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SandgatePostcode 4017

Sandgate - Shorncliffe

Sandgate - Shorncliffe is still affordable, but barely growing.

Median weekly rent
$595
▼ 5.6% on a year earlier
Population (ERP)
6,975
▲ 927 since 2001
YoY growth
+0.33%
▼ state average +1.76%
Net migration
+135
814 in · 679 out

Sandgate - Shorncliffe is still relatively affordable to rent, with a median of $595 a week (RTA, 2026-Q2) — about $61 below the Greater Brisbane median; close to a train station (Sandgate, about 250 m as the crow flies). The trade-offs: the population is barely moving; an older population (median age 48 at the 2021 Census, against 38 for Queensland), with fewer young families.

Mostly free-standing houses, with a median age of 48 and households on a median $1,908 a week at the 2021 Census.

Compiled from ABS regional population (SA2), the 2021 Census, SEIFA 2021, RTA median rents, Queensland Police Service reported offences, Brisbane City Council flood awareness data, OpenStreetMap, Brisbane City Council parks and trails, TransLink timetables and Queensland Open Data.

What's good

  • still relatively affordable to rent, with a median of $595 a week (RTA, 2026-Q2) — about $61 below the Greater Brisbane median
  • close to a train station (Sandgate, about 250 m as the crow flies)

What to weigh up

  • the population is barely moving
  • an older population (median age 48 at the 2021 Census, against 38 for Queensland), with fewer young families

Sandgate - Shorncliffe on the map

The Australian Bureau of Statistics Statistical Area 2 outline for Sandgate - Shorncliffe, QLD.

Open in OpenStreetMap →

Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Boundary: ABS SA2 (ASGS 2021), simplified — an SA2 can differ from the gazetted suburb, and detached parts such as islands may not all be shown.

How the population has changed

Sandgate - Shorncliffe against the Queensland average, both set to 100 in the first year shown so the growth rates compare.

Sandgate - ShorncliffeQueensland average
201620202025

Sandgate - Shorncliffe population grew from 7,026 in 2016 to 6,975 in 2025, a change of -0.7% over the period, against 17.0% for the Queensland average.

Show the data table
YearSandgate - ShorncliffeQueensland average
20167,0264,845,152
20177,0144,926,380
20187,0475,006,623
20197,0125,088,847
20206,9395,165,613
20216,9055,215,814
20226,9055,310,905
20236,9195,450,235
20246,9525,571,890
20256,9755,669,764

Where the growth is coming from

Sandgate - Shorncliffe gained 696 residents from internal migration and 118 from overseas in the year to June 2025, while 679 people moved away — a net addition of 135 before natural increase.

  • Internal migration in+696
  • Internal migration out+630
  • Overseas migration in+118
  • Natural increase-112
    Natural decrease — deaths exceeded births.

Components of population change over the sample year. Natural increase is shown apart from migration so the two are not read as one figure.

How it has changed

Census · five-yearly

The 2016 Census against 2021. Older figures are mapped onto today's boundaries via the ABS Time Series Profile, so comparisons are approximate where borders moved.

Measure20162021Change
Population6,7816,826 +0.7%
Median age4648 +2 yrs
Median household income$1,492/wk$1,908/wk +28%
Median weekly rent$280/wk$288/wk +2.9%
Born overseas19.5%19.0% -0.5 pts

Who lives here

Census · five-yearly

From the 2021 Census — the most recent available; 2026 Census data isn't expected until mid-2027. Each figure carries its definition, so you know what is being counted.

People

6,826
Population
Usual residents, Census 2021
48
Median age
Years
19.0%
Born overseas
Born outside Australia
2.4
Household size
Average people per household

Income

$1,908/wk
Household income
Median total weekly household income
$815/wk
Personal income
Median total weekly personal income

Housing

$288/wk
Median rent
Median weekly rent for rented dwellings
$2,167/mo
Median mortgage
Median monthly mortgage repayment
75.2%
Separate houses
Share of occupied dwellings
22.1%
Flats & apartments
Share of occupied dwellings
6.8%
Unoccupied
Private dwellings unoccupied on Census night

Work

55.7%
Employment rate
Employed as a share of people aged 15+
4.6%
Unemployment rate
Unemployed as a share of the labour force
66.7%
Year 12 or above
Highest school year completed

Household

57.3%
Couple family
Share of all households · Queensland 58.0%
31.8%
Couple family with children
Share of all households · Queensland 29.8%
8.8%
One-parent family
Share of all households · Queensland 11.9%
31.1%
Living alone
Lone-person households · Queensland 24.7%
2.6%
Group household
Unrelated adults sharing · Queensland 4.3%

Country of birth

78.3%
Australia
Born here · Queensland 71.4%
5.7%
England
Share of residents · Queensland 3.7%
3.5%
New Zealand
Share of residents · Queensland 4.0%
0.6%
Ireland
Share of residents
0.6%
Scotland
Share of residents
0.6%
South Africa
Share of residents

Language at home

90.2%
English only
Spoken at home · Queensland 80.5%
1.7%
Other languages, nec
Share of residents · Queensland 2.6%
0.7%
German
Share of residents
0.4%
Italian
Share of residents
0.3%
Polish
Share of residents
0.3%
Spanish
Share of residents · Queensland 0.6%

How homes are held

  • Owned outright 32.2%
  • Mortgaged 34.0%
  • Rented 29.5%
  • Other / not stated 4.3%

What it costs to rent

Residential Tenancies Authority · 2026-Q2

Median weekly rent for new tenancies, from the Residential Tenancies Authority's bond lodgements. Compare year-on-year — quarter-to-quarter moves are mostly seasonal noise.

Median weekly rentRTA
$595
▼ 5.6% on a year earlier
Residential Tenancies Authority · 2026-Q2
vs Greater BrisbaneRTA
−$61
Greater Brisbane median $656
Residential Tenancies Authority · 2026-Q2
Sample sizeRTA
36
new bonds lodged in the 2026-Q2 quarter
Residential Tenancies Authority · 2026-Q2

Rent over time

All dwellings in Sandgate - Shorncliffe against the Greater Brisbane median.

Sandgate - ShorncliffeGreater Brisbane
2024-Q12025-Q12026-Q2

Median weekly rent in Sandgate - Shorncliffe went from $570 in 2024-Q1 to $595 in 2026-Q2, up 4%, against $656 for Greater Brisbane now.

Show the data table
YearSandgate - ShorncliffeGreater Brisbane
2024-Q1$570$562
2024-Q2$560$590
2024-Q3$515$574
2024-Q4$550$594
2025-Q1$580$585
2025-Q2$630$624
2025-Q3$600$612
2025-Q4$500$633
2026-Q1$575$625
2026-Q2$595$656

The median weekly rent across all dwellings in Sandgate - Shorncliffe was $595 for the 2026-Q2 quarter, down 6% on a year earlier. That is $61 a week below the Greater Brisbane median.

Show every quarter, with the year-on-year change
Sandgate - Shorncliffe — all-dwellings median weekly rent by quarter, latest first, with the year-on-year change and the Greater Brisbane median, Queensland Residential Tenancies Authority
QuarterMedian rentYear on yearGreater Brisbane
2026-Q2$595−5.6%$656
2026-Q1$575−0.9%$625
2025-Q4$500−9.1%$633
2025-Q3$600+16.5%$612
2025-Q2$630+12.5%$624
2025-Q1$580+1.8%$585
2024-Q4$550+10.0%$594
2024-Q3$515−9.6%$574
2024-Q2$560+4.7%$590
2024-Q1$570+3.6%$562
2023-Q4$500−4.8%$575
2023-Q3$570+42.5%$536
2023-Q2$535+24.4%$526
2023-Q1$550+19.6%$496
2022-Q4$525+22.1%$495
2022-Q3$400+19.4%$455
2022-Q2$430+22.9%$454
2022-Q1$460+16.5%$428
2021-Q4$430+22.9%$436
2021-Q3$335−4.3%$416
2021-Q2$350+9.4%$408
2021-Q1$395−8.1%$405
2020-Q4$350−11.4%$401
2020-Q3$350+0.0%$392
2020-Q2$320−9.9%$383
2020-Q1$430+26.5%$394
2019-Q4$395+14.5%$391
2019-Q3$350−5.4%$384
2019-Q2$355+10.9%$383
2019-Q1$340−9.3%$387
2018-Q4$345+15.0%$383
2018-Q3$370+5.7%$381
2018-Q2$320—$383
2018-Q1$375—$386
2017-Q4$300—$384
2017-Q3$350—$381

Rent data © the State of Queensland (Residential Tenancies Authority), used under CC BY 4.0, June 2026 release. Figures are the median for new bonds lodged in the quarter, not all tenancies. The RTA suppresses a median where too few bonds were lodged.

How well-off the area is

Census · five-yearly

The ABS SEIFA indexes rank every area by relative advantage and disadvantage. Decile 1 is the lowest tenth of Australia; decile 10 is the highest.

  • Relative disadvantage (IRSD)
    Lower decile means more relative disadvantage
    Decile 7
    score 1,038
  • Advantage & disadvantage (IRSAD)
    Higher decile means more relative advantage
    Decile 8
    score 1,050
  • Economic resources (IER)
    Income and housing capacity
    Decile 6
    score 1,010
  • Education & occupation (IEO)
    Education and occupational skill levels
    Decile 8
    score 1,072

Safety context

Queensland Police Service · July 2026

How much crime is reported where Sandgate - Shorncliffe sits — measured for its whole police division, because that is the finest area the Queensland Police Service publishes.

Sandgate - Shorncliffe is policed by the Queensland Police Service Sandgate Division, which also covers Bald Hills, Bracken Ridge, Brighton (Qld) and Deagon. The reported-offence figures below are for the whole division, not Sandgate - Shorncliffe specifically.

Most-reported offences · Sandgate Division, last 12 months

  • Other Theft (excl. Unlawful Entry)2,152 /100k−18% vs QLD↑ 13%
  • Assault623 /100k−41% vs QLD↓ 2%
  • Drug Offences587 /100k−65% vs QLD↑ 49%
  • Unlawful Entry343 /100k−49% vs QLD↑ 3%
  • Unlawful Use of Motor Vehicle174 /100k−49% vs QLD↑ 9%
  • Robbery39 /100k−13% vs QLD↑ 40%

Rate per 100,000 people across the whole Sandgate Division — not Sandgate - Shorncliffe on its own; the arrow compares the last 12 months with the 12 before.

Of these categories, other theft is reported most across the whole Sandgate Division over the last 12 months, running 18% below the Queensland rate and up on the year before. None of this is specific to Sandgate - Shorncliffe — a police division usually spans several suburbs, so treat it as area context, not a street-level read.

Show the data table
Sandgate Division reported-offence rates over the last 12 months, against the Queensland rate, Queensland Police Service reported offences
Offence categoryDivisionQueenslandChange
Other Theft (excl. Unlawful Entry)2,152 per 100k2,632 per 100k↑ 13% vs prior year
Assault623 per 100k1,053 per 100k↓ 2% vs prior year
Drug Offences587 per 100k1,666 per 100k↑ 49% vs prior year
Unlawful Entry343 per 100k677 per 100k↑ 3% vs prior year
Unlawful Use of Motor Vehicle174 per 100k338 per 100k↑ 9% vs prior year
Robbery39 per 100k45 per 100k↑ 40% vs prior year

Crime statistics © State of Queensland (Queensland Police Service), used under CC BY 4.0, updated July 2026. Reported offences are counted for the Sandgate Division; suburb-level detail is not published as open data. Monthly counts are volatile — the 12-month figures above smooth that noise, per QPS’s own guidance.

Flood risk

Brisbane City Council · updated August 2026

Has this suburb flooded before, and how much of it does Brisbane City Council map as flood-liable? The historic extents are the ground truth; the likelihood bands are the council's modelling of how often flooding is expected.

Flooded beforeBCC
2022
Mapped flood extent, 1 event
Brisbane City Council · updated August 2026
Largest recorded extentBCC
16%
of Sandgate - Shorncliffe — 2022 flood
Brisbane City Council · updated August 2026

Historic flood exposure

  • 202216%

Share of the suburb inside each event’s mapped flood surface. These maps cover only the river and creek extents of those specific events — being outside them does not mean a property is flood-free.

Council flood-likelihood modelling

39% of Sandgate - Shorncliffe is mapped as flood-liable, split by how often flooding is expected. This layer dates from 2013 and reads conservatively for some riverside suburbs.

  • High 26%
  • Medium 6.0%
  • Low 3.8%
  • Very Low 2.5%

Sandgate - Shorncliffe has been within a mapped flood extent before — in 2022, with up to about 16% of the suburb inundated in the worst of those events. Council's flood-likelihood modelling maps about 39% of Sandgate - Shorncliffe as flood-liable, roughly 32% of it in a high or medium likelihood band.

A suburb rollup can’t tell you about an individual property. Check a specific address on Brisbane City Council’s FloodWise Property Report →

Show the data table
Sandgate - Shorncliffe — historic flood exposure and council flood-likelihood modelling, Brisbane City Council Flood Awareness data
MeasureShare
Within the 2022 flood extent16% of the suburb
Council likelihood modelling, all bands39% of the suburb
— High likelihood26% of the suburb
— Medium likelihood6.0% of the suburb
— Low likelihood3.8% of the suburb
— Very Low likelihood2.5% of the suburb

Flood data © Brisbane City Council, used under CC BY 4.0, updated August 2026. The Flood Awareness Maps are an awareness tool, not a substitute for a FloodWise Property Report or professional advice.

Getting around, and what's nearby

OpenStreetMap · quarterly

What OpenStreetMap records inside the suburb boundary. Counts reflect what is tagged in OSM and can undercount a real but less-mapped area. The park count here is OpenStreetMap green space of any kind, including privately held land — it is a different measure from the council parks below.

SchoolsQLD
4
within the SA2
QLD Open Data
ChildcareOSM
1
childcare & kindergartens
OpenStreetMap · Dec 2026
Hospitals & GPsOSM
1
0 hospitals · 1 GP/clinic
OpenStreetMap · Dec 2026
SupermarketsOSM
2
full-line grocery
OpenStreetMap · Dec 2026
Green spacesOSM
9
public open space
OpenStreetMap · Dec 2026

Within the Sandgate - Shorncliffe SA2, OpenStreetMap records 1 childcare or kindergarten centre, 1 GP or clinic location, 2 supermarkets and 9 green spaces. For families: 1 library and 7 playgrounds. Eating out and socialising: 10 cafés, 4 restaurants and 3 pubs and bars. Staying active: 2 gyms and 6 sports fields. The nearest train station, Sandgate, is about 250 m from the suburb centre. OpenStreetMap also maps 44 bus stops here.

List every mapped place

Schools

  • Sandgate Primary
  • Sacred Heart Primary School
  • Shorncliffe State School
  • St Patrick's College

Childcare & kindergartens

  • Kids Capers Childcare Sandgate

Libraries

  • Sandgate Library

Gyms & fitness

  • Lift HQ Sandgate
  • Anytime Fitness

GPs & clinics

  • Doctors Surgery

Supermarkets

  • Woolworths
  • Aldi

Green spaces

  • Einbunpin Lagoon Park
  • Sandgate Memorial Park
  • Rotary Park
  • Curlew Park
  • Hutchison Park
  • Deagon Wetlands
  • Frank Doyle Park

Train stations

  • Sandgate
  • Shorncliffe

Parks and trails

Brisbane City Council · biannually

Council-managed parks inside the suburb boundary, with the recreation trails and facilities Brisbane City Council records in each.

Council parks
11
Brisbane City Council
Parkland
123 ha
Total area
Recreation trails
12 km
Walking, cycling, mountain bike
With a barbecue
6
2 with a dog off-leash area

Sandgate - Shorncliffe has 11 council parks covering 123 ha, with 0.8 km of walking track and 11 km of bikeway and shared path. Of those, 6 have a barbecue and 2 have a dog off-leash area.

  • Deagon Wetlands
    173 Kempster Street, Sandgate
    53 ha0.7 km walking track3.4 km bikeway & shared path
  • Curlew Park
    74 Curlew Street, Sandgate
    27 ha0.8 km bikeway & shared pathDog off-leash, fully fenced, small-dog enclosure
  • Sandgate Second Lagoon Reserve
    132 Brighton Road, Sandgate
    22 ha1.7 km bikeway & shared path5 barbecues
  • Sandgate Foreshores Park
    1 Flinders Parade, Sandgate
    14 ha0.1 km walking track5.2 km bikeway & shared path15 barbecuesDog off-leash
  • Moora Park
    65 Park Parade, Shorncliffe
    1.7 ha0.3 km bikeway & shared path3 barbecues
  • Einbunpin Lagoon Park
    21 Lagoon Street, Sandgate
    1.7 ha
  • Cliff Street Park
    34 Seymour Street, Sandgate
    1.6 ha1 barbecue
  • Hutchison Park
    77 Friday Street, Shorncliffe
    1.0 ha1 barbecue
Show all 11 parks in Sandgate - Shorncliffe
  • Nell Jones Oam Park
    34A Perkins Street, Sandgate
    0.3 ha
  • Shepherd Place Park
    5 Signal Row, Shorncliffe
    0.3 ha1 barbecue
  • Sandgate Memorial Park
    8 Seymour Street, Sandgate
    0.3 ha

Parks across Brisbane — biggest, off-leash areas and trails →

Park locations © Brisbane City Council 2026; tracks and trails © Brisbane City Council 2025. Used under CC BY 4.0, updated September 2026.

Getting to the CBD

TransLink timetables

How to reach the city centre from Sandgate - Shorncliffe on public transport — the routes you'd catch here, how long they take and how often they run.

Fastest scheduled tripGTFS
~34 min
on the Train
TransLink · best case
Best frequencyGTFS
every ~15 min
All routes combined, 7–9am city-bound
TransLink
Fastest option
Train

From Sandgate - Shorncliffe, the train runs to Fortitude Valley in the Brisbane CBD in about 34 minutes, roughly every 15 minutes in the morning peak. Times are scheduled and in-vehicle only — they exclude walking, waiting and any transfer.

Routes to the city from Sandgate - Shorncliffe

  • TrainShorncliffe - Cleveland~34 min · every ~15 min in the peak
  • 310Brighton - City Express~48 min · every ~38 min in the peak · via the busway at RBWH
  • 335Sandgate - City Express via Kirby Road~73 min · every ~25 min in the peak · via the busway at RBWH
  • TrainShorncliffe - Brisbane City~34 min · peak only
Fortitude Valley — where most services arrive Sandgate - Shorncliffe (ABS SA2) · map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors

These are timetabled figures for a typical weekday. Plan a door-to-door trip on the TransLink journey planner →

Show the data table
Sandgate - Shorncliffe — scheduled public-transport commute to the Brisbane CBD, from the TransLink SEQ GTFS feed
MeasureValue
Fastest scheduled trip to Fortitude Valleyabout 34 min
Best route, morning peak (7–9am)about every 15 min
Best route, off-peak (10am–3pm)about every 30 min
Train — Shorncliffe - Clevelandabout 34 min
310 — Brighton - City Expressabout 48 min, joins the busway at RBWH
335 — Sandgate - City Express via Kirby Roadabout 73 min, joins the busway at RBWH
Train — Shorncliffe - Brisbane Cityabout 34 min

Timetable data © State of Queensland (Department of Transport and Main Roads, TransLink Division), used under CC BY 4.0. Scheduled in-vehicle times for a representative weekday, city-bound — they exclude walking, waiting and transfer time, and real running times vary with traffic.

Schools

Every open Queensland school whose campus sits inside the SA2 boundary, with the average ICSEA across them. Open a school for its own ICSEA, student background and a link to My School.

PrimarySchools
3
including Prep–6
QLD Open Data
SecondarySchools
0
Year 7–12
QLD Open Data
Combined / specialSchools
1
Prep–12 and special
QLD Open Data
GovernmentSchools
2
Queensland state schools
QLD Open Data
Non-governmentSchools
2
Catholic and independent
QLD Open Data
Average ICSEASchools
1084
4 of 4 schools · 1000 is the national average
ACARA

The Sandgate - Shorncliffe SA2 contains 4 schools — 3 primary schools and 1 combined school, of which 2 are government and 2 non-government. Its schools with a published ICSEA average 1084 (1000 is the national average); each school's own figure and student background are on its page. NAPLAN results for each school are on its My School profile (ACARA). For area context, Sandgate - Shorncliffe sits in decile 8 of the ABS SEIFA index of education and occupation nationally and 67% of adults here completed Year 12 (Census 2021).

Zoned state schools

The centre of this SA2 is zoned for Sandgate State School (primary), Sandgate District State High School (junior secondary), Sandgate District State High School (senior secondary).

Parts of the SA2 also fall in the catchment of Bracken Ridge State School (primary), Shorncliffe State School (primary), Nashville State School (primary), Boondall State School (primary), Earnshaw State College (primary), Bracken Ridge State High School (junior secondary), Earnshaw State College (junior secondary), Bracken Ridge State High School (senior secondary), Earnshaw State College (senior secondary).

Catchments can divide a suburb — confirm your address on EdMap.

Check another address in the catchment finder →

Show school list
Primary
Combined (Prep–12)

School list & catchments: Queensland Government Open Data (Department of Education), licensed CC BY 4.0. ICSEA: ACARA School Profile. NAPLAN: myschool.edu.au (ACARA).

Nearby, in Sandgate

Others in the same ABS district, by population growth. If this one doesn't fit, one of these might.

  1. HereSandgate - Shorncliffe+0.3%
  2. 01Taigum - Fitzgibbon+1.7%
  3. 02Deagon+1.6%
  4. 03Bracken Ridge+1.2%
  5. 04Brighton (Qld)+1.1%
  6. 05Zillmere+1.0%

Dots place each suburb's growth on the same scale, slowest at left.

Sandgate - Shorncliffe: common questions

Is Sandgate - Shorncliffe a good place to live?
Sandgate - Shorncliffe is still relatively affordable to rent, with a median of $595 a week (RTA, 2026-Q2) — about $61 below the Greater Brisbane median; close to a train station (Sandgate, about 250 m as the crow flies). The trade-offs: the population is barely moving; an older population (median age 48 at the 2021 Census, against 38 for Queensland), with fewer young families. Mostly free-standing houses, with a median age of 48 and households on a median $1,908 a week at the 2021 Census.
How much does it cost to rent in Sandgate - Shorncliffe?
The median weekly rent across all dwellings in Sandgate - Shorncliffe was $595 for the 2026-Q2 quarter, down 6% on a year earlier. That is $61 a week below the Greater Brisbane median.
Has Sandgate - Shorncliffe ever flooded?
Sandgate - Shorncliffe has been within a mapped flood extent before — in 2022, with up to about 16% of the suburb inundated in the worst of those events. Council's flood-likelihood modelling maps about 39% of Sandgate - Shorncliffe as flood-liable, roughly 32% of it in a high or medium likelihood band.
Is Sandgate - Shorncliffe a safe suburb?
The Queensland Police Service publishes reported-offence data by police division, not by suburb — Sandgate - Shorncliffe sits in the Sandgate Division. Of these categories, other theft is reported most across the whole Sandgate Division over the last 12 months, running 18% below the Queensland rate and up on the year before. None of this is specific to Sandgate - Shorncliffe — a police division usually spans several suburbs, so treat it as area context, not a street-level read.
How long is the commute from Sandgate - Shorncliffe to the Brisbane CBD?
From Sandgate - Shorncliffe, the train runs to Fortitude Valley in the Brisbane CBD in about 34 minutes, roughly every 15 minutes in the morning peak. Times are scheduled and in-vehicle only — they exclude walking, waiting and any transfer.
What schools are in Sandgate - Shorncliffe?
The Sandgate - Shorncliffe SA2 contains 4 schools — 3 primary schools and 1 combined school, of which 2 are government and 2 non-government. Its schools with a published ICSEA average 1084 (1000 is the national average); each school's own figure and student background are on its page. NAPLAN results for each school are on its My School profile (ACARA). For area context, Sandgate - Shorncliffe sits in decile 8 of the ABS SEIFA index of education and occupation nationally and 67% of adults here completed Year 12 (Census 2021). Sandgate - Shorncliffe falls fully within the state-school catchment of Sandgate State School and Sandgate District State High School.
What amenities and public transport does Sandgate - Shorncliffe have?
Within the Sandgate - Shorncliffe SA2, OpenStreetMap records 1 childcare or kindergarten centre, 1 GP or clinic location, 2 supermarkets and 9 green spaces. For families: 1 library and 7 playgrounds. Eating out and socialising: 10 cafés, 4 restaurants and 3 pubs and bars. Staying active: 2 gyms and 6 sports fields. The nearest train station, Sandgate, is about 250 m from the suburb centre. OpenStreetMap also maps 44 bus stops here.

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