Median house price
—
No data available
VIC · Mount Alexander Council
Welshmans Reef, 3462
Est. population · Jun 2025
221
Growth (1 yr)
+0.9%
Growth (5 yr)
+7.8%
Median age
57
Median income
$1,259/wk
Employment rate
48.7%
Languages at home
4.5%non-English
Mostly English at home
2021 Census · usual residence
Desirability score
- National parks
- Excellent transport
- High desirability
Suburb profile
Welshmans Reef offers a slower smaller community life in Mount Alexander Council, with open surrounds and a close-knit community feel. A mature community gives the area a calm, settled social fabric, with multiple generations sharing the same neighbourhood. The pace is unhurried, with local businesses and community spots doing the heavy lifting.
Open space is thinner than in many regional towns, so residents often travel a little further for a longer park day. Day-to-day life is more car-oriented here, with buses covering longer trips across the wider area. Property prices are middling for the area: fair relative to what is nearby.
Reported crime has been rising recently. The streetscape feels settled and established, with older homes giving the area a familiar, lived-in look.
Desirability sits below average overall, with local dining and lifestyle amenities, plus community and employment the main drag compared with similar regional towns. Limited access to some essential local services also trimmed the result.
At a glance
Welshmans Reef snapshot
A quick read of housing, growth, livability, and risk
Median rent
—
No data available
Population (ERP)
221
+0.9% annual growth
Dwelling vacancy
17.9%
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
#390
among Country & regional · Mature
Safety
4th
percentile in state (higher = safer)
Pop. growth
66th
percentile in VIC
Advantage (IRSAD)
4/10
national SEIFA decile
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
- 20.7/100 — Below average
- National rank
- 6663rd in Australia
- State rank
- 1235th in VIC
- Peer rank
- #390 among Country & regional · Mature suburbs
- Cohort rank
- #709 among Country & regional suburbs
- Data confidence
- 55%
Data sources & freshness
- Suburb Guide desirability index — Suburb Guide (derived) · current · Updated
Population
Estimated resident population
221(June 2025)
+0.9% annual · +7.8% over 5 years · 66th percentile in VIC
Growth figures & methodology
- Annual growth
- +0.9%
- 5-year growth
- +7.8%
- Change in 1 year
- +2
- Change in 5 years
- +16
- Growth rank in VIC
- 66th 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 (~250), extrapolated at +1.1% average annual growth since 2011. It is illustrative only — not an official ABS forecast.
2021 Census figures
2021 Census
- Population
- 210
- Median age
- 57
- Median household income / week
- $1,259
- Dwelling vacancy
- 17.9%
- Unoccupied private dwellings
- 22 of 123
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,432
- Employment rate
- 48.7%
- Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
- 93 / 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.
- Estimated Resident Population — Australian Bureau of Statistics · 2025 · Updated · SA2 ERP allocated to suburb boundaries
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.
Crime & safety
Reported offences increased compared with the previous period.
Offence counts & rates
- Total offences (2026)
- 2
- Against the person
- 0
- Against property
- 1
- Rate per 1,000 residents
- 9
- State safety percentile
- 4th (lower crime is better)
- Increase (daily rate)
- +100%
Most common offence types
- B45 Receiving Or Handling Stolen Goods1
- E13 Resist Or Hinder Officer1
Contributes to desirability score · Safety (18%)
Crime rate and year-on-year trend
Data sources & freshness
- Recorded offences by suburb/town — Crime Statistics Agency (Victoria) · 2025 · Updated
Family & Lifestyle
Public transport
2 public transport stops in this suburb
- Gully Rd/Maldon-Newstead Rd
- Gully Rd/Maldon-Newstead Rd
Contributes to desirability score · Accessibility (15%)
Public transport stop coverage
Data sources & freshness
- GTFS public transport stops — State transport authority open-data feeds · current · Updated
Amenities
1 nearby amenities within ~1.5 km
1 swimming pools
Local character & venue list
Local character
- Limited walkable amenities nearby
- Walkability proxy
- 3/100
- Cafés per 1,000 residents
- 0
- Food & drink per 1,000 residents
- 0
- Parks per 1,000 residents
- 0
Sport & outdoors(1)
- Swimming pool
Names and addresses from OpenStreetMap. Unnamed venues show as their type (e.g. Cafe). Transport stops are summarised by type rather than listed individually.
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
Parks & reserves
3 parks and public open space in this suburb
- Maldon B.R.Nature reserve
- Sandy Creek Diggings Bushland ReserveNature reserve
- Welshmans Reef Bushland ReserveNature reserve
Data sources & freshness
- Parks & reserves — State government + ABS LGA boundaries · current · Updated
Health access
- Nearest hospital
- Maldon Hospital (8.1 km)
- Nearest hospital type
- Hospital
- Nearest hospital emergency
- Emergency department
Contributes to desirability score · Accessibility (15%)
Hospitals and GP clinics
Data sources & freshness
- Hospitals & clinics — OpenStreetMap + state health datasets · current · Updated
NDIS participation
- NDIS participants (31 March 2026)
- 7
- Participants per 1,000 residents
- 31.7
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
- NDIS participants by SA2 — National Disability Insurance Agency · 2026-Q1 · Updated · Quarterly SA2 counts allocated to suburb boundaries
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
- 27° / 12°
- Rainfall
- 115 mm · ~14 rainy days
Autumn (Mar–May)
- Usual max / min
- 21° / 8°
- Rainfall
- 133 mm · ~17 rainy days
Winter (Jun–Aug)
- Usual max / min
- 13° / 4°
- Rainfall
- 180 mm · ~22 rainy days
Spring (Sep–Nov)
- Usual max / min
- 19° / 7°
- Rainfall
- 172 mm · ~22 rainy days
Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (15%)
Temperature and humidity comfort
Data sources & freshness
- Seasonal climate normals — WorldClim 2.1 · Updated
Future & Planning
Hazards
- Bushfire planning zone
- Overlay applies
Bushfire overlay checked at suburb centroid via Victorian Bushfire Management Overlay 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
- Bendigo
- Member of Parliament
- Lisa CHESTERS (Australian Labor Party)
- Results from
- 2025 federal election
- Electorate enrolment (2025)
- 120,088
- Turnout (2025)
- 94.0%
- Swing since 2022 (2025)
- +51.4 pp toward Labor
Two-party preferred (2025)
Coalition 48.6%Labor 51.4%
Estimated suburb voting profile
Estimated from 8 nearby ordinary polling places (up to 19.3 km away).
Coalition 29.6%Labor 70.4%
19.0 percentage points more Labor-leaning than the electorate
Estimated swing since 2022: +70.4 pp toward Labor
Nearest polling places
- NewsteadLabor 68.9% · Coalition 31.1% TPP (2025)4.8 km away
- MaldonLabor 63.7% · Coalition 36.3% TPP (2025)8.6 km away
- GuildfordLabor 69.7% · Coalition 30.3% TPP (2025)14.2 km away
- Campbells CreekLabor 66.4% · Coalition 33.6% TPP (2025)14.3 km away
- Castlemaine SouthLabor 84.0% · Coalition 16.0% TPP (2025)14.3 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
- Federal election results — Australian Electoral Commission · Updated · 2025 election with by-election overlays
Socio-economic
- IRSAD decile (2021)
- 4/10
- IRSD decile (2021)
- 6/10
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 (5%)
Socio-economic advantage (IRSAD decile)
Data sources & freshness
- SEIFA 2021 (IRSAD / IRSD) — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated
More in Mount Alexander Council
Other suburbs in the same local government area.
Comparable suburbs
Similar population and socio-economic profile in other parts of Victoria.