Bears Lagoon VIC 3517

Located in Victoria, Bears Lagoon sits 211 km from Melbourne CBD, around 2 hours 30 minutes by car. The locality has 53 residents, a median age of 44, and a median household income of $66,248 per year. By household income, education, and employment patterns, it ranks in the middle range nationally. The locality fell 26.4% between 2016 and 2021. At the 2021 Census, households here paid a median rent of $125 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $421. Bears Lagoon is characterised by high flood risk. 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 53. 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 Bears Lagoon?

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Not enough data to score this locality.

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Is Bears Lagoon safe? Crime statistics

2026

Crime in Bears Lagoon sits in the moderate band, with 1 incidents recorded in 2026 — down roughly 86% on the prior year.

1 offences

85.7% since 2022
Assault 1 (100.0%)

Crime Trend

Serious Road Crashes

2021–2025

No crash in Bears Lagoon killed anyone or put anyone in hospital in 2021–2025.

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

No schools in this locality boundary.

Walkability

Bears Lagoon is very car-dependent on foot — at 0/100, nearly all errands require a car.

0
out of 100
Very Car-Dependent
Public Transport within 1 km not measured
Schools within 1.5 km 0
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 Bears Lagoon.

28
connectivity score / 100
Most common
Fixed wireless
Full-fibre (FTTP) share
0%
Premises covered
32
Technology mix
Fixed wireless (WIRELESS) 88%
Satellite (Sky Muster) (SATELLITE) 12%

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
1 in locality
Sport & Recreation
None
Beaches
None
Waterways
15 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
1 in locality

Loddon: council population

The whole council area, not just Bears Lagoon · estimated residents
at 30 June 2025
Residents
7,718
Change
-3
people since 2024
Density
1.2
people per km² across the council area
What drove the change
Natural increase
-28
births minus deaths
Net internal migration
+10
moves within Australia
Net overseas migration
+15
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
5/10
4/10 within VIC
income against housing cost and household size
Education and occupation
8/10
7/10 within VIC
qualifications and job type, income excluded

Bears Lagoon is home to 53 residents, with a median age of 44, a touch above the national 38. Median household income runs at $66,000 a year, with unemployment at 0.0%.

2021 Census · change since 2016

Population

53

26.4% since 2016

Median Age

44

18.9% since 2016

Median Household Income

$66,248/yr

13.2% since 2016

Census Median Rent

$125/wk

Census Median Mortgage

$421/mo

Avg Household Size

2.5

3.8% since 2016

Median Personal Income

$32,760/yr

2.9% since 2016

Unemployment Rate

0.0%

Unoccupied Dwellings

61.1%

265.9% since 2016

Total Dwellings

18

no change since 2016

Owner-Occupier Rate

37.5%

45.0% since 2016

Houses

100.0%

no change since 2016

Rental Stress

9.8%

Mortgage Stress

7.6%

Work From Home

47.4%

73.6% since 2016

Dwelling Types

Houses 18 (100.0%)

Property Ownership

Renting 5 (62.5%)
Owned Outright 3 (37.5%)

Demographics

Born in Australia
83.0%
English Spoken at Home
94.3%
Employment Rate
56.8%
2.9% since 2016
Completed Year 12
34.0%

Occupations

Managers 13 (52.0%)
Labourers 5 (20.0%)
Professionals 3 (12.0%)
Technicians & Trades 3 (12.0%)

Religion

No Religion 35 (66.0%)
Christianity 10 (18.9%)

Age Distribution

5-14 9 (17.0%)
15-19 4 (7.5%)
20-24 5 (9.4%)
25-34 5 (9.4%)
35-44 7 (13.2%)
45-54 10 (18.9%)
55-64 8 (15.1%)
65-74 4 (7.5%)
75-84 6 (11.3%)

Family & Household Composition

Lone Person 7 (41.2%)
Couple Families 5 (29.4%)
One Parent Families 5 (29.4%)

Commute to Work

Car (driver) 10 (52.6%)
Worked from Home 9 (47.4%)

Education

Certificate III & IV 6 (11.3%)
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 3 (5.7%)

Cars per Dwelling

1 car 5 (27.8%)
2 cars 8 (44.4%)
3 cars 3 (16.7%)
4+ cars 5 (27.8%)

Council Rates

Loddon
FY 2024-25

Households face an average residential rates bill of $1,353 a year through Loddon based on 2024 figures.

Avg residential rate
$1,353/yr
30% below the VIC average of $1,937 · median of 79 councils
Rate in the dollar
0.242¢ / $
of property valuation
Valuation basis
Capital Improved Value
land + buildings

How this land is zoned

Share of Bears Lagoon's area by planning zone
2026-09
  • Rural and farming 98%
  • Parks and recreation 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: Loddon

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

In the year to August 2026, 27 new dwellings were approved across Loddon. Almost all of the pipeline is detached houses. Approvals are up 150.0% on the same period a year earlier.

Trailing 12 months
27dwellings
+150.0% YoY
Houses
27
detached dwellings
Units
0
townhouses + apartments

Aboriginal Cultural Heritage

The Registered Aboriginal Party for this area is Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation (appointed 2008).

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 Boort, 31.6 km

Dry climate.

Elevation
109 m
above sea level, at the locality centre
Annual rainfall
411 mm
55 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

0.3%
of light vehicles are electric
Up from 0.00% in 2021
+0.1 points this year

In postcode 3517, 5 of 1,586 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 1.2% (19 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 1.5%.

Electric share, year by year
2021
0.00%
2022
0.00%
2023
0.20%
2024
0.26%
2025
0.32%

Rooftop solar

58
systems per 100 dwellings
Averaging 6.0 kW each

In postcode 3517, 421 rooftop-solar systems totalling 2.5 MW have been installed since 2001, against 732 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 19 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
31
2020
31
2021
30
2022
23
2023
17
2024
19
2025
22
2026
8

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.

1 first-home grant was paid in postcode 3517 in 2025-26, rank 213 of 298 Victorian postcodes. The most was 13, in 2002-03.

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

Federal Electorate

Division of Mallee

Currently held by Anne Webster The Nationals

Year Winner 2PP ALP 2PP LNP Swing
2025 Anne Webster 31.0% 69.0% -0.1
2022 Anne Webster 31.0% 69.0% +3.3
2019 Anne Webster 33.8% 66.2% -3.6

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

Bendigo East District

Currently held by Jacinta Allan Australian Labor Party - Victorian Branch

Next state election: 28 November 2026.

Year Winner Won with 2PP ALP 2PP LNP
2022 Jacinta Allan ALP 50.0% 60.9% 39.1%
2018 Jacinta Allan ALP 50.4% 62.1% 37.9%
2014 Jacinta Allan ALP 55.0% 55.0% 45.0%

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 Bears Lagoon?

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

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Common questions about Bears Lagoon

Is Bears Lagoon a safe place to live?

Recorded crime in Bears Lagoon is moderate (52/100, ranked against other VIC suburbs on offences per resident).

What natural hazards affect Bears Lagoon?

Bears Lagoon has a moderate recorded bushfire history (56/100, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history). Flood overlays cover a high share of it (97/100). These are locality-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.

What is the population of Bears Lagoon?

Bears Lagoon, VIC had a population of 53 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.

What is the postcode for Bears Lagoon, VIC?

The postcode for Bears Lagoon, VIC is 3517.

How far is Bears Lagoon from Melbourne?

Bears Lagoon is 211 km from Melbourne CBD by road, about 149 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.

What is the median household income in Bears Lagoon?

At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Bears Lagoon was $66,248 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 Bears Lagoon?

There are too few current rental listings in Bears Lagoon for a reliable median. At the 2021 ABS Census the median weekly rent was $125, across all dwelling types.

What is the median age in Bears Lagoon?

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

Is Bears Lagoon at risk of bushfire?

Bears Lagoon has a moderate recorded bushfire history (56/100). 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.

What is the weather like in Bears Lagoon?

At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Bears Lagoon, Boort (31.6 km away), 411 mm of rain a year over 55 rainy days over 2006-2026.

Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Bears Lagoon?

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 Bears Lagoon belong to?

Bears Lagoon sits within the Loddon local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.

How much are council rates in Bears Lagoon?

The average residential rates bill through Loddon is $1,353 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.

How much is being built near Bears Lagoon?

Across Loddon, 27 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's up 150.0% 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 Bears Lagoon in?

Bears Lagoon sits within the federal Division of Mallee, currently held by Anne Webster (The Nationals).

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