|RConstitution:|N Territory of the Commonwealth of Australia, administrated by the department of science.
|RNature and climate:|N Islands about 4000 km southwest of Freemantle. Heard Island is about 43 km long and 21 km wide, Shag Island is located 8 km north of Heard and the total area of the two islands are 412 km².
The McDonald Islands are located about 42 km west of Heard.