NSW · Wollongong Council
Fernhill, NSW, 2519
Desirability index
#736 among Metro Sydney suburbs
Suburb snapshot
Fernhill is a small locality in the Wollongong area, home to around 987 residents (2021 Census). Recent indicators show 1,047 offences in Jan 2025 to Dec 2025 with rising year-on-year trends (+10%), roughly 1060.8 offences per 1,000 residents, median weekly rent around $725 (flats $550, houses $825), 13 public transport stops within the suburb, a quieter amenity profile than busier neighbouring suburbs, and notable planning and development activity on record. Snapshot data also shows parks or public open space within the suburb.
Population
- Population
- 987
- Median age
- 45
- Median household income / week
- $1,107
- Dwelling vacancy
- 6.7%
- Unoccupied private dwellings
- 30 of 450
- Median monthly mortgage
- $2,167
- Employment rate
- 43.3%
- Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
- 24 / 101 / 44
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.
Housing
- Flats / units (January to March 2026)
- $550
- Houses (January to March 2026)
- $825
- All types (January to March 2026)
- $725
- Rental bonds lodged (January to March 2026)
- 140
Median weekly rent from NSW DCJ rent tables. Figures can be unreliable where few bonds were lodged in the quarter.
Data sources & freshness
- DCJ rent tables — NSW Department of Communities and Justice · Period: January to March 2026 · Updated on site · Quarterly releases
Crime & safety
- Total offences (Jan 2025 to Dec 2025)
- 1,047
- Against the person
- 219
- Against property
- 407
- Rate per 1,000 residents
- 1,060.8
- Person-crime prevalence
- About 1 in 5 residents
- State safety percentile
- 34.4th (lower crime is better)
- Year-on-year change
- +10.4%
Most common offence types
- Fraud68
- Intimidation, Stalking And Harassment70
- Malicious Damage To Property81
- Steal From Retail Store61
- Transport Regulatory Offences163
Data sources & freshness
- BOCSAR postcode crime statistics — NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research · Period: Jan 2024 to Dec 2024 → Jan 2025 to Dec 2025; Jan 2025 to Dec 2025 · Updated on site · Rolling 12-month windows
Public transport
13 public transport stops in this suburb
- Caldwell Av At Charles Rd
- Princes Hwy Opp Hope St
- Princes Hwy Opp Hope St
- Pringle Rd Before Douglas Rd
- Pringle Rd Before Wallace Rd
Data sources & freshness
- GTFS public transport stops — State transport authority open-data feeds · Period: current · Updated on site · GTFS static feed
Planning & development
Development applications from NSW Planning Portal (lodged 2020–2026).
49 planning-related records
2026· 4 proposals
May 2026
- Subdivision97 MEADOW STREET FERNHILL 2519Determined
April 2026
- Dwelling house; Alterations or additions to an existing building or structure; Residential Accommodation53 DOUGLAS ROAD FERNHILL 2519Under Assessment
- Dwelling house; Alterations or additions to an existing building or structure29 WRIGHT STREET FERNHILL 2519Determined
February 2026
- Dwelling house; Erection of a new structure112/1317855Determined
2025· 10 proposals
December 2025
- Subdivision112/139965Determined
November 2025
- Subdivision25 WALLACE ROAD FERNHILL 2519Determined
- Demolition; Subdivision; Erection of a new structure; Dual occupancy (attached)118 MEADOW STREET FERNHILL 2519Determined
August 2025
- Temporary building, structure or use; Market112/-/DP1013114Determined
- Demolition; Subdivision; Medium Density Housing; Erection of a new structure10 PRINGLE ROAD FERNHILL 2519Determined
May 2025
- Subdivision25 WALLACE ROAD FERNHILL 2519Determined
- Shed; Erection of a new structure36 WALLACE ROAD FERNHILL 2519Determined
March 2025
- Dual occupancy; Demolition; Erection of a new structure27 WALLACE ROAD FERNHILL 2519Determined
- Place of public worship; Change of use of land or a building or the classification of a building under the Building Code of Australia; Hours of operation and trading2 DOUGLAS ROAD FERNHILL 2519Determined
January 2025
- Erection of a new structure; Vehicle Sales or Hire Premises112/-/DP1295331Determined
2024· 6 proposals
August 2024
- Erection of a new structure; Dual occupancy (detached)27 WALLACE ROAD FERNHILL 2519Withdrawn
May 2024
- Demolition; Dwelling house; Alterations or additions to an existing building or structure55 DOUGLAS ROAD FERNHILL 2519Determined
April 2024
- Dwelling house; Alterations or additions to an existing building or structure33 CHARLES ROAD FERNHILL 2519Determined
- Subdivision112/-/1231824Determined
January 2024
- Dual occupancy; Demolition; Subdivision; Erection of a new structure1 ANGUS STREET FERNHILL 2519Determined
- Dual occupancy; Demolition; Erection of a new structure; Dual occupancy (detached)4 DOUGLAS ROAD FERNHILL 2519Determined
2023· 9 proposals
December 2023
- Secondary dwelling; Erection of a new structure29 DOUGLAS ROAD FERNHILL 2519Determined
- Demolition; Industrial development47 PRINGLE ROAD FERNHILL 2519Determined
November 2023
- Demolition; Dwelling house; Alterations or additions to an existing building or structure; Erection of a new structure; Balcony, deck, patio, terrace or verandah; Carport; Driveways and hard stand spaces; Garage, carport or carparking space; Minor building alterations (internal); Minor building alterations (external); Residential Accommodation2 WALLACE ROAD FERNHILL 2519Determined
September 2023
- Demolition15 PRINGLE ROAD FERNHILL 2519Determined
August 2023
- Balconies, decks, patios, terraces or verandahs; Demolition; Alterations and additions to residential development55 DOUGLAS ROAD FERNHILL 2519Determined
- Garages, carports and car parking spaces29 WRIGHT STREET FERNHILL 2519Determined
June 2023
- Pools / decks / fencing; Alterations and additions to residential development; Garages, carports and car parking spaces29 WRIGHT STREET FERNHILL 2519Determined
May 2023
- Alterations and additions to residential development39 WALLACE ROAD FERNHILL 2519Determined
February 2023
- Dual occupancy; Demolition3 MADDEN STREET FERNHILL 2519Determined
2022· 6 proposals
November 2022
- Pools / decks / fencing; Garages, carports and car parking spaces; Other70 WALLACE ROAD FERNHILL 2519Determined
September 2022
- Industrial development51 PRINGLE ROAD FERNHILL 2519Determined
August 2022
- Balconies, decks, patios, terraces or verandahs28 DOUGLAS ROAD FERNHILL 2519Withdrawn
July 2022
- Demolition; Multi-dwelling housing; Subdivision of land21 PRINGLE ROAD FERNHILL 2519Determined
June 2022
- Alterations and additions to residential development33 CHARLES ROAD FERNHILL 2519Determined
March 2022
- Demolition16 WALLACE ROAD FERNHILL 2519Determined
2021· 10 proposals
December 2021
- Alterations and additions to residential development74 WALLACE ROAD FERNHILL 2519Determined
October 2021
- Garages, carports and car parking spaces40 BRUCE ROAD FERNHILL 2519Determined
- Subdivision of land26 CHARLES ROAD FERNHILL 2519Determined
August 2021
- Alterations and additions to residential development3 ANGUS STREET FERNHILL 2519Determined
- Business premises8 Angus StreetDetermined
2020· 4 proposals
4 proposals lodged in 2020. Individual listings are kept for the most recent proposals.
Data sources & freshness
- Online DA development application register — NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure · Period: 2020; 2020–2026; 2021… · Updated on site · Daily open-data feed (applications from Oct 2018)
Amenities
3 nearby amenities within ~1.5 km
- Meadow St at Douglas RdBus stop
- Meadow St opp Douglas RdBus stop
- Princes Hwy opp Hope StBus 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
1 parks and public open space in this suburb
- Phil Miller ParkPark
Data sources & freshness
- Parks & reserves — State government + ABS LGA boundaries · Period: current · Updated on site
Socio-economic (SEIFA)
- IRSAD decile (2021)
- 3/10
- IRSD decile (2021)
- 2/10
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
Hazards
- Bushfire planning zone
- No overlay at centroid
Bushfire overlay checked at suburb centroid via NSW bush fire prone land mapping.
Data sources & freshness
- Hazard planning overlays — State government hazard layers · Period: current · Updated on site
Green cover
- Parks & woodland (OSM)
- 3
- Parks (OSM)
- 3
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
- 0.7/100
- Cohort rank
- #736 among Metro Sydney suburbs
Data sources & freshness
- Suburb Guide desirability index — Suburb Guide (derived score) · Period: current · Updated on site · Derived from source metrics
Recent changes
- Caldwell Av At Charles Rdtransport
- Princes Hwy Opp Hope Sttransport
- Princes Hwy Opp Hope Sttransport
- Pringle Rd Before Douglas Rdtransport
- Pringle Rd Before Wallace Rdtransport
- Phil Miller Parkgovernmentpark
- Alterations and additions to residential developmentplanning39 WALLACE ROAD FERNHILL 2519Lodged 17 May 2023 · Determined
- Alterations and additions to residential developmentplanning33 CHARLES ROAD FERNHILL 2519Lodged 15 Jun 2022 · Determined
- Alterations and additions to residential developmentplanning74 WALLACE ROAD FERNHILL 2519Lodged 01 Dec 2021 · Determined
- Alterations and additions to residential developmentplanning3 ANGUS STREET FERNHILL 2519Lodged 20 Aug 2021 · Determined
Data sources & freshness
- Parks & reserves — State government + ABS LGA boundaries · Updated on site
- Online DA development application register — NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure · Updated on site · Daily open-data feed (applications from Oct 2018)
- GTFS public transport stops — State transport authority open-data feeds · Updated on site · GTFS static feed
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