Barongarook VIC 3249

Barongarook sits 161 km from Melbourne CBD in Victoria, around 2 hours by car. Census data records 458 residents with a median age of 44 and a median household income of $88,816 per year. By household income, education, and employment patterns, it ranks in the middle range nationally. The locality grew 5.5% between 2016 and 2021. At the 2021 Census, households here paid a median rent of $300 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,560. Barongarook is characterised by high bushfire risk and no recorded flood exposure. 1 school sits within the locality boundary, and walkability is low.

This locality is too small to rate.

The Liveability Rating is calculated for suburbs of 500 residents or more, and this one has 458. Below that the school, census and safety figures behind the score cover too few people to rank fairly against the rest of the state. The individual measures further down this page are still shown.

How do you rate the liveability in Barongarook?

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Not enough data to score this locality.

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Median House Price

Public listings data

The median house sale price in Barongarook sits at $625,000, broadly flat year-on-year. That said, only four sales settled in the quarter, so the median is a noisy signal — treat it as a direction rather than a level.

$625,000

Based on only 4 sales — small sample, take as indicative.

Short-Stay Rentals

2 active Airbnb listings: 2 whole homes and 0 rooms. Whole homes are about 1.1% of the locality's homes.

Airbnb only, as at Jun 2026; other platforms are not included. Active means reviewed in the past 12 months. The share is against private dwellings at the 2021 Census.

Is Barongarook safe? Crime statistics

2026

Crime in Barongarook sits in the low band, with 7 incidents recorded in 2026 — up roughly 40% on the prior year.

7 offences

40.0% since 2025
Theft 4 (57.1%)
Property Damage 2 (28.6%)
Assault 1 (14.3%)

Crime Trend

Serious Road Crashes

2021–2025

7 crashes

where someone was killed or admitted to hospital, 1 of them fatal

Crashes are counted where they happened, so a main road through the locality carries people passing through; this is not a measure of risk to residents. Roads are listed with 3 or more serious crashes.

Schools

One school serves Barongarook, but none have published comparable ratings yet.

—
No rated schools
1 school in this locality
1 unrated

Combined

Lavers Hill K-12 College - Barongarook Primary School
Government

Walkability

Barongarook is very car-dependent on foot — at 13/100, nearly all errands require a car.

13
out of 100
Very Car-Dependent
Public Transport within 1 km not measured
Schools within 1.5 km 60
Parks within 800 m 0
Supermarkets within 1 km 0
GPs within 1 km 0
Pharmacies within 1 km 0
Childcare within 1 km 0
Hospitals within 5 km 0

We hold no public transport timetable data for this area, so public transport is not rated here and the score is spread across the remaining components. It is not counted as zero.

NBN connectivity

The internet access technology available across NBN premises in Barongarook.

29
connectivity score / 100
Most common
Fixed wireless
Full-fibre (FTTP) share
0%
Premises covered
196
Technology mix
Fixed wireless (WIRELESS) 93%
Satellite (Sky Muster) (SATELLITE) 7%

NBN Co fixed-line and fixed-wireless premises, as at 30 December 2025. Higher-quality technologies (full fibre) score above copper, wireless, and satellite. Actual speeds depend on your plan.

Amenities

Supermarkets
None
Shopping Centres
None
Cafes & Restaurants
None
Parks & Reserves
None
Sport & Recreation
None
Beaches
None
Waterways
7 in locality
Childcare
None
GPs
None
Pharmacies
None
Hospitals
None
Police Stations
None
Banks & Bank@Post
None
Fuel Stations
None
EV Chargers
None
Pubs & Bars
None
Arts & Culture
None
Places of Worship
None

Colac Otway: council population

The whole council area, not just Barongarook · estimated residents
at 30 June 2025
Residents
22,209
Change
+1
people since 2024
Density
6.5
people per km² across the council area
What drove the change
Natural increase
+12
births minus deaths
Net internal migration
-91
moves within Australia
Net overseas migration
+80
arrivals minus departures

The three add up to the change above. These are council-wide figures from the ABS, not figures for this locality alone — this locality's own population is in the census section above.

Socio-economic profile

ABS SEIFA · ranked against every suburb in Australia, and within the state
2021 census
Advantage and disadvantage
6/10
5/10 within VIC
income, education, jobs and housing together
Economic resources
9/10
9/10 within VIC
income against housing cost and household size
Education and occupation
5/10
4/10 within VIC
qualifications and job type, income excluded

Barongarook is home to 458 residents, with a median age of 44, a touch above the national 38. Median household income runs at $89,000 a year, with unemployment at 0.0%.

2021 Census · change since 2016

Population

458

5.5% since 2016

Median Age

44

6.4% since 2016

Median Household Income

$88,816/yr

41.4% since 2016

Census Median Rent

$300/wk

50.0% since 2016

Census Median Mortgage

$1,560/mo

2.8% since 2016

Avg Household Size

2.7

8.0% since 2016

Median Personal Income

$37,388/yr

21.0% since 2016

Unemployment Rate

0.0%

Unoccupied Dwellings

13.8%

2.8% since 2016

Total Dwellings

160

3.2% since 2016

Owner-Occupier Rate

96.3%

0.4% since 2016

Houses

100.0%

no change since 2016

Rental Stress

17.6%

6.0% since 2016

Mortgage Stress

21.1%

27.2% since 2016

Work From Home

13.0%

58.5% since 2016

Dwelling Types

Houses 160 (100.0%)

Property Ownership

Owned Outright 85 (52.1%)
Mortgage 72 (44.2%)
Renting 6 (3.7%)

Demographics

Born in Australia
88.0%
English Spoken at Home
94.3%
Employment Rate
64.5%
3.2% since 2016
Completed Year 12
37.8%

Occupations

Managers 40 (16.4%)
Professionals 36 (14.8%)
Technicians & Trades 35 (14.3%)
Machinery Operators & Drivers 35 (14.3%)
Community & Personal Service 31 (12.7%)
Labourers 29 (11.9%)
Clerical & Administrative 25 (10.2%)
Sales 25 (10.2%)

Religion

No Religion 244 (53.3%)
Christianity 177 (38.6%)
Buddhism 5 (1.1%)

Country of Birth (overseas)

Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents.

England 11 (2.4%)
New Zealand 3 (0.7%)
Japan 3 (0.7%)
Canada 3 (0.7%)
Netherlands 3 (0.7%)

Age Distribution

0-4 19 (4.1%)
5-14 64 (14.0%)
15-19 30 (6.6%)
20-24 29 (6.3%)
25-34 39 (8.5%)
35-44 54 (11.8%)
45-54 68 (14.8%)
55-64 81 (17.7%)
65-74 53 (11.6%)
75-84 17 (3.7%)
85+ 4 (0.9%)

Family & Household Composition

Couple Families 54 (52.4%)
Lone Person 31 (30.1%)
One Parent Families 15 (14.6%)
Group Household 3 (2.9%)

Commute to Work

Car (driver) 171 (79.5%)
Worked from Home 28 (13.0%)
Walked Only 9 (4.2%)
Car (passenger) 7 (3.3%)

Education

Certificate III & IV 116 (25.3%)
Bachelor Degree 47 (10.3%)
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 40 (8.7%)
Postgraduate Degree 14 (3.1%)
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 8 (1.7%)

Cars per Dwelling

1 car 22 (13.8%)
2 cars 66 (41.2%)
3 cars 28 (17.5%)
4+ cars 36 (22.5%)

Council Rates

Colac Otway
FY 2024-25

Households face an average residential rates bill of $2,023 a year through Colac Otway based on 2024 figures.

Avg residential rate
$2,023/yr
4% above the VIC average of $1,937 · median of 79 councils
Rate in the dollar
0.301¢ / $
of property valuation
Valuation basis
Capital Improved Value
land + buildings

How this land is zoned

Share of Barongarook's area by planning zone
2026-09
  • Rural and farming 65%
  • Parks and recreation 34%
  • Infrastructure and transport 1%

Zoning sets what may be built, not what is there today. A single address can sit in a different zone to the locality around it — the property page shows the zone for one address.

Building Approvals: Colac Otway

The whole council area, not just Barongarook · new residential dwellings
to 2026-08

In the year to August 2026, 226 new dwellings were approved across Colac Otway. That mix is 200 houses and 26 units. Approvals are up 64.5% on the same period a year earlier.

Trailing 12 months
226dwellings
+64.5% YoY
Houses
200
detached dwellings
Units
26
townhouses + apartments

Aboriginal Cultural Heritage

The Registered Aboriginal Party for this area is Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation (appointed 2013).

Registered Aboriginal Parties are appointed by the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006 as the primary guardians, keepers and knowledge holders of Aboriginal cultural heritage for their area. They are the body to contact about cultural heritage here.

Climate & Setting

from Colac (Shire Office), 9.9 km

Moderate rainfall.

Elevation
242 m
above sea level, at the locality centre
Distance to the ocean
32.4 km
Annual rainfall
607 mm
82 rainy days
Summer max (Jan)
—
Winter min (Jul)
—

Elevation is the ground at the locality centre, from Geoscience Australia's National Digital Elevation Model. Approximate — it reads high in dense built-up areas. It is a measure of height above sea level and not an indicator of flood risk, which depends on height above nearby waterways.

EV adoption

0.1%
of light vehicles are electric
Up from 0.00% in 2021
+0.1 points this year
Bottom 4% in VIC

In postcode 3249, 4 of 3,446 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 1.1% (39 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 1.2%.

Electric share, year by year
2021
0.00%
2022
0.00%
2023
0.00%
2024
0.00%
2025
0.12%

Rooftop solar

39
systems per 100 dwellings
Averaging 6.9 kW each

In postcode 3249, 560 rooftop-solar systems totalling 3.8 MW have been installed since 2001, against 1,450 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 30 went up in the last year.

Counts every system certified since 2001, so a roof re-fitted with a newer system is counted twice, and small commercial systems are included alongside houses — useful for comparing postcodes, not an estimate of how many homes have working panels today.

Systems installed, year by year
2019
46
2020
26
2021
27
2022
33
2023
47
2024
25
2025
22
2026
19

2026 covers part of the year only, to 2026-07.

First Home Owner Grant

FY2026-27

$10,000 for new homes priced up to $750,000.

The separate First Home Buyer Duty Reduction (stamp-duty concession) runs alongside this grant.

0 first-home grants were paid in postcode 3249 in 2025-26. The most was 17, in 2000-01.

2000-01 to 2025-26

Grants on new and established homes; established homes stopped qualifying in mid-2013.

Verify eligibility with State Revenue Office Victoria

Mortgage repayments

I'm looking for
Deposit
$
%
Monthly repayment
$3,260
Loan amount
$500,000
Total interest over 30 years
$673,465
Deposit
$125,000
Stamp duty
$32,570
Cash needed at settlement
$157,570

Land transfer duty at the owner-occupier rate, and it excludes first home buyer concessions — those can cut it substantially or remove it entirely. Excludes legal, inspection and lender fees. Check with State Revenue Office Victoria

The First Home Owner Grant applies to newly built homes only, so it isn't available on an established purchase. A first home buyer building or buying new under $750,000 may qualify for $10,000 — see what qualifies with State Revenue Office Victoria.

Principal and interest over 30 years, fixed rate. Excludes fees, offset, redraw and LMI. Default rate is the median comparison rate across 1788 advertised products as at 2026-10-27 — indicative only, and not an offer. Your rate depends on the lender, your deposit and your circumstances. Not financial advice.

Federal Electorate

Division of Wannon

Currently held by Dan Tehan Liberal

Year Winner 2PP ALP 2PP LNP Swing
2025 Dan Tehan 39.1% 60.9% -2.3
2022 Dan Tehan 40.9% 59.1% -1.1
2019 Dan Tehan 39.6% 60.4% +1.2

Results are per division — federal electoral boundaries are redrawn periodically, so the history reflects this division's past, not necessarily the exact locality's voters across time.

State Electorate

Polwarth District

Currently held by Richard Riordan Liberal

Next state election: 28 November 2026.

Year Winner Won with 2PP ALP 2PP LNP
2022 Richard Riordan LP 51.8% 48.2% 51.8%
2018 Richard Riordan LP 51.1% 44.6% 55.4%
2014 Terry Mulder LP 55.4% 39.4% 60.6%

Results are per district. Districts were last redrawn in 2021, so results from before then describe the district of that name, not necessarily this locality's voters. Results: Victorian Electoral Commission, CC BY 4.0.

Looking at a specific address in Barongarook?

Every figure above is a locality average, and an average smooths over the difference between a street of family homes and a block of flats. Look up one address and you get the census for the few hundred people around it, its own nearest schools and stops, and what the state has mapped for that block.

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Nearby suburbs

Compare Barongarook to another suburb

Side-by-side stats for any other VIC suburb — type a name and pick one.

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Common questions about Barongarook

Is Barongarook a safe place to live?

Recorded crime in Barongarook is low (25/100, ranked against other VIC suburbs on offences per resident).

What natural hazards affect Barongarook?

Barongarook has a high recorded bushfire history (92/100, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history). No mapped flood overlay applies. These are locality-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.

What is the population of Barongarook?

Barongarook, VIC had a population of 458 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.

What is the postcode for Barongarook, VIC?

The postcode for Barongarook, VIC is 3249.

How far is Barongarook from Melbourne?

Barongarook is 161 km from Melbourne CBD by road, about 118 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.

What is the median household income in Barongarook?

At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Barongarook was $88,816 a year. It is the most recent suburb-level income figure until 2026 Census results are released in 2027.

What is the median weekly rent in Barongarook?

There are too few current rental listings in Barongarook for a reliable median. At the 2021 ABS Census the median weekly rent was $300, across all dwelling types.

What is the median age in Barongarook?

The median age of residents in Barongarook was 44 at the 2021 ABS Census.

Is Barongarook at risk of bushfire?

Barongarook has a high recorded bushfire history (92/100). The score comes from Geoscience Australia's historical bushfire boundaries, with planned burns excluded: the area of recorded fires touching the locality relative to its size, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history. It records where fire has burned, not a bushfire-prone land designation, which your council's planning scheme sets.

How are the schools in Barongarook?

There is 1 school inside the Barongarook boundary, none of which has enough NAPLAN and ICSEA data for a quality band.

Is Barongarook walkable?

Barongarook scores 13/100 on the SuburbScan Walkability Score, making it very car-dependent. The score is a weighted average of public transport, schools, parks, supermarkets, GPs, pharmacies, childcare, and hospitals within walking distance.

What is the weather like in Barongarook?

At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Barongarook, Colac (Shire Office) (9.9 km away), 607 mm of rain a year over 82 rainy days over 2006-2026.

Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Barongarook?

First-home buyers in VIC may be eligible for $10,000 towards new homes with a purchase price up to $750,000. The grant is administered by State Revenue Office Victoria; confirm current eligibility before signing a contract — state rules and amounts can change.

What council does Barongarook belong to?

Barongarook sits within the Colac Otway local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.

How much are council rates in Barongarook?

The average residential rates bill through Colac Otway is $2,023 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.

How much is being built near Barongarook?

Across Colac Otway, 226 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's up 64.5% on the same period a year earlier. These are LGA-level totals — every suburb in the council shares the same figure.

Which federal electorate is Barongarook in?

Barongarook sits within the federal Division of Wannon, currently held by Dan Tehan (Liberal).

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Information shown is provided as-is from Australian government and commercial data sources.
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