suburb.guide

NSW · Wollongong Council

Cataract, 2560

Population

4

Median age

43

Median income

$2,750/wk

Employment rate

100%

Median house price · October to December 2025

$1,000,000

Languages at home

Mostly English at home

2021 Census · usual residence

  • Green suburb
  • Excellent transport
  • Heritage area
What Cataract is known for: Green suburb, Excellent transport, Heritage area

Suburb profile

Cataract is a residential smaller community in Wollongong Council with a familiar suburban feel. The community is self-contained in the best sense. Local life comes first, with the region opening up beyond. Long-term locals and family households define much of the community, with plenty of residents in steady employment.

Local amenities are on the light side, so many everyday needs are met by travelling to a neighbouring suburb or town. Parks and open space are a real strength relative to many comparable suburbs, easy for walks, sport and weekend downtime. A car helps for most daily errands, though buses still link the suburb further afield.

Property sits in a premium price band and is harder to enter for many buyers.

At a glance

Cataract snapshot

A quick read of housing, growth, livability, and risk

Median house price

$1M

+11% change

Median rent

$595/wk

Houses $620 · Units $510

Population (Census)

4

2021 Census usual residence

Dwelling vacancy

—

No data available

Risks & flags

Quick scan — open a section below for full context

Living here

Housing

Flats / units (January to March 2026)
$510
Houses (January to March 2026)
$620
All types (January to March 2026)
$595
Rental bonds lodged (January to March 2026)
628
Median house price (October to December 2025)
$1,000,000
Median price change
+11.1%

Median weekly rent from NSW DCJ rent tables. Figures can be unreliable where few bonds were lodged in the quarter.

Contributes to desirability score · Housing (15%) · Future Growth (7%)

Median price, rental yield and vacancy Recent price momentum

Data sources & freshness

Population

2021 Census figures

2021 Census

Population
4
Median age
43
Median household income / week
$2,750
Unoccupied private dwellings
0 of 0
Median monthly mortgage
$0
Employment rate
100%
Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
0 / 0 / 0

Contributes to desirability score · Community (5%)

Employment, household income and age diversity (2021 Census)

Data sources & freshness

  • 2021 Census — General Community Profile — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated

    The 2026 Census runs in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.

Community & culture

No 2021 Census cultural diversity data for this suburb yet.

Data sources & freshness

  • 2021 Census — General Community Profile — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated

    The 2026 Census runs in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.

Family & Lifestyle

Public transport

6 public transport stops in this suburb

  • Appin Rd Opp Baden Powell Dr
  • Appin Rd Opp Baden Powell Dr
  • Appin Rd Opp Truck Parking Area
  • Appin Rd Opp Truck Parking Area
  • Bulli Appin Rd After Baden Powell Dr

Contributes to desirability score · Accessibility (15%)

Public transport stop coverage

Data sources & freshness

  • Timetables Complete GTFS stops (© Transport for NSW, CC BY 4.0) — Transport for NSW — Open Data Hub · current · Updated · Nightly GTFS feed

Amenities

No OpenStreetMap amenities mapped for this suburb yet.

Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (15%)

Food, shopping, recreation and sport (OpenStreetMap)

Data sources & freshness

  • Local amenity insights — Suburb Guide (derived) · current · Updated
  • OpenStreetMap amenities — OpenStreetMap contributors · current · Updated

Green cover

Parks & woodland (OSM)
5
Parks (OSM)
4

OpenStreetMap parks and natural woodland features mapped within the suburb boundary.

Contributes to desirability score · Environment (10%)

Parks and green cover (OpenStreetMap)

Data sources & freshness

Health access

Nearest hospital
Ramsay Clinic Thirroul (8.7 km)
Nearest hospital type
Hospital
Nearest hospital emergency
Emergency department

Contributes to desirability score · Accessibility (15%)

Hospitals and GP clinics

Data sources & freshness

Weather

Typical conditions by season for suburbs in the same ~44 km climate area. Rainfall totals are summed from monthly WorldClim layers; rainy-day counts are approximate.

Summer (Dec–Feb)

Usual max / min
25° / 17°
Rainfall
321 mm · ~40 rainy days

Autumn (Mar–May)

Usual max / min
22° / 14°
Rainfall
359 mm · ~45 rainy days

Winter (Jun–Aug)

Usual max / min
17° / 8°
Rainfall
263 mm · ~33 rainy days

Spring (Sep–Nov)

Usual max / min
21° / 12°
Rainfall
242 mm · ~30 rainy days

Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (15%)

Temperature and humidity comfort

Data sources & freshness

  • Seasonal climate normals — WorldClim 2.1 · Updated

Future & Planning

Planning & development

Development applications from NSW Planning Portal (lodged 2020–2026).

6 planning-related records

2024· 1 proposal

  • March 2024

  • Alterations or additions to an existing building or structure; Driveways and hard stand spaces; Earthworks, retaining walls and structural support; Supporting Development
    Pt54//DP751301Determined
2023· 1 proposal

  • March 2023

  • Secondary dwelling
    Lot2 DP204674Determined
2021· 2 proposals

  • June 2021

  • Demolition; Signage; Restaurant or cafe; Other
    Lots 90-100 DP 18875Determined

  • May 2021

  • Change of use
    7 Globe LanDetermined
2020· 2 proposals

  • September 2020

  • Pools / decks / fencing; Alterations and additions to residential development
    trentoj77@gmail.comDetermined
  • Dwelling
    52 Cataract Road, Box HillDetermined

Contributes to desirability score · Future Growth (7%)

Development and planning activity

Data sources & freshness

Roadworks & transport

1 active roadworks / incidents

  • RoadworksM1 Princes Motorway, Princes Highway (Bulli Pass)09 Aug 2026 – 30 Aug 2026

Data sources & freshness

  • Road incidents & closures — State road authority open-data feeds · current · Updated

Heritage

1 heritage place

  • Cataract DamCataract Road, AppinSHR

Data sources & freshness

  • State heritage register — State heritage authority · current · Updated

Hazards

Bushfire planning zone
Overlay applies

Bushfire overlay checked at suburb centroid via NSW bush fire prone land mapping.

Contributes to desirability score · Safety (18%)

Bushfire hazard overlays

Data sources & freshness

  • Hazard planning overlays — State government hazard layers · current · Updated

Politics & representation

Federal electorate
Cunningham
Member of Parliament
Alison BYRNES (Australian Labor Party)
Results from
2025 federal election
Electorate enrolment (2025)
132,139
Turnout (2025)
92.4%
Swing since 2022 (2025)
+2.5 pp toward Labor

Two-party preferred (2025)

Coalition 32.5%Labor 67.5%

Estimated suburb voting profile

Estimated from 8 nearby ordinary polling places (up to 10.2 km away).

Coalition 30.3%Labor 69.7%

2.1 percentage points more Labor-leaning than the electorate

Estimated swing since 2022: +2.6 pp toward Labor

Nearest polling places

  • BulliLabor 69.7% · Coalition 30.3% TPP (2025)8.9 km away
  • WoononaLabor 73.0% · Coalition 27.0% TPP (2025)8.9 km away
  • Bulli CentralLabor 69.0% · Coalition 31.0% TPP (2025)9.3 km away
  • ThirroulLabor 72.9% · Coalition 27.1% TPP (2025)9.3 km away
  • Woonona CentralLabor 69.0% · Coalition 31.0% TPP (2025)9.4 km away

Federal electorate from AEC federal division boundaries (2025 redistribution). Division-level results are official AEC figures from the latest general election, with by-election updates where applicable. The estimated suburb profile blends up to eight nearest ordinary polling booths in the same electorate using inverse-distance weighting from the suburb centroid — an approximation, not official AEC data. Nearest polling places are shown for reference.

Data sources & freshness

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