What is the difference between trial mode and live mode?

Trial mode returns mock, non-genuine sample data so you can build and test your integration without incurring Data Charges. Live mode returns real data and each request debits your prepaid credit. Live mode requires a credited account and the Account Enablement Fee.

How are Data Charges calculated?

Charges vary by endpoint, metric, the volume of data requested and the age of the data requested. Get Cost in the research platform gives you an indicative cost before you make a request. The charge applied at the time of the request is the charge payable.

Am I charged for repeat requests?

Yes. Unlike the research platform, the API charges each request separately, including repeat requests for identical data. You are responsible for managing your own request volume. You are not charged for a metric, market and month combination where no data exists.

How do I keep my usage and my bill under control?

Pricing is pay-per-use, so every request your product makes is a request you pay for. The onus is on you to manage your own users and your own request volume — apply your own rate limits, avoid uncontrolled loops or retries, and do not expose the API directly to end users who could trigger unlimited requests. Use Get Cost to model your expected volume before you go live, and watch your credit balance.

What happens if my credit runs out?

Requests fail if your balance does not cover the Data Charge and any applicable fee. You top up your credit through the research platform at any time. Auto top-ups are coming soon.

Can I cache the data?

Reference data — the lists of months, markets, market types, property types and metrics — may be cached for as long as you hold an active API key, and should be refreshed regularly. Metric values are not cached or stored.

Can I show the data on a public page?

Only where we have expressly approved it in writing for that use, and on the conditions we set. By default, output must only be available to end users who have created an account with you and authenticated. Contact us for data you want to make publicly available. A static, point-in-time document such as a PDF suburb report may also be delivered to a named client, with attribution, a disclaimer and the data month stated.

How often is the data updated?

A new data release is published monthly, on or about the 6th. We recommend checking the months list from around the 4th of each month until the new release appears, checking the metrics list monthly, and the markets list every three months.

Do you have developer documentation?

Yes. The developer reference covers authentication, endpoints, parameters, response shapes, errors and rate limits. Technical documentation is also available in the API tab of the research platform alongside your key.

Suburb Data API

Australian suburb data, inside your own product

DSR3, dozens of suburb metrics, historical series and ranked suburb search — delivered as JSON to the systems you already run. Build and test at no charge, and only pay when you go live.

Get a key Work out what it costs

View developer reference View API Terms and Conditions

New data release: MonthlyNew data release
Pay per request: PrepaidPay per request
Integration model: Server-sideIntegration model

Built for

Who uses the API

The API suits teams that already know what they want to do with suburb data and need it inside their own systems rather than on a screen.

Proptech products

Embed suburb metrics and DSR3 inside your own app

Feed structured suburb data into your dashboards, screeners and reports without building a data pipeline or maintaining a research team.

Buyer's agents and advisers

Automate the shortlist you already build by hand

Run the same filtered suburb searches the research platform runs, then push the results straight into your client reporting workflow.

Lenders, brokers and analysts

Add market context to decisions already in motion

Pull metric values and historical series for a market and month so your internal models and client conversations use current suburb evidence.

Getting started

Three phases. Two of them cost nothing

You can go from signing up to a working integration without spending anything. Charges only begin when you ask for live data.

Get your key

Sign in to the Suburb Data research platform (the web interface), go to your Profile, open the API tab, accept the API Terms and generate a key. One key covers both trial and live mode. You do not need a website URL at this stage — you can add it later.

No charge~2 minutes

Test and estimate

Call trial mode from your own environment. It returns the same response shapes and the same fields as live mode, with mock values. Use Get Cost in the research platform to price your volume before you commit.

No chargeNo time limit

Go live

Credit your account and pay the enablement fee. Live calls are then debited from your balance as they resolve.

Funded$800 + usage

The data

What you can pull

Suburb metrics, the DSR3 score family, historical series and ranked suburb search, delivered as JSON. Heat map and Context Ruler output are not available through the API. Reference lookups let you resolve months, markets and metric codes, and carry no Data Charge.

Market values
Charged
Any metric for a market, property type and data month, returned as structured JSON — including DSR3 and the related Suburb Data score family, ready to feed your own models, dashboards and client reports.
Historical chart series
Charged
A time series for a metric and market, for charting trends inside your product. Charged by the volume and age of data returned.
Suburb search and rankings
Charged
Filtered suburb searches returning ranked results, so your product can shortlist suburbs the way the research platform does.
Reference lookups
No charge
Available months, markets, market types, property types and metric codes. Cacheable for as long as you hold an active key.

Example response

{
  "market": {
    "market_id": "0812-leanyer-house",
    "suburb": "Leanyer",
    "state": "NT",
    "property_type": "House"
  },
  "month": "2026-07",
  "metrics": [
    { "code": "dsr3", "name": "DSR3", "value": 71 },
    { "code": "yield", "name": "Yield", "value": 6.1 }
  ],
  "meta": { "charged": true, "mode": "live" }
}

Illustrative shape only. Endpoint paths, parameters and payloads are documented in full in the developer reference.

Pricing

What it costs to go live

Prepaid credit funds every live request. Two fees apply on top, and both fall away once your integration has settled in. All amounts are in Australian dollars, inclusive of GST.

Data Charges

Per request

Debited from your prepaid credit. The charge varies by endpoint, metric, the volume of data requested and the age of the data requested — Get Cost in the research platform quotes an indicative cost before you commit.

Typical single market values: Please sign up and test in trial for free to get accurate costs
Typical historical series: Please sign up and test in trial for free to get accurate costs
Reference lookups: no charge
No data for that market and month: no charge

Account Enablement Fee

$800 once

Rebated by way of free credit. See below *

Charged immediately before your first live request, and again to re-enable an account that was disabled for a breach.

Compliance Check Fee

$150 / month

Temporary. See below *

Charged before your first live request in each new data month, covering our compliance activity during your initial period of use.

Both fees can fall away *

The Account Enablement Fee is credited back and the Compliance Check Fee ceases once 6 months have passed since your first live request (or since your most recent breach, whichever is later), you have incurred at least $1,200 in Data Charges, and no breach is outstanding. The rebate is provided as account credit.

Working out what you'll pay

Because Data Charges depend on the endpoints, metrics, volume and data age you choose, a single headline figure would be misleading. Use trial mode and the research platform to price your own usage before you go live:

1.Run your intended requests in trial mode to confirm the exact endpoints and metrics your build needs.
2.Use Get Cost in the research platform to return the indicative charge for each of those exact requests.
3.Multiply by your expected monthly volume, then add the Account Enablement Fee (once) and the Compliance Check Fee. Reference lookups carry no charge.

A cost calculator is on the way. Until then, Get Cost is the most accurate estimate available, and the charge applied at the time of the request is the charge payable.

Higher volume?

If your build needs volumes or request rates beyond ordinary pay-per-use, talk to us before you start so we can set the right limits and commercial arrangement.

Talk to us

Credit is prepaid, is not a deposit, does not bear interest and is not redeemable for cash. Fees and Data Charges may change on notice under the API Terms.

API or research platform

Which one do you need?

Most customers start on the research platform. The API is for when the data has to live inside something you are building. You can hold both.

Where the data lands

API: Inside your own product, database or workflow

Platform: In the Suburb Data research interface

How you pay

API: Prepaid credit, charged per request

Platform: Prepaid credits, pay per tool or report

Who it suits

API: Teams building software or automating a process

Platform: Individuals researching suburbs directly

Heat map and Context Ruler

API: Not available

Platform: Included

Suburb Data API compared with the research platform
	API	Research platform
Where the data lands	Inside your own product, database or workflow	In the Suburb Data research interface
How you pay	Prepaid credit, charged per request	Prepaid credits, pay per tool or report
Who it suits	Teams building software or automating a process	Individuals researching suburbs directly
Heat map and Context Ruler	Not available	Included

Common questions

Attribution and rules of use

What you agree to

A plain-English summary so you can check the API fits your build before you invest in it. The full API Terms must be accepted in the research platform before live access is enabled.

Server-side calls only

Call the API from systems you control. Your API key must never be embedded in browser code, mobile apps or public repositories.

Output stays behind sign-in by default

Screens containing Suburb Data output are for your authenticated users and excluded from search indexing, unless we expressly approve public display for a specific use.

Attribution is required

Display 'Source: SuburbData.com.au' alongside the output, linking back to https://suburbdata.com.au, on every screen and in every document that contains it.

No redistribution or bulk export

You may present the data as output. You may not resell it, syndicate it, or let end users export it in bulk or in machine-readable form.

We review live integrations

After your first live request we check where the data has landed — that the attribution is present and the storage rules hold. If something is off you will hear from us by email with time to put it right. It is a check, not a gate.

Ready to build?

Read the developer reference for authentication, endpoints and example responses, then generate a key and test against trial mode from the API tab in the research platform.

Get a key Developer reference