 Eastern Australia is marked by the Great Dividing Range , which runs parallel to the coast of Queensland , New South Wales and much of Victoria . The name is not strictly accurate , because parts of the range consist of low hills , and the highlands are typically no more than 1 @,@ 600 metres ( 5 @,@ 249 ft ) in height . The coastal uplands and a belt of Brigalow grasslands lie between the coast and the mountains , while inland of the dividing range are large areas of grassland . These include the western plains of New South Wales , and the Einasleigh Uplands , Barkly Tableland , and Mulga Lands of inland Queensland . The northernmost point of the east coast is the tropical @-@ rainforested Cape York Peninsula . 
