ACT · Unincorporated ACT Council
Watson, ACT, 2602
Current weather
12°COvercast
83% humidity · 11.2 km/h wind · 12.6° / 9.5° today · 18.1 mm rain
Desirability index
#24 among Metro Canberra suburbs
Suburb snapshot
Watson is a smaller suburban community in the Unincorporated ACT area, home to around 6,727 residents (2021 Census). Recent indicators show 64 offences in 2025 Q2 Apr-Jun with falling year-on-year trends (-35%), roughly 9.5 offences per 1,000 residents, 2 school and preschool sites in the area, a higher concentration of local shops, services, and recreation amenities, 1 active roadworks or transport incidents on nearby routes, and notable planning and development activity on record. Snapshot data also shows parks or public open space within the suburb and hospitals or GP clinics within the suburb.
Population
- Population
- 6,727
- Median age
- 34
- Median household income / week
- $2,414
- Dwelling vacancy
- 6.5%
- Unoccupied private dwellings
- 186 of 2,841
- Median monthly mortgage
- $2,067
- Employment rate
- 73.1%
- Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
- 144 / 784 / 327
Data sources & freshness
- 2021 Census — General Community Profile — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Period: 2021 · Updated on site · 2021 Census release
The 2026 Census runs in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.
Crime & safety
- Total offences (2025 Q2 Apr-Jun)
- 64
- Against the person
- 17
- Against property
- 23
- Rate per 1,000 residents
- 9.5
- Person-crime prevalence
- About 1 in 396 residents
- State safety percentile
- 57.1th (lower crime is better)
- Year-on-year change
- -34.7%
Most common offence types
- Assault - Fv4
- Other Offences24
- Property Damage9
- Sexual Assault4
- Theft (Excluding Motor Vehicles)11
Data sources & freshness
- ACT crime statistics by suburb (quarterly) — ACT Policing / dataACT · Period: 2025 Q1 Jan-Mar → 2025 Q2 Apr-Jun; 2025 Q2 Apr-Jun · Updated on site · Quarterly XLSX release
Schools & preschools
- Schools & preschools
- 2
- Median school ICSEA (2 schools)
- 1,128
- Majura Primary SchoolPrimary
- Rosary Primary SchoolPrimary
Data sources & freshness
- ACARA school locations — Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority · Period: 2025 · Updated on site · Annual ACARA release
- School ICSEA scores — Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority · Period: 2025 · Updated on site · Annual ACARA release
Roadworks & transport
1 active roadworks / incidents
- Watson Section 76 Block 2Mary Kitson Street (both directions): between Aspinall Street and Mabel Miller Lane.18 Nov 2025 – 31 Aug 2026
Data sources & freshness
- Road incidents & closures — State road authority open-data feeds · Period: current · Updated on site · Hourly refresh where supported
Planning & development
Development applications from ACT planning register (lodged 2020–2026).
106 planning-related records
2026· 4 proposals
June 2026
- SUBCWATSON · CANBERRA CENTRALActive
- SUBCWATSON · CANBERRA CENTRALActive
February 2026
- SUBCWATSON · CANBERRA CENTRALActive
- SUBCWATSON · CANBERRA CENTRALActive
2025· 11 proposals
December 2025
- SUBCWATSON · CANBERRA CENTRALCompleted
November 2025
- SUBCWATSON · CANBERRA CENTRALCompleted
October 2025
- SUBCWATSON · CANBERRA CENTRALActive
- SUBCWATSON · CANBERRA CENTRALActive
June 2025
- SUBCWATSON · CANBERRA CENTRALCompleted
- SUBCWATSON · CANBERRA CENTRALCompleted
May 2025
- SUBCWATSON · CANBERRA CENTRALCompleted
- SUBCWATSON · CANBERRA CENTRALCompleted
April 2025
- SUBCWATSON · CANBERRA CENTRALCompleted
February 2025
- SUBCWATSON · CANBERRA CENTRALCompleted
January 2025
- SUBCWATSON · CANBERRA CENTRALCompleted
2024· 9 proposals
October 2024
- SUBCWATSON · CANBERRA CENTRALCompleted
- SUBCWATSON · CANBERRA CENTRALCompleted
July 2024
- SUBCWATSON · CANBERRA CENTRALCompleted
- SUBCWATSON · CANBERRA CENTRALCompleted
June 2024
- SUBCWATSON · CANBERRA CENTRALCompleted
- SUBCWATSON · CANBERRA CENTRALCompleted
May 2024
- SUBCWATSON · CANBERRA CENTRALCompleted
February 2024
- SUBCWATSON · CANBERRA CENTRALCompleted
- SUBCWATSON · CANBERRA CENTRALCompleted
2023· 17 proposals
December 2023
- SUBCWATSON · MAJURACompleted
- SUBCWATSON · CANBERRA CENTRALCompleted
- SUBCWATSON · CANBERRA CENTRALCompleted
- SUBCWATSON · CANBERRA CENTRALCompleted
November 2023
- SUBCWATSON · CANBERRA CENTRALCompleted
October 2023
- SUBCWATSON · CANBERRA CENTRALCompleted
September 2023
- SUBCWATSON · CANBERRA CENTRALCompleted
- SUBCWATSON · CANBERRA CENTRALCompleted
July 2023
- SUBCWATSON · CANBERRA CENTRALCompleted
- SUBCWATSON · CANBERRA CENTRALCompleted
- SUBCWATSON · CANBERRA CENTRALCompleted
June 2023
- SUBCWATSON · CANBERRA CENTRALCompleted
April 2023
- SUBCWATSON · MAJURACompleted
March 2023
- SUBCWATSON · CANBERRA CENTRALCompleted
February 2023
- SUBCWATSON · CANBERRA CENTRALCompleted
- SUBCWATSON · CANBERRA CENTRALCompleted
2022· 10 proposals
10 proposals lodged in 2022. Individual listings are kept for the most recent proposals.
2021· 17 proposals
17 proposals lodged in 2021. Individual listings are kept for the most recent proposals.
2020· 38 proposals
38 proposals lodged in 2020. Individual listings are kept for the most recent proposals.
Data sources & freshness
- Active & completed development applications — ACT Planning · Period: 2020; 2020–2026; 2021… · Updated on site
Amenities
121 nearby amenities within ~1.5 km
- Canberra Potter's SocietyArts centre
- ATM
- Beautiful YouBeauty salon
- Bench (9)
- Bicycle Parking (4)
- Parks ACTBicycle Parking
- Bicycle Repair Station
- Antill Street 2nd after Knox StreetBus stop
- Antill Street after Antill Service RoadBus stop
- Antill Street after Knox StreetBus stop
Names and addresses from OpenStreetMap. Unnamed venues show as their type (e.g. Cafe).
Data sources & freshness
- OpenStreetMap amenities — OpenStreetMap contributors · Period: current · Updated on site · Weekly refresh
Parks & reserves
6 parks and public open space in this suburb
- Billabong ParkPark
- Justice Robert Hope ParkPark
- Justice Robert Hope Park Nature ReserveNature reserve
- Maliyan ParkPark
- Valour ParkPark
- Watson Micro-forestPark
Data sources & freshness
- Parks & reserves — State government + ABS LGA boundaries · Period: current · Updated on site
Health access
- Hospitals & GP clinics
- 1
- Emergency department
- Not in suburb
- Watson General Practicedoctor
Data sources & freshness
- Hospitals & clinics — OpenStreetMap + state health datasets · Period: current · Updated on site
Socio-economic (SEIFA)
- IRSAD decile (2021)
- 10/10
- IRSD decile (2021)
- 10/10
SEIFA indexes from ABS 2021. Decile 10 = most advantaged / least disadvantaged in Australia.
Data sources & freshness
- SEIFA 2021 (IRSAD / IRSD) — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Period: 2021 · Updated on site · 2021 SEIFA release
Heritage
10 state heritage places
- Aboriginal Places in all DistrictsCF23 - Registered Places or Objects
- Aboriginal Places in all DistrictsIF13 - Registered Places or Objects
- Aboriginal RecordingsNW14 - Aboriginal Place or Object (not registered but protected under Heritage Act 2004)
- Aboriginal RecordingsNWST14 - Aboriginal Place or Object (not registered but protected under Heritage Act 2004)
- McKeown House109 Irvine St3 - Registered Places or Objects
- Signadou and Blackfriars Precinct 3 - Registered Places or Objects
- Signadou and Blackfriars Precinct 3 - Registered Places or Objects
- Signadou and Blackfriars Precinct 3 - Registered Places or Objects
- Starlight Drive-In Theatre Sign 3 - Registered Places or Objects
- Starlight Drive-In Theatre Sign 3 - Registered Places or Objects
Data sources & freshness
- State heritage register — State heritage authority · Period: current · Updated on site
Childcare
2 childcare services from OpenStreetMap
- Majura Primary School - Watson Preschoolkindergarten
- Nipperville Early Learning Centrekindergarten
Data sources & freshness
- Childcare services — OpenStreetMap · Period: current · Updated on site
Hazards
- Bushfire planning zone
- No overlay at centroid
Bushfire overlay checked at suburb centroid via ACT Bushfire Prone Area (SBMP) mapping.
Data sources & freshness
- Hazard planning overlays — State government hazard layers · Period: current · Updated on site
Green cover
- Parks & woodland (OSM)
- 29
- Parks (OSM)
- 26
OpenStreetMap parks and natural woodland features mapped within the suburb boundary.
Data sources & freshness
- OpenStreetMap green cover features — OpenStreetMap contributors · Period: current · Updated on site · Weekly refresh
Desirability index
- Desirability score
- 77.5/100
- Cohort rank
- #24 among Metro Canberra suburbs
Data sources & freshness
- Suburb Guide desirability index — Suburb Guide (derived score) · Period: current · Updated on site · Derived from source metrics
Recent changes
- Majura Primary School - Watson Preschoolchildcarekindergarten
- Nipperville Early Learning Centrechildcarekindergarten
- Aboriginal Places in all DistrictsheritageCF23 - Registered Places or Objects
- Aboriginal Places in all DistrictsheritageIF13 - Registered Places or Objects
- Aboriginal RecordingsheritageNW14 - Aboriginal Place or Object (not registered but protected under Heritage Act 2004)
- Aboriginal RecordingsheritageNWST14 - Aboriginal Place or Object (not registered but protected under Heritage Act 2004)
- McKeown Househeritage109 Irvine St3 - Registered Places or Objects
- Signadou and Blackfriars Precinctheritage 3 - Registered Places or Objects
- Signadou and Blackfriars Precinctheritage 3 - Registered Places or Objects
- Signadou and Blackfriars Precinctheritage 3 - Registered Places or Objects
Data sources & freshness
- Childcare services — OpenStreetMap · Updated on site
- State heritage register — State heritage authority · Updated on site
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