State and Territory Capitals of Australia Jurisdiction Capital City Population[2] State/Territory Population[3] Date of statehood Capital since Image Australia and Australian Capital Territory Canberra 435,019 403,468 Must remain a territory as per s.125 of the Australian Constitution [N 1] 1913 View of Civic from Mount Ainslie, with Telstra Tower in the background New South Wales Sydney 5,029,768 7,759,274 1788 1788 Skyline of the Sydney central business district Victoria Melbourne 4,725,316 6,179,249 1851 1851 The Melbourne skyline on the Yarra River Queensland Brisbane 2,360,241 4,848,877 1859 1860 Brisbane's CBD, with the Story Bridge in the foreground Western Australia Perth 2,022,044 2,558,951 1829 1829 View of Perth CBD skyline South Australia Adelaide 1,324,279 1,713,054 1836 1836 View of Adelaide Skyline .