Commonwealth of Australia

The Commonwealth of Australia is a country in the southern hemisphere of Earth comprising the mainland of the world's smallest continent: "Oceania", the major island of Tasmania and a number of islands in the Southern, Indian and Pacific Oceans. The neighboring countries are Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the north, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and the French dependency of New Caledonia to the north-east, and New Zealand to the south-east. Its capital is Canberra, and its largest city is Sydney. It is currently the location of the HIGHCOM Security Committee Headquarters.

History
The Australian mainland has been inhabited for more than 42,000 years by Indigenous Australians. After sporadic visits by fishermen from the north and by European explorers and merchants starting in the 17th century, the eastern half of Australia was claimed by the British in 1770 and initially settled through penal transportation as part of the colony of New South Wales on 26 January 1788. As the population grew and new areas were explored, another five largely self-governing Crown Colonies were established during the 19th century.

On 1 January 1901, the six colonies became a federation, and the Commonwealth of Australia was formed. Since federation, Australia has maintained a stable liberal democratic political system and remains a Commonwealth Realm. The capital city is Canberra, located in the Australian Capital Territory. The population is 21 million, and is concentrated in the mainland state capitals of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Darwin and Hobart in Tasmania.

During the Human-Covenant War, Australia, or at least one of its cities, suffered extensive damage.

United Nations Space Command
The UNSC has many bases and facilities in Australia, namely, HIGHCOM Facility Bravo-6, where the members of the UNSC Security Committee gather, and the Sydney Synthetic Intellect Institute in Sydney, as well as the ONI Ordnance Testing Facility B5D at Swanbourne, Perth.

States

 * New South Wales
 * Queensland
 * South Australia
 * Tasmania
 * Victoria
 * Western Australia
 * Northern Territory
 * Australian Capital Territory