Bellbrae is a suburb in Victoria, 102 km from Melbourne CBD, around 1 hour 25 minutes by car. Population is 1,346; the median age is 52 and the median household income is $80,912 per year. On socioeconomic measures it sits in the top 20% nationally. Population grew 55.6% from 2016 to 2021. The 2021 Census recorded a median rent of $380 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $2,300. The area shows high bushfire risk. 1 school sits within the suburb boundary, and walkability is low.
Is Bellbrae a good suburb?
Bellbrae scores a B (56/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on community, weaker on transit and safety.
Mixed results
1 school
Car-dependent
Walkability 0/100 · 102 km · 85 min drive to Melbourne
Median available
Median $2.44M
High bushfire risk
Fire 79/100 · Crime 17/100 · Flood 23/100
Very advantaged
SEIFA decile 10/10 · median age 52 · 1,346 residents
Liveability Rating
56 / 100 · Ranked #341 in VICEach bar is Bellbrae's rank among VIC suburbs, from 0 to 100 (higher is better). Scored on 4 of 5 factors: no school data, so the other factors carry its weight.
How do you rate the liveability in Bellbrae?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
56 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataBellbrae's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $2.44 million, about 2% above where it sat a year earlier.
Houses
$2,440,000
107% above its 3 neighbours (median $1,180,000)
Based on 22 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 60 days — median across 4 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 4 bed 13 sales $2.46M
Land
$1,830,000
Based on only 5 sales — small sample, take as indicative.
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in Bellbrae are currently listed at around $2.67 million on average. Based on 4 houses listed in the past six months.
$2.67M
4 houses listed in the last 6 months.
4 of the suburb's 450 dwellings (0.9%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Rental Market
Rental affordability
June quarter 202573 Severely unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 41% of its income on the median rent in postcode 3228.
SGS Rental Affordability Index: a score of 100 means rent takes 30% of income, the usual housing-stress line; lower scores are less affordable. "Region" is the capital city or the rest of the state.
Short-Stay Rentals
25 active Airbnb listings: 25 whole homes and 0 rooms. Whole homes are about 4.6% of the suburb'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 Bellbrae safe? Crime statistics
2026Crime in Bellbrae sits in the low band, with 23 incidents recorded in 2026 — up roughly 15% on the prior year.
23 offences
15.0% since 2025Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2021–202516 crashes
where someone was killed or admitted to hospital, 2 of them fatal
Where they happened
Crashes are counted where they happened, so a main road through the suburb 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 serve Bellbrae, and the cohort is trailing peer-suburb performance.
- • 492 students in one school (avg 492)
Primary
Walkability
Bellbrae is very car-dependent on foot — at 0/100, nearly all errands require a car.
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.
Public transport
Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Bellbrae.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 1.5 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 1.7 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 1.5 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 2 min
- Span of service
- 11.3 hours
Scheduled service only, based on the 21 October 2026 timetable. Reliability (delays, cancellations) not measured.
NBN connectivity
The internet access technology available across NBN premises in Bellbrae.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 47%
- Premises covered
- 578
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
Surf Coast: council population
The three add up to the change above. These are council-wide figures from the ABS, not figures for this suburb alone — this suburb's own population is in the census section above.
Socio-economic profile
Bellbrae is home to about 1,300 residents, with a median age of 52 — noticeably older than the national figure of 38. Median household income runs at $81,000 a year, with unemployment at 1.7%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
1,346
Median Age
52
Median Household Income
$80,912/yr
Census Median Rent
$380/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$2,300/mo
Avg Household Size
2.5
Median Personal Income
$40,352/yr
Unemployment Rate
1.7%
Unoccupied Dwellings
20.4%
Total Dwellings
450
Owner-Occupier Rate
93.2%
Houses
98.2%
Rental Stress
24.4%
Mortgage Stress
34.1%
Work From Home
34.9%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 76.2%
- English Spoken at Home
- 85.1%
- Employment Rate
- 46%
- Completed Year 12
- 42.1%
Occupations
Religion
Country of Birth (overseas)
Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents.
When They Arrived
Share of all residents by the year they arrived in Australia. Periods cover different numbers of years, so compare the shape rather than the bar widths.
6 residents (0.4%) arrived since 2016. Australia’s borders were closed to most arrivals from March 2020, so the last two years of that period are much smaller than the ones before them — nationally 260,799 people arrived in 2019 against 28,521 in 2021.
Where New Residents Came From
Where residents aged five and over lived five years before the 2021 Census, for those who lived somewhere else.
10.7% of residents (139) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Melbourne (130).
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 1,295 residents aged five and over. Areas are ABS statistical regions. Small counts are approximate: the ABS adjusts every figure slightly to protect privacy.
Languages Spoken at Home
Top languages other than English, as a share of all residents.
Age Distribution
Family & Household Composition
Commute to Work
6% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (30 of 512).
City centre: the ABS area around each capital's CBD, such as Sydney Inner City or Perth City (which takes in Subiaco and Leederville). 2021 Census place of work.
Education
Cars per Dwelling
Council Rates
Households face an average residential rates bill of $2,314 a year through Surf Coast based on 2024 figures.
How this land is zoned
- Rural and farming 82%
- Environmental 11%
- Residential 4%
- Infrastructure and transport 1%
- Zones under 1% 1%
Rezoned since Oct 2025
- Farming Zone → Rural Conservation Zone · C147surf, Aug 2026 0.8 ha
and 2 smaller changes
Land in this suburb moved from one zone to another by a planning scheme amendment (Vicmap Planning, CC BY 4.0). Exhibited amendments are proposals and can change or lapse.
Zoning sets what may be built, not what is there today. A single address can sit in a different zone to the suburb around it — the property page shows the zone for one address.
Building Approvals: Surf Coast
In the year to August 2026, 300 new dwellings were approved across Surf Coast. That mix is 270 houses and 30 units. Approvals are up 56.8% on the same period a year earlier.
Aboriginal Cultural Heritage
The Registered Aboriginal Party for this area is Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation (appointed 2009).
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.
Air Quality
CLEANPM2.5 averaged 5 µg/m³ in 2025 — below the WHO 2021 annual guideline (5 µg/m³).
PM10 averaged 20.5 µg/m³. Days over the limit in 2025: PM10 3 · ozone 0.
From the Geelong South monitoring station, 21.7 km away.
Climate & Setting
from Aireys Inlet, 18.6 kmModerate rainfall — warm summers, mild winters.
- Elevation
- 83 m
- above sea level, at the suburb centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 5.2 km
- Annual rainfall
- 599 mm
- 93 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- 23.2°C
- 6 days ≥ 35°C
- Winter min (Jul)
- 7.6°C
- 0 frost days ≤ 0°C
Elevation is the ground at the suburb 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
In postcode 3228, 345 of 20,279 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 2.0% (405 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 3.7%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 3228, 4,263 rooftop-solar systems totalling 28.3 MW have been installed since 2001, against 10,505 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 307 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.
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.
11 first-home grants were paid in postcode 3228 in 2025-26, rank 82 of 298 Victorian postcodes. The most was 154, in 2009-10.
Grants on new and established homes; established homes stopped qualifying in mid-2013.
Mortgage repayments
23 mortgage brokers are registered in postcode 3228.
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.
At $2,440,000 this is $1,690,000 above the $750,000 First Home Owner Grant cap. A first home buyer may qualify for $10,000 on a newly built home — check eligibility with State Revenue Office Victoria.
A deposit under 20% usually attracts Lenders Mortgage Insurance, which this doesn't include.
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
Currently held by Libby Coker Australian Labor Party
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Libby Coker | 58.0% | 42.0% | +0.2 |
| 2022 | Libby Coker | 57.6% | 42.4% | -6.5 |
| 2019 | Libby Coker | 51.1% | 48.9% | -1.0 |
Results are per division — federal electoral boundaries are redrawn periodically, so the history reflects this division's past, not necessarily the exact suburb's voters across time.
State Electorate
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 suburb's voters. Results: Victorian Electoral Commission, CC BY 4.0.
Looking at a specific address in Bellbrae?
Every figure above is a suburb 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.
- The census for a few hundred neighbours, not all 1,346 residents
- Nearest and zoned schools, with the walk from that door
- Flood, bushfire and noise mapping, where the state publishes it
Free to look up. Subscribers see every section in full — $29/month.
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Compare Bellbrae to another suburb
Side-by-side stats for any other VIC suburb — type a name and pick one.
Or jump straight to a nearby comparison:
Common questions about Bellbrae
Is Bellbrae a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Bellbrae is low (17/100, ranked against other VIC suburbs on offences per resident).
What natural hazards affect Bellbrae?
Bellbrae has a high recorded bushfire history (79/100, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history). Flood overlays cover a low share of it (23/100). These are suburb-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.
Is Bellbrae a good place to live?
Bellbrae has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of B (56/100), ranked against other VIC suburbs on school quality (25%), safety (25%), SEIFA socio-economic advantage (25%), walkability (15%) and CBD access (10%). Whether it suits you depends on what you weigh — each of those is on this page.
What is the population of Bellbrae?
Bellbrae, VIC had a population of 1,346 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Bellbrae, VIC?
The postcode for Bellbrae, VIC is 3228.
How far is Bellbrae from Melbourne?
Bellbrae is 102 km from Melbourne CBD by road, about 85 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Bellbrae?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Bellbrae was $80,912 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 Bellbrae?
There are too few current rental listings in Bellbrae for a reliable median. At the 2021 ABS Census the median weekly rent was $380, across all dwelling types.
What is the median age in Bellbrae?
The median age of residents in Bellbrae was 52 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Bellbrae at risk of bushfire?
Bellbrae has a high recorded bushfire history (79/100). The score comes from Geoscience Australia's historical bushfire boundaries, with planned burns excluded: the area of recorded fires touching the suburb 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 Bellbrae?
There is 1 school inside the Bellbrae boundary: 1 below similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
What is the air quality in Bellbrae?
The nearest government air-quality monitoring station to Bellbrae (Geelong South) recorded a 2025 annual mean PM2.5 of 5.0 µg/m³ and PM10 of 20.5 µg/m³. That puts Bellbrae below the WHO annual guideline of 5 µg/m³.
What is the weather like in Bellbrae?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Bellbrae, Aireys Inlet (18.6 km away), summer days average 23.2°C, winter nights 7.6°C, 599 mm of rain a year over 93 rainy days, and 6 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Bellbrae?
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 Bellbrae belong to?
Bellbrae sits within the Surf Coast local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Bellbrae?
The average residential rates bill through Surf Coast is $2,314 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Bellbrae?
Across Surf Coast, 300 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's up 56.8% 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 Bellbrae in?
Bellbrae sits within the federal Division of Corangamite, currently held by Libby Coker (Australian Labor Party).
Search another suburb or address
Data freshness
- Census · 2021
- Median sale prices · Oct 2026
- For-sale & rental market · Oct 2026
- Council rates · FY 2024–25
- Building approvals · Aug 2026
- Schools · 2025
- Public transport · Oct 2026
- NBN connectivity · Dec 2025
- Crime · 2026
- Road crashes · 2021–2025
- Air quality · 2025
- Climate · 2006–2026
- Socio-economic (SEIFA) · 2021
- EV adoption · Jan 2025
- First Home Owner Grant · Sep 2026
- Federal electorate · 2025
- Short-stay rentals · Jun 2026
- State electorate · 2022
- Amenities · Sep 2026
- Health & emergency facilities · Sep 2026
- Industrial emissions (NPI) · 2024/2025
- Coastal erosion · 1988–2025
- Aircraft noise · 2024
Vintages show when each source's data is from. See all data sources.
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Information shown is provided as-is from Australian government and commercial data sources.
Always verify with the relevant authority before making property decisions.
See Data Sources and How We Calculate for details.