Microburbs Australian Property Data

Suburb · Distance to CBD

suburbs_lifestyle_cbd

Read-onlyIdempotent

Shown in the suburb report as the 'Distance to {City} CBD' table row in the Lifestyle section.

Straight-line distance to the nearest city and to the nearest capital, in km.

Both, because they answer different questions and are often nowhere near each other: Belmont North is 14 km from Newcastle and 108 km from Sydney. nearest_city is usually what a buyer means by "how far is town".

The top-level city / distance_km fields are DEPRECATED. They still describe the CAPITAL, unchanged, so existing callers are unaffected — read capital_city or nearest_city instead.

Price: 3¢ per call.

Tool call template

Replace each placeholder with a value matching the input schema. Only required parameters are included; add optional parameters as needed.

{
  "id": 1,
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "arguments": {
      "suburb_name": "<suburb_name>"
    },
    "name": "suburbs_lifestyle_cbd"
  }
}

Input Schema

Name	Required	Description	Default
`suburb_name`	Yes

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Changed1 schema field changedSep 15, 2026

changedOutput schema / (root)

Previous value: -{
-  "properties": {
-    "available": {
-      "anyOf": [
-        {
-          "type": "boolean"
-        },
-        {
-          "type": "null"
-        }
-      ],
-      "description": "`false` on no-data responses. Omitted on success — branch on `data !== null` if you want a single discriminator.",
-      "title": "Available"
-    },
-    "data": {
-      "anyOf": [
-        {
-          "additionalProperties": true,
-          "description": "Distance to the nearest city and to the nearest capital.\n\nThese are different places and often very different distances — Belmont\nNorth is 14 km from Newcastle and 108 km from Sydney. Read whichever\nanswers your question; `nearest_city` is usually the one a buyer means.",
-          "example": {
-            "area_level": "suburb",
-            "area_name": "Belmont North",
-            "capital_city": {
-              "distance_km": 108,
-              "name": "Sydney"
-            },
-            "city": "Sydney",
-            "distance_km": 108,
-            "nearest_city": {
-              "distance_km": 14,
-              "name": "Newcastle"
-            }
-          },
-          "properties": {
-            "area_level": {
-              "description": "Always 'suburb' for these endpoints.",
-              "title": "Area Level",
-              "type": "string"
-            },
-            "area_name": {
-              "description": "Suburb (SAL) name.",
-              "title": "Area Name",
-              "type": "string"
-            },
-            "capital_city": {
-              "anyOf": [
-                {
-                  "additionalProperties": true,
-                  "description": "A named city and the straight-line distance to it.",
-                  "properties": {
-                    "distance_km": {
-                      "description": "Straight-line distance (km).",
-                      "title": "Distance Km",
-                      "type": "number"
-                    },
-                    "name": {
-                      "anyOf": [
-                        {
-                          "type": "string"
-                        },
-                        {
-                          "type": "null"
-                        }
-                      ],
-                      "description": "City name (e.g. 'Newcastle').",
-                      "title": "Name"
-                    }
-                  },
-                  "required": [
-                    "distance_km"
-                  ],
-                  "title": "CityDistance",
-                  "type": "object"
-                },
-                {
-                  "type": "null"
-                }
-              ],
-              "description": "Nearest state/territory capital, and the distance to it."
-            },
-            "city": {
-              "anyOf": [
-                {
-                  "type": "string"
-                },
-                {
-                  "type": "null"
-                }
-              ],
-              "description": "DEPRECATED — the CAPITAL's name. Use `capital_city.name`.",
-              "title": "City"
-            },
-            "distance_km": {
-              "description": "DEPRECATED — distance to the CAPITAL, not to the nearest city. Use `capital_city.distance_km`, or `nearest_city.distance_km`.",
-              "title": "Distance Km",
-              "type": "number"
-            },
-            "nearest_city": {
-              "anyOf": [
-                {
-                  "additionalProperties": true,
-                  "description": "A named city and the straight-line distance to it.",
-                  "properties": {
-                    "distance_km": {
-                      "description": "Straight-line distance (km).",
-                      "title": "Distance Km",
-                      "type": "number"
-                    },
-                    "name": {
-                      "anyOf": [
-                        {
-                          "type": "string"
-                        },
-                        {
-                          "type": "null"
-                        }
-                      ],
-                      "description": "City name (e.g. 'Newcastle').",
-                      "title": "Name"
-                    }
-                  },
-                  "required": [
-                    "distance_km"
-                  ],
-                  "title": "CityDistance",
-                  "type": "object"
-                },
-                {
-                  "type": "null"
-                }
-              ],
-              "description": "Nearest city of any size, and the distance to it."
-            }
-          },
-          "required": [
-            "area_name",
-            "area_level",
-            "distance_km"
-          ],
-          "title": "LifestyleCbd",
-          "type": "object"
-        },
-        {
-          "type": "null"
-        }
-      ],
-      "description": "The endpoint's payload, or `null` when Microburbs has no value."
-    },
-    "message": {
-      "anyOf": [
-        {
-          "type": "string"
-        },
-        {
-          "type": "null"
-        }
-      ],
-      "description": "Human-readable explanation. Omitted on success.",
-      "title": "Message"
-    },
-    "reason": {
-      "anyOf": [
-        {
-          "type": "string"
-        },
-        {
-          "type": "null"
-        }
-      ],
-      "description": "Machine-readable slug naming the no-data condition (e.g. `no_avm_for_GANSW704074813`). Stable per endpoint. Omitted on success.",
-      "title": "Reason"
-    }
-  },
-  "title": "ApiResponse[LifestyleCbd]",
-  "type": "object",
-  "x-fastmcp-top-level-schema": "ApiResponse_LifestyleCbd_"
-}New value: +null

First observedSep 14, 2026

TDQS

A3.9/5.0

Behavior4/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

Annotations already declare readOnly, idempotent, non-destructive, closed-world behavior, so the description isn't burdened with safety disclosure. It adds genuinely useful non-schema context: the deprecation status of the top-level city/distance_km fields, their unchanged capital semantics, and a per-call price of 3¢.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness4/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

Front-loaded with the report location and the core measure, then the dual-city rationale, then the deprecation note and price. The deprecated-field paragraph is longer than strictly necessary but does carry real migration information, so little is wasted.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness4/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

With no output schema, the description correctly takes on return-value explanation by naming the fields (nearest_city, capital_city, city, distance_km) and their units. Only the input-format question for suburb_name is left unanswered for a one-parameter lookup tool.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters3/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

The single parameter suburb_name has 0% schema description coverage, so the description would ideally explain accepted formats (name only, state suffix, etc.). It only implies format through the 'Belmont North' example, which gives partial signal but no explicit input rules.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose5/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

The description names the exact resource and its report location ('Distance to {City} CBD' row in the Lifestyle section) and defines the measure precisely as straight-line distance in km to both nearest city and nearest capital. The Belmont North example makes the two-value distinction concrete, so an agent knows this is not the commute/travel-time tool.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines3/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

It gives field-level guidance ('nearest_city is usually what a buyer means by how far is town'), which steers interpretation, but gives no tool-level when-to-use guidance versus siblings like suburbs_area_stats_travel_to_work or geocode_suburb. Usage is only implied by the report-section framing.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

All Microburbs Australian Property Data tools Inspect

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