Council (LGA) · Area profile
South Gippsland
3,296 km²
A high rate of outright home ownership defines South Gippsland, where 47.3% of residents own their homes free of a mortgage. This is a far older community than the national average, with a typical resident aged 49 and over a quarter of the population aged 65 or more. The region has a strong rural character, with a high proportion of separate houses and a workforce heavily involved in agriculture. It is a stable, largely English-speaking area that has grown by 12% since 2011.
South Gippsland's schools draw a more advantaged community than local incomes would suggest.
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The population is far older than the state and national figures, with the typical resident aged 49. Since 2011, the proportion of seniors aged 65 and over has risen by 6.9 points to 26.5%, while the share of children under 15 has fallen.
The area is overwhelmingly Australian-born (80.9%), with English, Australian, Scottish, and Irish being the most common ancestries. Only 11.5% of people were born overseas, which is far below the national figure of 27.7%.
English is the primary language for 89.6% of the community. Only 3.9% of residents use another language at home, far below the 22.3% national average.
A majority of residents (51.4%) report having no religion, a figure far above the national average. This trend has grown significantly, rising 20 points since 2011.
While 16.5% of adults hold a bachelor degree or higher, this is well below the national figure. Year 12 completion has risen 8.6 points since 2011 to reach 43.0%.
Typical weekly household incomes are $1,266, which is well below the national figure of $1,746. However, the share of households earning $3,000 or more a week has risen 9.0 points since 2011.
Long-term health conditions are much more common here than in most areas, affecting 33.8% of people. This is well above the national figure of 27.7%.
Volunteering is higher than most areas at 22.3%, though this is down 7.0 points since 2011. Unpaid care is also common, with 15.1% of people providing unpaid care, which is well above the national figure.
First Nations people make up 1.2% of the population. Those in this community have a Year 12 completion rate of 40.8%, which is well above the national figure of 37.0%.
Household sizes are a little below the national average at 2.3 people per home. About 29.9% of people live alone, which is well above the national figure.
Separate houses make up 95.5% of all homes, far above the national figure. Most homes are large, with 80.9% having three or more bedrooms, and renting is very low at 15.2%.
Car dependence is very high, with 58% of people driving to work and only 0.2% using public transport. Very few homes (3.2%) are without a motor vehicle, far below the national figure.
Recent overseas arrivals make up 4.6% of the population, which is much lower than most areas and has fallen 2.1 points since 2011.
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing is a major industry, employing 15.0% of the workforce. The unemployment rate is 3.2%, which is much lower than most areas.
The region has a high overall advantage score of 966, which is higher than about 62% of similar areas. It is also ranked highly for access to money and resources.
The area is much wetter than the state average, with annual rainfall of 1,024mm. Maximum temperatures are also much lower than most other areas.
The overall recorded offence rate is much lower than most areas. While burglary is higher than usual, drug offences and sexual offences are lower than most areas.
The area is mostly car-dependent, with a walkability score of 3.0, far below the state average of 6.4. Only 40.1% of homes have basic amenities within a 15-minute walk.