VIC · Colac Otway Council
Population
136
Growth (1 yr)
0.0%
Growth (5 yr)
+1.6%
Median age
48
Median income
$1,037/wk
Employment rate
61.7%
University qualified
27.1%
Work from home
27.4%
Languages at home
6.9%non-English
Mostly English at home
2021 Census · usual residence
Using this data? Cite or embed. Publishers
Suburb profile
Barwon Downs is a rural locality in Victoria, in Colac Otway Council. It is set against the Otway Ranges.
Everyday destinations are relatively walkable, well above typical levels for rural localities. Local amenities is an exceptional strength. Green cover is an exceptional strength, and university qualifications are more common than in comparable places, with university qualifications 101% above the peer median, and working from home is another of the suburb's defining strengths, with working from home 29% above the peer median. Household incomes sit below the peer median, with household incomes 30% below the peer median.
Overall, the suburb suits people prioritising walkability and university qualifications.
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 Victoria (1828)
Who it suits
Housing, growth and risk
A quick read of housing, growth, livability, and risk
Median house price
—
No data available
Median rent (Census)
$230/wk
2021 Census median weekly rent
Population (Census)
136
0.0% annual growth
Dwelling vacancy
27.0%
Census unoccupied dwellings
Relative standing using percentiles, ranks, and national deciles
Crime rate
90th
percentile in state (higher = more crime)
Pop. growth
6th
percentile in VIC
Rented dwellings
6%
2021 Census tenure
Advantage (IRSAD)
7/10
national SEIFA decile
Recent ERP change over 1 and 5 years
Dwelling types from the 2021 Census
Quick scan — open a section below for full context
Population growth
0.0% annual · +1.6% over 5 years · 6th percentile in VIC
Growth rates are from ABS Estimated Resident Population at SA2 level. Headcount uses 2021 Census when allocated ERP is too low relative to Census to display reliably.
2021 Census
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
The 2026 Census was conducted in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.
27.1% of adults have a university degree, compared with 29.2% across Victoria. 16.9% have a trade or vocational qualification.
Main field of the highest non-school qualification (2021 Census).
| Measure | Definition |
|---|---|
| University qualified | Bachelor degree or higher |
| Diploma qualified | Advanced Diploma / Diploma |
| Trade / vocational | Certificate III + IV |
| Year 12 | Year 12 as highest attainment |
| Below Year 12 | Year 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
The 2026 Census was conducted in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.
42nd percentile in VIC · -12% vs Australia
55th percentile in VIC · -8% vs Australia
32nd percentile in VIC · -20% vs Australia
60th percentile in VIC · +37% vs Australia
88th percentile in VIC · +54% vs Australia
Australian Taxation Office Taxation Statistics 2023–24, individuals Table 25. Figures describe taxpayers who live in postcode 3243 — 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.
Percentiles rank this postcode among unique postcodes in VIC, 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
23.3% of employed residents work in agriculture, forestry and fishing, 10.1× the Australian share (2.3%) — compared with 2.1% across Victoria.
69th percentile in VIC · +913% vs Australia
Postcode 3243
2021 Census G56, residents employed in agriculture, forestry and fishing. Counts below 10 are not shown.
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 3243 (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.
Jobs and Skills Australia NERO modelled estimates for Warrnambool and South West (SA4 217), 2026-08. These figures describe the broader region, not this suburb, and occupations are not added together.
Warrnambool and South 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: 73 · AFF share +1010% vs the state.
Data sources & freshness
The 2026 Census was conducted in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.
6.9% speak a language other than English at home; 5.4% born overseas
49.3%No religion
No religion is the most common response at 49.3%, while Christianity accounts for 36%.
| Measure | Suburb | State |
|---|---|---|
| No religion | 49.3% | 38.8% |
| Christianity | 36% | 40.9% |
| Other / not stated | 14.7% | 20.3% |
| Denomination | Suburb | State |
|---|---|---|
| Anglican | 8.8% | 6.5% |
| Christian (not further defined) | 8.1% | 2.5% |
| Catholic | 7.4% | 20.5% |
2021 Census — languages spoken at home, birthplace, Indigenous status, and religious affiliation (usual residence). Religion is optional on the Census form.
Data sources & freshness
The 2026 Census was conducted in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.
Reported offences increased compared with the previous period.
Contributes to desirability score · Safety (22%)
Crime rate, offences against the person, year-on-year trend and recorded road crash rates
Data sources & freshness
Government school intake zones that overlap this suburb boundary. Living in a catchment does not guarantee enrolment; check the education authority.
Contributes to desirability score · Education (14%)
Median school ICSEA first, then school and catchment counts
Data sources & freshness
2 public transport stops in this suburb
Contributes to desirability score · Accessibility (12%)
Public transport stops per 1,000 residents and walkability
Data sources & freshness
5 mapped amenities
2 campgrounds
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
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
GP clinic counts from OpenStreetMap. Bulk-billing figures only include clinics tagged in OSM (sparse and unofficial — not a Medicare list).
Australian Government–subsidised services from the AIHW GEN list (30 June 2025), assigned to this suburb by location.
Contributes to desirability score · Accessibility (12%)
Hospitals, GPs and aged care
Data sources & freshness
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
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.
Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (12%)
Temperature and humidity comfort
Data sources & freshness
Development applications from PPARS statewide register (lodged 2020–2022). Free public PPARS MapServer — applications through ~2022 (service last updated Feb 2024).
2 planning-related records
April 2021
January 2021
Data sources & freshness
4 active roadworks / incidents
Data sources & freshness
Bushfire overlay checked at suburb centroid via Victorian Bushfire Management Overlay mapping. Flood cover uses inundation overlay polygons against the suburb boundary where published.
Contributes to desirability score · Safety (22%)
Bushfire and flood hazard overlays
Data sources & freshness
Two-party preferred (2025)
Estimated suburb voting profile
Estimated from 8 nearby ordinary polling places (up to 25.9 km away).
20.2 percentage points more Labor-leaning than the electorate
Estimated swing since 2022: +59.3 pp toward Labor
Nearest polling places
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
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).
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
Other suburbs in the same local government area.
Similar population and socio-economic profile in other parts of Victoria.