EPSG Library · Americas and Asia-Pacific

EPSG:28356 — GDA94 / MGA zone 56

Source: EPSG Dataset via PROJ 9.5.1 · Updated 2026-10-05

Summary

EPSG:28356 (GDA94 / MGA zone 56) is a projected coordinate reference system on the Geocentric Datum of Australia 1994 datum using the Transverse Mercator method, with coordinates in metres. Area of use: Australia - onshore and offshore between 150°E and 156°E.

Type: projected
Datum: Geocentric Datum of Australia 1994
Units: metre
Axes: E, N

Definition

EPSG:28356 as published in the EPSG Dataset (PROJ 9.5.1).
Property	Value
EPSG code	EPSG:28356
Name	GDA94 / MGA zone 56
Type	Projected CRS
Datum	Geocentric Datum of Australia 1994
Ellipsoid	GRS 1980 (a = 6,378,137.000 m, 1/f = 298.257222)
Prime meridian	Greenwich
Projection method	Transverse Mercator
Axes	Easting (E, east, metre); Northing (N, north, metre)
Scope	Engineering survey, topographic mapping.
Bounding box	150° to 156° longitude, -58.96° to -13.87° latitude

Area of use

Australia - onshore and offshore between 150°E and 156°E.

Projection parameters

Transverse Mercator parameters.
Parameter	Value	Unit
Latitude of natural origin	0	degree
Longitude of natural origin	153	degree
Scale factor at natural origin	0.9996	unity
False easting	500,000	metre
False northing	10,000,000	metre

Example coordinates

A WGS 84 point at longitude 153.0°, latitude -36.415° (inside the area of use) has these coordinates in EPSG:28356:

Computed with PROJ using the EPSG default operation: unavailable until proj_trans is called.
Axis	Value	Unit
E	500,000.000	m
N	5,970,020.382	m

At this point the projection scale factor is 0.99960000 and the grid convergence is -0.000000°.

Open this conversion in the coordinate converter

Transformations to WGS 84

Candidate operations from the EPSG Dataset, best first as ranked by PROJ.
Operation	Accuracy	Area of use
axis order change (2D) + GDA94 to WGS 84 (1) + axis order change (2D)	3 m	Australia including Lord Howe Island, Macquarie Island, Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Norfolk Island. All onshore and offshore.
axis order change (2D) + GDA94 to WGS 84 (2) + axis order change (2D)	3 m	Australia including Lord Howe Island, Macquarie Island, Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Norfolk Island. All onshore and offshore.

Transformations change the datum, so each has an accuracy and an area of use. Choose the most accurate one that covers your data and record its name. See datum transformations.

Grid-based operations not bundled with standard PROJ installs: GDA94 to WGS 84 (3).

Definitions and downloads

PROJ string

+proj=utm +zone=56 +south +ellps=GRS80 +units=m +no_defs +type=crs

A PROJ string cannot carry every EPSG detail (axis order, datum ensemble, transformations). Prefer WKT2 or the EPSG code itself.

Proj4js definition used by the converter

+proj=utm +zone=56 +south +ellps=GRS80 +units=m +towgs84=0,0,0 +no_defs

Datum shift from GDA94 to WGS 84 (1) (EPSG accuracy 3 m), the best single Helmert operation for this area of use. Where PROJ prefers a grid-based or multi-step operation (see the table above), results can differ by up to that operation's accuracy.

WKT2:2019

PROJCRS["GDA94 / MGA zone 56", BASEGEOGCRS["GDA94", DATUM["Geocentric Datum of Australia 1994", ELLIPSOID["GRS 1980",6378137,298.257222101, LENGTHUNIT["metre",1]]], PRIMEM["Greenwich",0, ANGLEUNIT["degree",0.0174532925199433]], ID["EPSG",4283]], CONVERSION["Map Grid of Australia zone 56", METHOD["Transverse Mercator", ID["EPSG",9807]], PARAMETER["Latitude of natural origin",0, ANGLEUNIT["degree",0.0174532925199433], ID["EPSG",8801]], PARAMETER["Longitude of natural origin",153, ANGLEUNIT["degree",0.0174532925199433], ID["EPSG",8802]], PARAMETER["Scale factor at natural origin",0.9996, SCALEUNIT["unity",1], ID["EPSG",8805]], PARAMETER["False easting",500000, LENGTHUNIT["metre",1], ID["EPSG",8806]], PARAMETER["False northing",10000000, LENGTHUNIT["metre",1], ID["EPSG",8807]]], CS[Cartesian,2], AXIS["(E)",east, ORDER[1], LENGTHUNIT["metre",1]], AXIS["(N)",north, ORDER[2], LENGTHUNIT["metre",1]], USAGE[ SCOPE["Engineering survey, topographic mapping."], AREA["Australia - onshore and offshore between 150°E and 156°E."], BBOX[-58.96,150,-13.87,156]], ID["EPSG",28356]]

Downloads

28356.prj — ESRI WKT for shapefiles
28356.wkt — OGC WKT2:2019

FAQ

What is EPSG:28356?

Where can EPSG:28356 be used?

Its area of use is: Australia - onshore and offshore between 150°E and 156°E.

Is EPSG:28356 in metres or degrees?

EPSG:28356 is projected, so coordinates are easting and northing in metres, not degrees.

How do I convert EPSG:28356 to latitude and longitude?

Transform from EPSG:28356 to EPSG:4326 (WGS 84). In GeoCAD Bridge open the coordinate converter with EPSG:28356 preselected, enter easting and northing, and choose WGS 84 as the target.

How accurate is the transformation from EPSG:28356 to WGS 84?

The most accurate EPSG transformation listed here is “axis order change (2D) + GDA94 to WGS 84 (1) + axis order change (2D)”, with a stated accuracy of 3 m for Australia including Lord Howe Island, Macquarie Island, Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Norfolk Island. All onshore and offshore.. Always check the area of use before applying it.

Coordinate systems

Articles

Tools

References

IOGP. EPSG Geodetic Parameter Dataset, epsg.org/crs_28356.
PROJ 9.5.1 / pyproj 3.7.2, used to compute every value on this page.

Cite this page

GeoCAD Bridge. “EPSG:28356 — GDA94 / MGA zone 56.” GeoCAD Bridge EPSG Library, updated 2026-10-05. https://www.geocadbridge.com/epsg/28356/