TAS · Latrobe Council

Sassafras, 7307

Est. population · Jun 2025

380

Growth (1 yr)

+0.8%

Growth (5 yr)

+9.8%

Median age

46

Median income

$1,411/wk

Employment rate

68.3%

University qualified

8.2%

Work from home

20%

Languages at home

1.8%non-English

Mostly English at home

2021 Census · usual residence

Desirability score

32.9/100
Below average

298th in TAS

Verified 88% confidence

How this score is calculated
  • Green suburb
  • Agricultural
  • Rural living
What Sassafras is known for: Green suburb, Agricultural, Rural living

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Sassafras, TAS suburb snapshot — Suburb Guide

Cite this suburb snapshot

Suburb Guide, “Sassafras, TAS Suburb Guide”, updated 2 October 2026, https://suburb.guide/tas/sassafras-tas

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Suburb profile

Sassafras is a rural locality in Tasmania, in Latrobe Council. It is close to the Mersey River.

Employment is a strong feature of the suburb, with employment 28% above the peer median. Population growth is an exceptional strength, with population growth 108% above the peer median, and working from home is more common than in comparable places, with working from home 85% above the peer median, and green cover is an exceptional strength. The clearer weaknesses are lower school ICSEA scores and more mapped flood cover.

Overall, the suburb suits people prioritising employment over school quality.

Generated from the official metrics on this page. It can omit nuance or contain errors — check the tables and source notes before relying on it.

Strengths and weaknesses

Rural locality · compared with rural localities in Tasmania (329)

Strengths

  • Employment is a relative strength
  • Population growth is a relative strength
  • Working from home is more common than in comparable places
  • Green cover is a relative strength

Weaknesses

  • School ICSEA scores are a relative weakness
  • A larger share of the suburb sits in mapped inundation than in comparable places

What stands out

  • Mersey River

Who it suits

  • Families
  • Professionals
  • Retirees
  • StudentsInsufficient data
  • Budget buyersInsufficient data

Housing, growth and risk

How Sassafras compares

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

Median house price

—

No data available

Median rent (Census)

$250/wk

2021 Census median weekly rent

Population (ERP)

380

+0.8% annual growth

Dwelling vacancy

9.5%

Census unoccupied dwellings

Livability profile

Desirability pillars vs the peer median (50th percentile)

How it compares

Relative standing using percentiles, ranks, and national deciles

Desirability

#95

among Country & regional · Mature

Pop. growth

71st

percentile in TAS

Rented dwellings

18%

2021 Census tenure

Advantage (IRSAD)

5/10

national SEIFA decile

School ICSEA

7th

percentile among schools with ICSEA

Population growth

Recent ERP change over 1 and 5 years

Housing mix

Dwelling types from the 2021 Census

Risks & flags

Quick scan — open a section below for full context

Living here

Desirability

Ranks & confidence
Desirability score
32.9/100 — Below average
National rank
6010th in Australia
State rank
298th in TAS
Peer rank
#95 among Country & regional · Mature suburbs
Cohort rank
#184 among Country & regional suburbs
Data confidence
88%

Data sources & freshness

  • Suburb Guide desirability index — Suburb Guide (derived) · current · Updated

Population

Estimated resident population

380(June 2025)

+0.8% annual · +9.8% over 5 years · 71th percentile in TAS

Growth figures & methodology
Annual growth
+0.8%
5-year growth
+9.8%
Change in 1 year
+3
Change in 5 years
+34
Growth rank in TAS
71th percentile

ABS Estimated Resident Population allocated to this suburb from SA2-level data. Not an official ABS suburb count.

Methodology

Figures are allocated from ABS Estimated Resident Population at Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2), using 2021 Census share within overlapping SA2 regions. Where Census data is unavailable, area overlap is used instead.

The dashed chart line is a simple growth-trend estimate to June 2030 (~400), extrapolated at +1.9% average annual growth since 2011. It is illustrative only — not an official ABS forecast.

2021 Census figures

2021 Census

Population
352
Median age
46
Median household income / week
$1,411
Dwelling vacancy
9.5%
Unoccupied private dwellings
13 of 137
Median monthly mortgage
$1,300
Median weekly rent (2021 Census)
$250
Tenure (owned / mortgaged / rented)
54.9% / 27.4% / 17.7%
Employment rate
68.3%
Travel to work (WFH / public transport / car)
20% / 0% / 63.4%
Walked or cycled to work
7.3%
Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
119 / 0 / 0 (+ 3 other)

Contributes to desirability score · Community (12%) · Accessibility (12%) · Future Growth (6%)

Employment, household income and owned-outright tenure (2021 Census) Work-from-home and public-transport commute shares (2021 Census) Five-year population change as a healthy-growth band, not a boom bonus

Data sources & freshness

  • 2021 Census — General Community Profile (including method of travel to work and educational attainment) — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated

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

  • Estimated Resident Population — Australian Bureau of Statistics · 2025 · Updated · SA2 ERP allocated to suburb boundaries

Qualifications

8.2% of adults have a university degree, compared with 21.9% across Tasmania. 23.4% have a trade or vocational qualification.

  • University qualified8.2% · 21.9% TAS
  • Diploma qualified5.3% · 7.9% TAS
  • Trade / vocational23.4% · 18.5% TAS
  • Year 12 or below63.2% · 51.8% TAS

Highest qualification field

Main field of the highest non-school qualification (2021 Census).

  • Engineering and related technologies22.2%
  • Health13.7%
  • Society and culture12.8%
  • Agriculture and environment12%
  • Management and commerce12%
  • Architecture and building10.3%
How these groups are defined
MeasureDefinition
University qualifiedBachelor degree or higher
Diploma qualifiedAdvanced Diploma / Diploma
Trade / vocationalCertificate III + IV
Year 12Year 12 as highest attainment
Below Year 12Year 11 / 10 / 9 or below

People aged 15 years and over, 2021 Census. University, diploma and trade shares match ABS highest educational attainment (HEAP). Year 12 and below Year 12 are combined in the chart because the General Community Profile reports school-only attainment as a residual.

Contributes to desirability score · Community (12%)

University qualifications from the 2021 Census

Data sources & freshness

  • 2021 Census — General Community Profile (including method of travel to work and educational attainment) — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated

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

Tax & income

Median taxable income (2023–24)
$53,088

52nd percentile in TAS · -10% vs Australia

Median salary / wages (2023–24)
$58,751

59th percentile in TAS · -10% vs Australia

Residents with rental investments
10.0%

37th percentile in TAS · -27% vs Australia

Median super balance (2023–24)
$87,221

69th percentile in TAS · +38% vs Australia

Residents with business income
9.0%

27th percentile in TAS · -13% vs Australia

Australian Taxation Office Taxation Statistics 2023–24, individuals Table 25. Figures describe taxpayers who live in postcode 7307 — not a suburb-level official statistic. Rental investment is the share of local taxpayers reporting rental income or loss, not the share of local properties owned by investors.

Counts, net rent & state comparison
Taxpayers in this postcode
6,964
Taxpayers reporting net rent
728
Median net rent
$1,396
Taxpayers reporting business income
609
Taxable income vs state median
0%
Salary / wages vs state median
+1%
Rental investment vs state median
-9%
Super vs state median
+16%
Business income vs state median
-18%

Percentiles rank this postcode among unique postcodes in TAS, so suburbs that share a postcode are not counted twice. Dollar figures are compared with Australia-wide ATO medians from the same release. Median net rent is among taxpayers who reported the rent label and can be negative.

Data sources & freshness

  • Taxation Statistics 2023–24 — individuals by postcode (Table 25) — Australian Taxation Office · Updated · Annual release; taxpayer residential postcode, not suburb boundary

Seasonal & agricultural work

31.7% of employed residents work in agriculture, forestry and fishing, 13.8× the Australian share (2.3%) — compared with 5.2% across Tasmania.

Agriculture, forestry & fishing
31.7%

87th percentile in TAS · +1278% vs Australia

Resident workers (2021)
65
WHM specified work
Subclass 417 / 462

Postcode 7307

Occupation mix in this industry

2021 Census G56, residents employed in agriculture, forestry and fishing. Counts below 10 are not shown.

  • Managers51

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021 Census General Community Profile tables G54 (industry of employment) and G56 (industry by occupation), Statistical Area Level (suburb), place of usual residence. Figures are residents’ main job in the week before Census night — not jobs located in the suburb. Agriculture, forestry and fishing is the 1-digit ANZSIC division; grape growing and other 3- and 4-digit industries are not in this datapack. The 2026 Census was conducted in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.

Plant and animal cultivation in postcode 7307 (Regional Australia) may count as specified work for Working Holiday Maker visas (subclasses 417 and 462). This is a postcode rule from the Home Affairs instruments — not evidence that seasonal jobs exist here, and not a count of WHM residents. Home Affairs specified work · LIN 22/012 · LIN 22/013. Compilation used: 5 April 2025.

Region employment estimates (SA4, not this suburb)

Jobs and Skills Australia NERO modelled estimates for West and North West (SA4 604), 2026-08. These figures describe the broader region, not this suburb, and occupations are not added together.

  • Livestock Farmers ANZSCO 12131,176
  • Livestock Farm Workers ANZSCO 8415357
  • Agricultural, Forestry and Horticultural Plant Operators ANZSCO 7211284
  • Crop Farm Workers ANZSCO 8412254
  • Crop Farmers ANZSCO 1212211
  • Forestry and Logging Workers ANZSCO 8413130
  • Other Farm, Forestry and Garden Workers ANZSCO 841977
  • Mixed Crop and Livestock Farmers ANZSCO 121465
  • Aquaculture Workers ANZSCO 841132
  • Mixed Crop and Livestock Farm Workers ANZSCO 841625

West and North West is a Statistical Area Level 4. Fruit, nut and vegetable workers are not published separately in NERO (they sit under ANZSCO 8412). Jobs and Skills Australia warns not to sum occupations or geographies. NERO data. Nowcast of Employment by Region and Occupation, Jobs and Skills Australia, Commonwealth of Australia. CC BY 4.0.

Census employed residents counted in G54: 205 · AFF share +510% vs the state.

Data sources & freshness

  • 2021 Census — industry of employment (G54/G56), place of usual residence — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated · Resident main job in the week before Census night, not jobs located in the suburb

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

  • WHM specified work areas (LIN 22/012 and LIN 22/013) — Department of Home Affairs · 2025-04-05 · Updated · Postcode eligibility for plant and animal cultivation; not a count of WHM residents
  • Nowcast of Employment by Region and Occupation (NERO), SA4 × ANZSCO 4-digit — Jobs and Skills Australia · 2026-08 · Updated · Monthly modelled SA4 estimates; not suburb-level. CC BY 4.0

Community & culture

1.8% speak a language other than English at home; 5.5% born overseas

Language at home
331 English only · 6 other
Non-English at home
1.8%
Born overseas
18 (5.5%)
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
11 (3.1%)
Australian citizens
329

Religion

44.9%No religion

No religion is the most common response at 44.9%, while Christianity accounts for 44.3%.

MeasureSuburbState
No religion44.9%49.6%
Christianity44.3%38.4%
Other / not stated10.8%12.1%
Christian denominations
DenominationSuburbState
Anglican14.5%14.4%
Uniting Church11.4%2.6%
Baptist9.4%1.1%
Catholic7.7%12.7%

2021 Census — languages spoken at home, birthplace, Indigenous status, and religious affiliation (usual residence). Religion is optional on the Census form.

Data sources & freshness

  • 2021 Census — General Community Profile (including method of travel to work and educational attainment) — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated

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

Crime & safety

Figures are for the Devonport Police Division, not this suburb alone.

Reported offences decreased compared with the previous period.

Offence counts & rates
Total offences (2024–25)
2,452
Against the person
670
Against property
1,673
Rate per 1,000 residents (area)
54
State crime-rate percentile
67.2th (higher = more crime)
Decrease (daily rate)
-13.6%
Recorded road crashes (in suburb)
331
Crash rate per 1,000 residents (state rank)
871.05

Most common offence types

  • Offences Against Property
  • Offences Against The Person
  • Total Offences

Contributes to desirability score · Safety (22%)

Crime rate, offences against the person, year-on-year trend and recorded road crash rates

Data sources & freshness

Family & Lifestyle

Schools & preschools

Schools within 2 km
1
Median school ICSEA
876
Median ICSEA percentile
7th
School list
  • Sassafras Primary SchoolPrimary · Government · ICSEA 876 · 7th percentile · LBOTE 0% · 33 students · Top SEA quarter 0%View on My School →

Contributes to desirability score · Education (14%)

Median school ICSEA first, then school and catchment counts

Data sources & freshness

Amenities

2 mapped amenities

Local character & venue list

Local character

  • Limited walkable amenities nearby
Walkability proxy
0/100
Cafés per 1,000 residents
0
Food & drink per 1,000 residents
0
Parks per 1,000 residents
0
Sport & outdoors(2)
  • Rubicon River Conservation CovenantNature reserve
  • Virginstow Conservation AreaNature reserve

Names and addresses from OpenStreetMap. Unnamed venues show as their type (e.g. Cafe). Transport stops are summarised by type rather than listed individually. Campgrounds, beaches, wineries and local trails are included when they sit inside the suburb boundary.

Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (12%)

Food, shopping, recreation and sport per 1,000 residents (OpenStreetMap)

Data sources & freshness

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

Parks & reserves

1 parks and public open space in this suburb

  • Rubicon River Conservation CovenantNature reserve

Data sources & freshness

Green cover

Green cover of suburb area
14%
Woodland / forest cover
14%
Parks & woodland features (OSM)
20
Parks (OSM)
0
Typical summer maximum
21°C

Green cover is the share of this suburb's boundary overlapping OpenStreetMap parks, woodland and forest polygons — not a satellite tree-canopy product. Summer maximum is the WorldClim / Open-Meteo seasonal normal already collected for Weather.

Contributes to desirability score · Environment (12%)

Tree canopy first, then green-cover area and parks per 1,000

Data sources & freshness

  • OpenStreetMap green cover and tree canopy — OpenStreetMap contributors · current · Updated · Park/woodland polygons intersected with suburb boundaries

Health access

Nearest hospital
Mersey Community Hospital (12.8 km)
Nearest hospital type
Hospital
Nearest hospital emergency
Emergency department
GP clinics in suburb
0

GP clinic counts from OpenStreetMap. Bulk-billing figures only include clinics tagged in OSM (sparse and unofficial — not a Medicare list).

Contributes to desirability score · Accessibility (12%)

Hospitals, GPs and aged care

Data sources & freshness

NDIS participation

NDIS participants (31 March 2026)
12
Participants per 1,000 residents
31.6

Active NDIS participants allocated from NDIA Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2, ASGS 2016) counts to this suburb boundary. Not an official suburb-level NDIS figure · as at 31 March 2026.

For NDIS spend and service-demand exploration by SA2 or postcode, see the Care Sector Demand Map.

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
21° / 12°
Rainfall
171 mm · ~21 rainy days

Autumn (Mar–May)

Usual max / min
18° / 10°
Rainfall
238 mm · ~30 rainy days

Winter (Jun–Aug)

Usual max / min
13° / 5°
Rainfall
360 mm · ~45 rainy days

Spring (Sep–Nov)

Usual max / min
16° / 8°
Rainfall
262 mm · ~33 rainy days

Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (12%)

Temperature and humidity comfort

Data sources & freshness

  • Seasonal climate normals — WorldClim 2.1 · Updated

Future & Planning

Hazards

Bushfire planning zone
Overlay applies
Flood / inundation overlay
1.8% of suburb boundary

Bushfire overlay checked at suburb centroid via LIST bushfire impact area mapping. Flood cover uses Tasmanian Planning Scheme flood-prone area overlays against the suburb boundary.

Contributes to desirability score · Safety (22%)

Bushfire and flood hazard overlays

Data sources & freshness

  • Bushfire and flood planning overlays — State government hazard layers · current · Updated

Politics & representation

Federal electorate
Braddon
Member of Parliament
Anne URQUHART (Australian Labor Party)
Results from
2025 federal election
Electorate enrolment (2025)
84,244
Turnout (2025)
93.0%
Swing since 2022 (2025)
+15.2 pp toward Labor

Two-party preferred (2025)

Coalition 42.8%Labor 57.2%

Estimated suburb voting profile

Estimated from 8 nearby ordinary polling places (up to 20.0 km away).

Coalition 60.3%Labor 39.7%

17.5 percentage points more Coalition-leaning than the electorate

Estimated swing since 2022: +10.9 pp toward Labor

Nearest polling places

  • SassafrasLabor 32.7% · Coalition 67.3% TPP (2025)4.3 km away
  • MoriartyLabor 46.5% · Coalition 53.5% TPP (2025)11.4 km away
  • Latrobe SouthLabor 54.8% · Coalition 45.2% TPP (2025)13.3 km away
  • LatrobeLabor 56.8% · Coalition 43.2% TPP (2025)13.5 km away
  • Wesley ValeLabor 39.6% · Coalition 60.4% TPP (2025)15.1 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

Socio-economic

IRSAD decile (2021)
5/10
IRSD decile (2021)
7/10

ABS Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA), 2021 release — the latest available, derived from the 2021 Census. Deciles rank suburbs nationally from 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest).

What do IRSAD and IRSD measure?

IRSAD — Index of Relative Socio-economic Advantage and Disadvantage. Combines indicators of advantage (e.g. high income, skilled occupations) and disadvantage. Higher decile = more advantaged relative to other Australian areas.

IRSD — Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage. Focuses on disadvantage only (e.g. low income, unemployment, limited education). Higher decile = less disadvantage nationally.

A new SEIFA edition typically follows each census; the ABS has not announced a release date beyond 2021.

Contributes to desirability score · Community (12%)

Socio-economic advantage (IRSAD and IRSD deciles)

Data sources & freshness

More in Latrobe Council

Other suburbs in the same local government area.

Comparable suburbs

Similar population and socio-economic profile in other parts of Tasmania.