Land use data at both the national scale and catchment scale are available on this page.
National scale land use data
Land use data mapped at the national scale can be downloaded from this page. Table 1 provides links to the datasets and associated documents that should be read before using the data. The most recent national scale land use data available is for 2010–11 to 2020–21 (0.002-degree cell size).
National scale land use data is also available for the 1992–93, 1993–94, 1996–97, 1998–99, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2005–06 and 2010–11 financial years (0.01-degree cells size).
Please note: national land use datasets use separate mapping methodologies. The respective user guide documents provide more information on the difference between the methodologies.
| Dataset | Year | Summary statistics | Metadata | User guide | Data download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Land use of Australia 2010–11 to 2020–21 | 2010–11, 2015–16, 2020-21 | Available via ABS National Land Account | Land use of Australia 2010–11 to 2020–21 descriptive metadata – MS Word and PDF | Land use of Australia 2010-11 to 2020-21 | |
| Land use of Australia 2010–11 to 2015–16, 250 m | 2010–11 and 2015–16 | Available via ABS National Land Account | Land use of Australia 2010–11 to 2015–16 descriptive metadata – MS Word and PDF
| Land use of Australia 2010–11 to 2015–16, 250 m data download | |
| National scale land use version 5 | 2010–11 | 2010–11 summary statistics PDF [48 KB] | 2010–11 metadata TXT [20 KB] | 2010–11 user guide PDF [300 KB] | 2010–11 data download |
| National scale land use version 4 | 2005–06 | 2005–06 summary statistics PDF [16 KB] | 2005–06 metadata TXT [13 KB] | 2005–06 user guide DOC [302 KB] | 2005–06 data download |
| National scale land use version 3 | 1992–93, 1993–94, 1996–97, 1998–99, 2000–01, 2001–02 | 2001–02 summary statistics PDF [35 KB] 2000–01 summary statistics PDF [14 KB] 1996–97 summary statistics PDF [34 KB] | 1992–93 to 2001–02 metadata PDF [30 KB] | 1992–93 to 2001–02 user guide PDF [236 KB] | 1992–93 to 2001–02 data download |
Catchment scale land use data
Land uses mapped at the more detailed catchment scale (1:5,000–1:250,000) have been collected by the ACLUMP state partners. Land use information at catchment scale has been produced for all states and territories in Australia with dates and scales varying depending on when the data was collected and the intensity of land use.
The Catchment Scale Land Use of Australia – Update December 2023 dataset was released in February 2024. Complementing this dataset is the fourth release of a commodities dataset. The Catchment Scale Land Use of Australia – Commodities – Update December 2023 dataset contains commodity level data for all of the Northern Territory, and is likely to be complete for the following commodities nationally (taking into consideration the source year and date of mapping):
- Crops – rice, cotton, sugar cane
- Fruit – avocados, bananas, citrus, grapes, mangoes, olives,
- Nuts – macadamias
- Vegetables – truffles
- Livestock – dairy cattle, pigs, poultry, horse studs.
More information on the mapping of commodities and land management practices is available in the ALUM Classification Version 8 Guidelines PDF [902 KB, 114 pages].
Table 2 provides links to catchment scale data and associated reports currently available. Data are available as either a combined 50m raster for all of Australia for all land uses, a combined vector dataset for Australia of commodities where available or individual polygon datasets by state or region.
| State | Dataset * | Year of mapping | Metadata | Report | Data download | Data viewer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | Catchment Scale Land Use of Australia - Update December 2023 (combined 50m raster for Australia) | 2008–2023 | CLUM metadata | not available | CLUM data | |
| Australia | Catchment Scale Land Use of Australia - Commodities - December 2023 (vector compilation of state commodity data) | 1967–2023 | CLUM Commodities metadata | not available | CLUM Commodities data | |
| ACT | Catchment Scale Land Use Mapping for the Australian Capital Territory 2012 (*ALUM version 7) (Esri Shapefile) | 2012 | ACT Metadata [102 KB] | not available | ACT data ZIP [124 MB] | |
| NSW | New South Wales Land Use 2017 v1.5 (Esri File Geodatabase) | 2003–2017 | Download NSW land use data and resources: | | ||
| NT | Land Use Mapping project of the Northern Territory (LUMP) 2016-22 (ESRI File Geodatabase) | 2022 | NT metadata | not available | NT data | NR Maps (Land use under 'Land Resources') |
| Qld | Land use mapping – 1999 to Current – Queensland | 2009–2019 | Search the Queensland Spatial Catalogue for “Land Use Mapping” and sort by ‘data publication date’. The State-wide land use data is available in the Land use mapping – 1999 to Current - Queensland data package (which also includes the 1999 baseline and the 1999–Current land use change products). | State-wide land use map | ||
| Qld | Land use mapping – 2021 – Great Barrier Reef NRM regions | 2021 | QLD GBR metadata | QLD GBR data | ||
| SA | Land Use South Australia (Esri Shapefile) | 2008–2017 | SA metadata | Regional reports: South East report PDF [1.4 MB] Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Report PDF [1.86 MB] | SA data | |
| Tas. | Tasmanian Land Use 2022 (ESRI File Geodatabase) | 2022 | Tasmania metadata | not available | LISTData (under "NCH Land Use 2022") | LISTMap |
| Vic. | Victorian Land Use Information System (VLUIS) 2021-22 | 2022 | Victoria Metadata | VLUIS land use paper VLUIS land cover paper | Victoria data (VLUIS 2022) | |
| WA | Catchment Scale Land Use Mapping for Western Australia 2018 (Esri File Geodatabase) | 2008–2018 | WA data and metadata available from data.gov.au | | ||
| Applied Agricultural Remote Sensing Centre (AARSC), University of New England | Australian Tree Crops, Australian Protected Cropping Structures, and Queensland Soybean Crops | As at 30 November 2023 | ||||
* Unless otherwise stated, datasets have been mapped using version 8 of the Australian Land Use and Management Classification (ALUM). Translation tables to convert from version 7 to version 8 are available on the ALUM Classification.