Because the regions that make up Southern Sydney are mostly separated by Botany Bay and The Georges River, rather than directly bordering each other, occasionally suburbs on the eastern shore of Botany Bay are included within Southern Sydney.
The Southern Sydney councils participate in the Southern Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (SSROC) along with six other councils in the City, Eastern Suburbs and Inner West regions.[4]
The southern suburbs of Sydney can be grouped into three regions:
The postcodes start at 2015 and end in 2020 with the suburbs of Botany and Banksmeadow being the exception having the postcode of 2019 which while being geographically south of the CBD along with the included suburbs are actually on the other side of the Eastern Distributor usually deeming them Eastern Suburbs that are south-east of CBD rather than part of South Sydney.[6]
The region consists of three train stations being Redfern, Green Square and Mascot as well as one Metro station in Waterloo.[7] Green Square is a locality situated at the meeting point of Alexandria, Zetland, Waterloo, and Beaconsfield. Green Square and Mascot station are on the Airport Link[8] completed in 2000 which is part of the T8 Airport & South Line. Many of these suburbs were predominantly industrial and commercial but have now developed into new residential neighbourhoods of high rise apartments.[9]
The Inner Southern Suburbs are sometimes considered inner city or included as part of the Eastern Suburbs that are south-east of CBD however strictly speaking these suburbs geographically are neither east nor south-east of the Sydney CBD.
St George
The St George area, considered the southern suburbs includes all the suburbs in the Georges River Council and the western part of Bayside Council which was Rockdale City prior to 2016. This is everything within the boundaries of Salt Pan Creek to the west, The Georges River to the south, Botany Bay to the east and the M5 Motorway and Wolli Creek to the north. This area corresponds to the southern portion of the cadastral Parish of St George,[10] from which the region derives its name. This southern portion of the parish below the M5 and Wolli Creek is the more contemporary definition of The St George Region that is considered part of Southern Sydney.[citation needed]
The northern portion of the Parish of St George that is north of the M5 and Wolli Creek but south of The Cooks River is considered South-Western Sydney rather than Southern Sydney. This northern portion of the cadastral parish was formerly in the City of Canterbury but now within the amalgamated City of Canterbury-Bankstown. In some instances the whole cadastral Parish of St George (both north and south) is grouped together and considered the inner south-west due to its geographical location from Sydney CBD.[11]