level 63
Feb 12, 2024
Presumably they already know the answers. If it's fun, then why not?
+5
Level 65
Nov 22, 2017
I get the push for stating the "exact names," thus not allowing Canberra for Australian Capital Territory, but come on. On the U.S. States quiz, you don't have to type 'The State of ..." Plus, in most cases, Canberra and Australian Capital Territory are synonymous. The official demonym for the Australian Capital Territory is literally Canberran (look it up). Please be more lenient, at least in this case.
+7
Level 80
Jan 29, 2018
You have got to be kidding me that Canberra and ACT are synonymous.
+4
Level 61
Mar 18, 2022
The difference is, people don't say the State of California, the State of New York in everyday usage. With the Australian Capital Territory, people say that name in everyday usage.
+2
Level 75
Feb 20, 2025
And yet, on US quizzes, if memory serves, Washington is accepted, maybe D.C. is, too, not sure, but we don’t have to type Washington, District of Columbia, or even Washington, D.C., even though it is commonly called Washington, D.C. to differentiate it from the state of Washington.
+3
Level 35
Mar 8, 2025
Canberra and the ACT are not the same thing. Canberra is a city. the ACT is a territory (Australian Capital Territory).
+1
Level 47
Apr 9, 2025
As an Australian, they are not the same thing. It's like saying District of Colombia and Washington, DC are the same thing.

And it's worse since Canberra only takes up around 20% of the area of the ACT.

+5
Level 78
Jan 26, 2018
Too Australia-centric.
+1
Level 62
Aug 28, 2019
OOOH BOB SAGET
+1
Level 71
Jan 26, 2018
If we were an American state, Trump would be our President, and we could all shoot ourselves.
+6
Level 69
Jan 26, 2018
If "NSW", "ACT", "WA", "SA", "NT" all work, can you not make "QLD" an acceptable answer, as this is a commonly used abbreviation?
+2
Level 75
Jan 26, 2018
Aussies, I'm curious, why didn't the mainland territories become states, and will they in the future?
+5
Level 33
Jan 27, 2018
The ACT was specifically created so that our capital city wouldn't be in one of the states.

The Northern Territory has too low a population density to support itself as a state. The top answer on Quora has a good explanation:

https://www.quora.com/Why-is-Northern-Territory-not-a-state

+1
Level 64
Jan 27, 2018
Never heard of the Australian Capital Territory- not sure if that's because it wasn't around when I was at school or I just wasn't paying attention- I did try Canberra though.

Got the rest with no problems.

+3
Level 81
Mar 8, 2018
The ACT was founded in 1911, though its creation is mandated in the Australian constitution (Section 125, if my memory serves me correctly), which provides that territory should be set aside for a national capital, outside any of the states. It took two years after NSW transferred land to the Commonwealth Government for that purpose for Canberra to be founded in 1913. Most people probably think of Canberra and the ACT as synonymous. Population-wise, that's more or less true, but Canberra only occupies about the northern third of the territory of the ACT, the rest being bushland.
+1
Level 36
Sep 12, 2018
8/8 with 1:54 left
+2
Level 62
Oct 5, 2019
You spelt Jervis Bay wrong in the description.
+2
Level ∞
Oct 6, 2019
Okay, fixed.
+1
Level 50
Dec 16, 2019
Shouldn't Jervis Bay be on here, or isn't it just part of the ACT (Australian Capital Territory)?
+2
Level 81
May 14, 2022
Jervis Bay Territory is its own distinct territory - not part of the ACT - but the caveat in the quiz description explicitly excludes it.
+1
Level 64
Apr 6, 2020
less time plz
+1
Level 17
May 20, 2020
Where are you origanally from Ithabise?
+1
Level 72
May 28, 2020
Accept QLD
+1
Level 17
Aug 19, 2020
Got em all in 10 seconds, way too easy...for an Aussie. For Americans, I can name the states in seconds, and for Brits too.
+1
Level 19
Sep 15, 2020
finished with 1:39 to go because i'm aussie
+6
Level 58
Sep 24, 2020
"capital territory" isn't a type in but "australian capital" is
+1
Level 68
Sep 25, 2020
Maybe add Canberra as a type-in for Australian Capital Territory?
+1
Level 37
Feb 28, 2021
Canberra is a CITY
+1
Level 35
Mar 8, 2025
No. Canberra is a city, not a state. Just like how Austin doesn't get accepted for Texas, for example.
+6
Level 45
Feb 18, 2021
please accept Capital Territory
+5
Level 83
Jun 9, 2021
Is there any reason "Capital territory" isn't accepted for "Australian Capital territory"? I would think the "Australian" part of it would be implied?
+4
Level 58
Oct 21, 2021
Perhaps because people don't call it that. ACT is the usual everyday name.
+1
Level 78
Feb 22, 2025
I call it that!
+1
Level 79
Sep 21, 2021
Can we talk about the koala in the thumbnail?
+1
Level 64
Oct 21, 2021
Nearly there, I knew Canberra but didn't know it came in it's own territory- every day's a school day :-)
+4
Level 41
Oct 21, 2021
Can you accept Canberra for the capital state?
+1
Level 81
Oct 21, 2021
Yes. Or just "capital." Though... with only 7 answers it's quite easy to give up and start over and get every one.
+1
Level 35
Mar 8, 2025
We wouldn't say "capital" to be accepted for Washington DC, so there's no reason to here.
+1
Level 35
Mar 8, 2025
No. Canberra is a city, not a territory.
+2
Level 81
Oct 21, 2021
Are they ever going to come up with actual names for the parts west of Queensland?
+4
Level 81
May 14, 2022
Yeah, they just kinda gave up at that point. Plus Queensland and Victoria are both named in honour of Queen Victoria. New South Wales having both 'new' and 'south' tacked onto it is a bit cumbersome, so I feel like only Tasmania got a decent, unique name.
+3
Level 45
Oct 21, 2021
Can you accept Capital or Capital Territory for the Australian Capital Territory?
+3
Level 70
Oct 21, 2021
Can Canberra and Capital Territory be acceptable?
+4
Level 65
Oct 21, 2021
Can you accept Capital, Capital Territory or Canberra for ACT?
+1
Level 61
May 14, 2022
No.
+1
Level 63
Feb 15, 2023
but its the same thing
+1
Level 80
Feb 20, 2025
Except it isn't
+1
Level 35
Mar 8, 2025
Capital - Do we call Washington DC "Capital" just because it's the capital of the US?

Capital Territory - Nobody calls the ACT "Capital Territory"

Canberra - Canberra is a city, not a territory.

+1
Level 56
Feb 22, 2025
Can you accept doing some actual typing and not having everything spoon-fed for you?
+1
Level 65
Oct 23, 2021
6 seconds.

Yup, i am an aussie

+1
Level 56
Mar 23, 2022
im not :)
+1
Level 58
Apr 26, 2022
Wow, Australia, very creative...
+1
Level 27
Jun 27, 2022
As someone who lives there, it was very easy.
+1
Level 17
Aug 10, 2022
Easy did it in 12 seconds
+4
Level 79
Nov 18, 2022
Instead of Western Australia, Southern Australia, and Northern Australia, they decided to make the format of every name slightly different. I respect that.
+1
Level 62
Dec 8, 2022
just typing Capitol should work for it.
+1
Level 56
Feb 22, 2025
Wrong spelling for it for a start!
+1
Level 35
Jan 4, 2023
28 seconds. new record.
+1
Level 69
Jan 20, 2023
I can name all of Australia's states but I can't name all of NZ's provinces :(
+3
Level 63
Feb 15, 2023
7/8 because it would not accept "Capital Territory"
+4
Level 67
Jul 25, 2023
I reckon that's because the quiz asks us to *name* the eight [self-governing] states and territories.

• The name of this one is "Australian Capital Territory"

• The offical and universally-used abbreviation is "ACT"

• Pretty much everone says "[the] ACT" unless they are being particularly formal, in which case they say "[the] Australian Capital Territory"

• A grand total of zero people call it "Capital Territory"

+4
Level 63
Jul 25, 2023
Well, I'm sure you could say the same thing for a lot of featured type-ins. Nobody spells Edinburgh as Edinbobsleigh and capital is regularly accepted on subdivision quizzes.
+1
Level 33
Mar 13, 2023
so easy
+4
Level 39
Apr 14, 2023
Does anybody else find it irritating that the nomenclature for each direction related state is different? First there is 'South Australia', the direction, unchanged. Then there is 'WestERN Australia', with the adjective form of the direction. Finally we have 'NorthERN TERRITORY' with the adjective and an additional title in use. This inconsistency seems very unprofessional to me. Whoever did this was clearly not taking their yassss pills that day.
+1
Level 63
Jul 25, 2023
What's worse is that South Australia was also Northern Territory, but it was still called South Australia even though it was far from just south. The Northern Territory separated later.
+1
Level 69
Apr 19, 2023
10 seconds, Easy for an Aussie
+2
Level 67
Jul 26, 2023
I get that it's called Australian Capital Territory, but isn't that a tad redundant? What other country would it be the capital of?
+1
Level 56
Feb 22, 2025
Because when it was founded, it was as the capital of a recently-federated nation, where the states had until very recently been very distinct colonies of the British crown. The name was to signify the unified nature of the new country.
+2
Level 43
Jul 26, 2023
Aussies heading west: "Oy reckin we name this big bodgy piece Western Australia, that one Northern Territory, and that one South Australia."
+2
Level 58
Oct 6, 2023
I missed the Capital Territory because I didn't type in Australia first. Please accept just Capital Territory.
+1
Level 61
Nov 30, 2023
Can you accept QLD for queensland on these quizzes? As you accept NSW for new south wales and NT, ACT, etc
+1
Level 55
Feb 12, 2024
If anybody's looking for a version that DOES include external territories and the Jervis Bay Territory, check out my page. :)
+3
Level 49
Apr 28, 2024
Australian subdivisions are so confusing!!!

South Australia, sure

West-ERN Australia??

and finally

North-ERN... *Territory*???

Who was responsible for naming these xD

+1
Level 68
Feb 20, 2025
Welcome to Australia, where there's no consistency
+1
Level 80
Feb 20, 2025
Do not attempt to call someone from Western Australia a West Australian.
+1
Level 35
Mar 8, 2025
South Australia is generally south when speaking of the Australian mainland, but it's not a southern state like Victoria and Tasmania.
+1
Level 22
May 4, 2024
The Ukrainian gets it perfect.
+1
Level 55
Feb 20, 2025
I spent so much of my brain trying to figure out why it wasn't Northern Territories....
+1
Level 29
Feb 20, 2025
I never knew about the capital territory until now
+1
Level 44
Feb 20, 2025
3 out of 5 points and i got 7 out of 8 answers??...boohoo!!!
+1
Level 51
Feb 20, 2025
Why doesn't qld work for queensland thats the abbreviation
+1
Level 44
Feb 21, 2025
What about Norfolk Island, cocos islands, McDonald and heard islands, Christmas Island, and coral sea islands? And their land in Antarctica?
+1
Level 35
Mar 8, 2025
As per the quiz note, external territories are excluded.
+1
Level 21
May 3, 2025
amazing quiz to level up :-)