Abbreviations and Acronyms

This page has just been moved from the old Australian Wiki in the last few days. Links are still being updated. Please go to the Australia Forum and start a topic with "Wiki: Abbreviations and Acronyms" to discuss before making changes to this page.

PLEASE SEE:

The Abbreviations and acronyms is intended to be a mainstream list for Waze, but it is currently being updated offline.

---

UPDATE NOTE: The newest (July 2015) TTS voices now allow per-country standard abbreviation lists. This list will be provided to Waze so that TTS can be set to reflect this list.

State abbreviations

Currently, the State field is not set for use in Australia. Where a state or territory abbreviation is required to distinguish between the same suburb (city) name in two different states, only the following abbreviations should be used, with the specified capitalisation.

State/territory name	Standard abbreviation
Australian Capital Territory	ACT
New South Wales	NSW
Northern Territory	NT
Queensland	Qld
South Australia	SA
Tasmania	Tas
Victoria	Vic
Western Australia	WA

Do not use fullstops afterwards (e.g. Qld.) or inside (e.g. N.S.W.) these abbreviations. Note the use of conventional (mixed-case) capitalisation (e.g. Tas).

Measurement Suffix Abbreviations

Suffix name	Standard abbreviation
Kilometre/ kilometer	km
Metre/ meter	m

Standard Suffix Abbreviations

Notes:

1. Only abbreviate suffixes.

• "The Avenue", "The Green ", and etc. should not be abbreviated.
• "Circuit Avenue Road" would be abbreviated to Circuit Avenue Rd and not "Cct Ave Rd"
• A road named "Service way" should not be abbreviated, while "Pipeline Service way" should be.

2. Suffix abbreviations do not contain any punctuation, such as "." (Full-stops) or "-" (Hyphens).

3. In the event that the original suffix is a plural (i.e contains a "s" at the end) and only its singular form is present as an abbreviation, simply add an "s" to the end of the abbreviation.

4. If no abbreviation is given in this table, then spell out the word in full.

Suffix name	Standard abbreviation	Comment
A
Access	Accs	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Alley	Ally	AS/NZS 4819:2011
Alleyway	Alwy	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Amble	Ambl	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Approach	App	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Arcade	Arc	AS/NZS 4819:2011
Artery	Art	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Avenue	Ave	AS/NZS 4819:2011 Ave appears in many places due to use by Australia Post
B
Basin	Basn	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Beach	Bch	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Block	Blk	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Bluff	Blf	Source?
Boardwalk	Bwlk	AS/NZS 4819:2011
Boulevard	Bvd	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Brace	Brce	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Branch	Br	Unofficial?
Break	Brk	AS/NZS 4819:2011
Bridge	Bdge	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Broadway	Bdwy	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Bypass	Bypa	AS/NZS 4819:2011
Byway	Bywy	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
C
Canyon	Cyn	Unofficial?
Causeway	Caus	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Centre/ Center	Ctr	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Centreway/ Centerway	Cnwy	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Chase	Ch	AS/NZS 4819:2011
Circle	Cir	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Circlet	Clt	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Circuit	Cct	AS/NZS 4819:2011
Circus	Crcs	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Close	Cl	AS/NZS 4819:2011
Colonnade	Clde	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Common	Cmmn	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Concourse	Con	AS/NZS 4819:2011
Copse	Cps	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Corner	Cnr	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Corso	Cso	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Course	Crse	Unofficial?
Court	Ct	AS/NZS 4819:2011
Courtyard	Ctyd	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Creek	Crk	Unofficial?
Crescent	Cr	AS/NZS 4819:2011 Cres appears in many places due to use by Australia Post
Crest	Crst	AS/NZS 4819:2011
Crossing	Crsg	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Crossroad	Crd	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Crossway	Cowy	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Cruiseway	Cuwy	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Cul-De-Sac	Cds	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Cutting	Cttg	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
D
Deviation	Devn	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Distributor	Dstr	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Divide	Dv	Unofficial?
Drive	Dr	AS/NZS 4819:2011
Driveway	Drwy	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
E
Entrance	Ent	AS/NZS 4819:2011
Esplanade	Esp	AS/NZS 4819:2011
Estate	Est	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Expressway	Exp	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Extension	Extn	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
F
Fairway	Fawy	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Fire Track	Ftrk	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Firetrail	Ftrl	AS/NZS 4819:2011
Follow	Folw	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Footway	Ftwy	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Foreshore	Fshr	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Formation	Form	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Freeway	Fwy	AS/NZS 4819:2011
Front	Frnt	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Frontage	Frtg	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
G
Garden	Gdn	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Gardens	Gdns	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Gate	Gte	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Gates	Gtes	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Glade	Gld	AS/NZS 4819:2011
Grange	Gra	AS/NZS 4819:2011
Green	Grn	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Ground	Grnd	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Grove	Gr	AS/NZS 4819:2011
Gully	Gly	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
H
Heights	Hts	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Highroad	Hrd	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Highway	Hwy	AS/NZS 4819:2011
I
Interchange	Intg	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Intersection	Intn	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
J
Junction	Jnc	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
K
L
Landing	Ldg	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Lane	Lane	Ln is deprecated by AS/NZS 4819:2011
Laneway	Lnwy	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Little	Lt
Lookout	Lkt	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Loop	Loop	AS/NZS 4819:2011
Lower	Lwr	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
M
Mall	Mall	AS/NZS 4819:2011
Meadow	Mdw	Unofficial?
Meander	Mndr	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Mews	Mews	AS/NZS 4819:2011
Motorway	Mwy	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Mount	Mt
Mountain	Mtn
N
O
Outlook	Otlk	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Overpass	Opas	Unofficial?
P
Parade	Pde	AS/NZS 4819:2011
Park	Park	Need to check AS/NZS 4819:2011 Pk deprecated by IP Australia
Parklands	Pkld	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Parkway	Pwy	AS/NZS 4819:2011 Pkwy given by IP Australia is not authoritative
Passage	Psge	AS/NZS 4819:2011
Path	Path	AS/NZS 4819:2011
Piazza	Piaz	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Place	Pl	AS/NZS 4819:2011
Plain	Pln
Plateau	Plat	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Plaza	Plza	AS/NZS 4819:2011
Point	Pnt	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Promenade	Prom	AS/NZS 4819:2011
Q
Quay	Qy	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Quays	Qys	AS/NZS 4819:2011
R
Ramble	Rmbl	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Ramp	Ramp	AS/NZS 4819:2011
Range	Rnge	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Reach	Rch	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Reserve	Res
Retreat	Rtt	AS/NZS 4819:2011
Ridge	Rdge	AS/NZS 4819:2011
Ridgeway	Rgwy	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Right Of Way	Rowy	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Rise	Rise	AS/NZS 4819:2011
River	Rvr	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Riverway	Rvwy
Riviera	Rvra	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Road	Rd	AS/NZS 4819:2011
Ronde	Rnde	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Round	Rnd	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Route	Rte	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
S
Service Way	Swy	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Siding	Sdng	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Slope	Slpe	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Sound	Snd	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Square	Sq	AS/NZS 4819:2011
Stairs	Strs	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Station	Sta	Source?
State Highway	SH
Steps	Stps	AS/NZS 4819:2011
Strand	Stra	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Street	St	AS/NZS 4819:2011
Subway	Sbwy	AS/NZS 4819:2011
Summit	Smt	Unofficial? Is this needed?
T
Terrace	Tce	AS/NZS 4819:2011
Thoroughfare	Thor	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Throughway	Thwy	Unofficial?
Tollway	Tlwy	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Towers	Twrs	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Track	Trk	AS/NZS 4819:2011
Trafficway	Trfy	Unofficial? Is this needed?
Trail	Trl	AS/NZS 4819:2011
Trailer	Trlr	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Triangle	Tri	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Trunkway	Tkwy	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Tunnel	Tunl	Unofficial?
Turnpike	Tpk	Unofficial? Is this needed?
U
Underpass	Upas	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Upper	Upr	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
V
Valley	Vly	Unofficial?
Viaduct	Vdct	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
View	View	AS/NZS 4819:2011
Villa	Vll	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Village	Vlg	Unofficial?
Villas	Vlls	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Vista	Vsta	AS/NZS 4819:2011
W
Walk	Walk	AS/NZS 4819:2011
Walkway	Wkwy	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
Water	Wtr	Unofficial?
Way	Way	AS/NZS 4819:2011
Wharf	Whrf	IP Australia preference, not authoritative
X
Y
Z

Other Abbreviations

Prefixes, directional abbreviations and other (non-suffix) abbreviations should not be used, except for state/ territory abbreviations & country abbreviations; under ISO 3166-1 alpha-3.

1. Prefix abbreviations such as Mount (Mt.) Note: Mount (Mt.) is not the same as Mountain (Mtn.).

• Although they are common, can cause issues as variation and overlap exists between naming, usage, and prefix standards (I.e. What words to, and how to, abbreviate).
• Therefore a lake named "Lake Clair" would not be abbreviated, while if its documented name was "Clair Lake" it would be.
• "St " at the start of a suburb name is part of the legal name. It should not be expanded to "Saint".
• "St " (meaning "Saint") as part of the street name should be shown as "St. " with the trailing full stop to cause it to be correctly pronounced by the TTS.

2. Directional abbreviations include: East (E), South West (SW), Central (CN), Upper (UP), and Lower (LR).

• These abbreviations should not be abbreviated.
• In addition to not being abbreviated, directions should only be included when they are a part of the documented name, and not a suffix or prefix added at a later stage to describe location or orientation/ direction.
• The street type should still be abbreviated e.g. "Smith Rd East" is correct; "Smith Road East" or "Smith Rd E" are not.

3. Other abbreviations include: Island (Is.), Quay (Qy), Reserve (Res) and Tunnel (Tunl).

• These are acceptable to be used when they are a suffix, but not acceptable when they are place names.
• Therefore "King-Tunnel Road" should have tunnel spelt in full, as it refers to a tunnel. While "Queen Tunnel-Road" could have tunnel abbreviated, as tunnel refers to the type of roadway, and is a part of the suffix.
• Likewise an Island named "Island Island" would be abbreviated to Island Is.

Further Reading

Please refer to the following Waze forum for a "Work in progress" list of abbreviations that are being tested, currently available, and proposed:

http://www.waze.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=15178