Harkness VIC 3337
Harkness sits 50 km from Melbourne CBD in Victoria, around 52 minutes by car. Census data records 12,463 residents with a median age of 30 and a median household income of $91,104 per year. By household income, education, and employment patterns, it ranks in the lower-middle tier nationally. At the 2021 Census, households here paid a median rent of $350 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,700. Harkness is characterised by high bushfire risk. 1 school sits within the suburb boundary, and walkability is low.
Is Harkness a good suburb?
Harkness scores a C (35/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on prices, weaker on transit and safety.
Mixed results
1 school
Car-dependent
Walkability 23/100 · 49.7 km · 52 min drive to Melbourne
More affordable than most
Median $650K · More affordable than 91% of VIC
High bushfire risk
Fire 87/100 · Crime 50/100 · Flood 10/100
Below-average income
SEIFA decile 3/10 · median age 30 · 12,463 residents
Liveability Rating
35 / 100 · Ranked #651 in VICEach bar is Harkness'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 Harkness?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
35 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataThe median house sale price in Harkness sits at $650,000, broadly flat year-on-year.
Houses
$650,000
8% above its 3 neighbours (median $600,000)
Based on 121 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 4 days — median across 3 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 3 bed 40 sales $560K
- 4 bed 71 sales $660K
- 5 bed 7 sales $765K
Units
$432,500
Based on only 8 sales — small sample, take as indicative.
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in Harkness are currently listed at around $650,000 on average. Based on 114 houses listed in the past six months.
Houses
$650K
114 houses listed in the last 6 months.
Units
$519K
5 units listed in the last 6 months.
119 of the suburb's 3,763 dwellings (3.2%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Rental Market
Advertised rents · last 6 monthsHouses in Harkness rent for around $470 a week on average, based on 115 houses listed for rent in the past six months.
Houses
$470/wk
4% above its 3 neighbours (median $450/wk)
115 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
Units
$432/wk
4 units advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
119 rentals advertised against an estimated 1,054 rented homes (11.3%) in the last 6 months.
Rental affordability
June quarter 2025158 Affordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 19% of its income on the median rent in postcode 3337.
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.
Gross rental yield
Indicative$470/week ($24,000 a year) on a $650,000 median
$432/week ($22,000 a year) on a $519,000 median
Based on a small sample (4 listings) — indicative only.
Gross yield — before strata, rates, management, insurance and vacancy. Calculated from median advertised rents and median asking prices over the last 6 months. How we calculate.
Short-Stay Rentals
3 active Airbnb listings: 2 whole homes and 1 room. Whole homes are about 0.1% 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 Harkness safe? Crime statistics
2026Crime in Harkness sits in the moderate band, with 502 incidents recorded in 2026 — up roughly 16% on the prior year.
502 offences
16.5% since 2025Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2021–202515 crashes
where someone was killed or admitted to hospital
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 Harkness, and the cohort is trailing peer-suburb performance.
- • 724 students in one school (avg 724)
Primary
Walkability
Harkness is very car-dependent on foot — at 23/100, 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 Harkness.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 44.2 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 42.2 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 48.1 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 1 min
- Span of service
- 16.8 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 Harkness.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 86%
- Premises covered
- 4,569
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
Melton: 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
The ABS scores 30 small areas inside this suburb and averages them into the single decile above. They fall into 6 different deciles — a wide range, so parts of this suburb rank well above the average and parts well below it.
Harkness is home to about 12,500 residents, and skews young, with a median age of 30 against the national 38. Median household income runs at $91,000 a year, with unemployment at 6.9%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
12,463
Median Age
30
Median Household Income
$91,104/yr
Census Median Rent
$350/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$1,700/mo
Avg Household Size
3.1
Median Personal Income
$41,028/yr
Unemployment Rate
6.9%
Unoccupied Dwellings
4.1%
Total Dwellings
3,763
Owner-Occupier Rate
72.0%
Houses
94.2%
Rental Stress
20.0%
Mortgage Stress
22.4%
Work From Home
17.0%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
13 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 14 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 1,037 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 63.2%
- English Spoken at Home
- 61.7%
- Employment Rate
- 60.4%
- Completed Year 12
- 37.9%
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.
621 residents (5.0%) 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.
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 11,220 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
11% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (565 of 5,364).
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 $1,779 a year through Melton based on 2024 figures.
How this land is zoned
- Rural and farming 46%
- Residential 36%
- Environmental 8%
- Infrastructure and transport 8%
- 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 suburb around it — the property page shows the zone for one address.
Building Approvals: Melton
In the year to August 2026, 4,602 new dwellings were approved across Melton. That mix is 3,953 houses and 649 units. Approvals are up 5.1% on the same period a year earlier.
New Homes Planned
New homes planned in this suburb: 7,705 homes
- Lots in approved subdivisions, not yet titled 47 homes
- Land zoned for housing, not yet subdivided 10 homes
- Land set aside, awaiting a precinct structure plan 7,648 homes
From the Victorian Government's Urban Development Program: growth-area land and approved lots (metropolitan 2025, regional June 2024) and projects of 10 or more homes in Melbourne (2025), by stage. Lots and homes are counted as published; a lot usually becomes one home.
Aboriginal Cultural Heritage
The Registered Aboriginal Party for this area is Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage 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.
Air Quality
CLEANPM2.5 averaged 4.4 µg/m³ in 2025 — below the WHO 2021 annual guideline (5 µg/m³).
Days over the limit in 2025: ozone 0.
From the Melton monitoring station, 6.1 km away.
Climate & Setting
from Melbourne Airport, 25.2 kmModerate rainfall — hot summers, mild winters.
- Elevation
- 171 m
- above sea level, at the suburb centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 34.1 km
- Annual rainfall
- 518 mm
- 81 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- 26.7°C
- 12 days ≥ 35°C
- Winter min (Jul)
- 6.0°C
- 1 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 3337, 146 of 31,231 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 2.7% (830 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 3.1%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 3337, 6,097 rooftop-solar systems totalling 35.9 MW have been installed since 2001, against 14,369 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 258 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.
13 first-home grants were paid in postcode 3337 in 2025-26, rank 72 of 298 Victorian postcodes. The most was 585, in 2009-10.
Grants on new and established homes; established homes stopped qualifying in mid-2013.
Mortgage repayments
7 mortgage brokers are registered in this suburb, 15 across postcode 3337.
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 $650,000 this is under 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 2026-10-26 — 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 Sam Rae Australian Labor Party
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Sam Rae | 57.6% | 42.4% | +0.0 |
| 2022 | Sam Rae | 57.6% | 42.4% | +2.6 |
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 Steve McGhie Australian Labor Party - Victorian Branch
Next state election: 28 November 2026.
| Year | Winner | Won with | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Steve McGhie ALP | 54.6% | 54.6% | 45.4% |
| 2018 | Stephen John McGhie ALP | 54.3% | 54.3% | 45.7% |
| 2014 | Don Nardella ALP | 50.5% | 61.2% | 38.8% |
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 Harkness?
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 12,463 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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Checking the whole city?
Suburbs to avoid in Melbourne There is no list of bad suburbs, but there are hazards the state measures and publishes — recorded crime, bushfire exposure, flood overlays and aircraft noise. Melbourne suburbs ranked on them, with what the numbers do and don't mean.Nearby suburbs
Compare Harkness to another suburb
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Common questions about Harkness
Is Harkness a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Harkness is moderate (50/100, ranked against other VIC suburbs on offences per resident).
What natural hazards affect Harkness?
Harkness has a high recorded bushfire history (87/100, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history). Flood overlays cover a low share of it (10/100). These are suburb-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.
Is Harkness a good place to live?
Harkness has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of C (35/100), 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 Harkness?
Harkness, VIC had a population of 12,463 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Harkness, VIC?
The postcode for Harkness, VIC is 3337.
How far is Harkness from Melbourne?
Harkness is 50 km from Melbourne CBD by road, about 52 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Harkness?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Harkness was $91,104 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 Harkness?
The median advertised rent in Harkness is $470 a week for houses (115 listings) and $432 a week for units (4 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.
What is the median age in Harkness?
The median age of residents in Harkness was 30 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Harkness at risk of bushfire?
Harkness has a high recorded bushfire history (87/100). 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 Harkness?
There is 1 school inside the Harkness boundary: 1 below similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
Is Harkness walkable?
Harkness scores 23/100 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 air quality in Harkness?
The nearest government air-quality monitoring station to Harkness (Melton) recorded a 2025 annual mean PM2.5 of 4.4 µg/m³. That puts Harkness below the WHO annual guideline of 5 µg/m³.
What is the weather like in Harkness?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Harkness, Melbourne Airport (25.2 km away), summer days average 26.7°C, winter nights 6°C, 518 mm of rain a year over 81 rainy days, and 12 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Harkness?
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 Harkness belong to?
Harkness sits within the Melton local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Harkness?
The average residential rates bill through Melton is $1,779 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Harkness?
Across Melton, 4,602 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's up 5.1% 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 Harkness in?
Harkness sits within the federal Division of Hawke, currently held by Sam Rae (Australian Labor Party).
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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.