Your new map of Australia

One of the exciting challenges of working on Maps at Google is that the physical world is constantly changing, and keeping on top of these changes is a never-ending endeavour. At the same time, we are fortunate to have a large and active community of users who want to share detailed information about the places they live, work, and travel to.

So, as part of our ongoing commitment to provide the richest, most up-to-date, and accurate maps possible, we continuously explore ways to integrate new information into Google Maps. Two years ago, we began allowing you to move map markers to improve address precision and since early last year, you've been able to add locations.

You may notice that Australia looks a bit different in Google Maps -- those new traffic lights and more detailed outlines of prominent buildings were probably a giveaway. This change is being rolled out over the next couple of days.

The best part about these changes is that we've been able to add a lot of new, detailed information to Google Maps -- information that helps people better explore and get around the real world. For example, university students will be pleased to see maps of many campuses with more detailed internal roads and building outlines.

So where do you fit into this? Well, we've found our users are a great source of information about the world, so we've added a new tool to Google Maps in Australia that lets you communicate directly with us about any updates that you think need to be made to our maps.

You'll find this "Report a Problem" link on the bottom right of Google Maps (you can also find it by right-clicking on the map). Has that new freeway finally opened up? Do we have an outdated name for your local park? Did we tell you driving directions that could be improved upon? Tell us! Once we've received your edit or suggestion we'll confirm it with other users, data sources, or imagery. We hope to resolve each edit within a couple of months. If you submit your email address, we'll even keep you posted on our progress. The video below walks you through the process, or learn more here:



We're constantly working on making sure Google Maps is up-to-date, accurate, and includes the information that you care about most. Your edits and feedback will not only help us achieve this goal, but will help everyone get around town better and explore the world.

Posted by Andrew Foster, Product Manager