Loch VIC 3945
Loch is a rural locality in Victoria, 105 km from Melbourne CBD, around 1 hour 25 minutes by car. Population is 707; the median age is 50 and the median household income is $79,352 per year. By household income, education, and employment patterns, it ranks in the top 40% nationally. The locality grew 10.8% between 2016 and 2021. At the 2021 Census, households here paid a median rent of $325 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,450. Loch is characterised by no recorded bushfire exposure. 1 school sits within the locality boundary, and walkability is low.
Is Loch a good place to live?
Loch scores a B (56/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on community, weaker on transit.
Mixed results
1 school
Car-dependent
Walkability 13/100 · 105.2 km · 83 min drive to Melbourne
Median available
Median $891K
Moderate crime risk
Fire 0/100 · Crime 59/100 · Flood 37/100
Advantaged
SEIFA decile 7/10 · median age 50 · 707 residents
Liveability Rating
56 / 100 · Ranked #338 in VICEach bar is Loch'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 Loch?
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 dataLoch's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $891,000, roughly 44% above where it sat a year earlier.
$891,000
52% above its 4 neighbours (median $585,000)
Based on 18 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 70 days — median across 6 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 3 bed 9 sales $750K
Is Loch safe? Crime statistics
2026Crime in Loch sits in the moderate band, with 33 incidents recorded in 2026 — down about 6% on the prior year.
33 offences
5.7% since 2025Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2021–20258 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 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 serve Loch, and performance is broadly on par with peer-suburb schools.
- • 129 students in one school (avg 129)
Primary
Walkability
Loch is very car-dependent on foot — at 13/100, 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 Loch.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 1.2 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 1.0 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 0.5 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 72.5 min
- Span of service
- 16.6 hours
- Direct to CBD (peak)
- 293.5 min wait
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 Loch.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 0%
- Premises covered
- 355
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
South Gippsland: council population
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
Loch is home to 707 residents, with a median age of 50 — noticeably older than the national figure of 38. Median household income runs at $79,000 a year, with unemployment at 3.3%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
707
Median Age
50
Median Household Income
$79,352/yr
Census Median Rent
$325/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$1,450/mo
Avg Household Size
2.5
Median Personal Income
$39,000/yr
Unemployment Rate
3.3%
Unoccupied Dwellings
22.0%
Total Dwellings
268
Owner-Occupier Rate
90.6%
Houses
95.9%
Rental Stress
21.3%
Mortgage Stress
21.9%
Work From Home
29.2%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 80.8%
- English Spoken at Home
- 91.9%
- Employment Rate
- 60.3%
- Completed Year 12
- 36.2%
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.
0 residents (0.0%) 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.
21.5% of residents (144) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Melbourne (137).
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 669 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
2% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (6 of 351).
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 $2,282 a year through South Gippsland based on 2024 figures.
How this land is zoned
- Rural and farming 95%
- Parks and recreation 2%
- Infrastructure and transport 1%
- Zones under 1% 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: South Gippsland
In the year to August 2026, 170 new dwellings were approved across South Gippsland. That mix is 154 houses and 16 units. Approvals are up 21.1% on the same period a year earlier.
Aboriginal Cultural Heritage
The Registered Aboriginal Party for this area is Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation (appointed 2017).
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 Wonthaggi, 27.2 kmHigh rainfall — warm summers, mild winters.
- Elevation
- 140 m
- above sea level, at the locality centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 12.7 km
- Annual rainfall
- 906 mm
- 119 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- 24.6°C
- 6 days ≥ 35°C
- Winter min (Jul)
- 6.9°C
- 0 frost days ≤ 0°C
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
In postcode 3945, 10 of 1,075 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 1.6% (17 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 2.5%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 3945, 293 rooftop-solar systems totalling 1.9 MW have been installed since 2001, against 485 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 12 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.
1 first-home grant was paid in postcode 3945 in 2025-26, rank 213 of 298 Victorian postcodes. The most was 6, in 2001-02.
Grants on new and established homes; established homes stopped qualifying in mid-2013.
Mortgage repayments
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 $891,000 this is $141,000 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 Mary Aldred Liberal
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Mary Aldred | 45.9% | 54.1% | -1.2 |
| 2022 | Russell Broadbent | 47.1% | 52.9% | -4.0 |
| 2019 | Russell Broadbent | 42.6% | 57.4% | -0.1 |
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
Currently held by Danny O'Brien The Nationals
Next state election: 28 November 2026.
| Year | Winner | Won with | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Danny O'Brien NP | 53.3% | 34.8% | 65.2% |
| 2018 | Danny O'Brien NP | 61.9% | 34.7% | 65.3% |
| 2014 | Peter Ryan NP | 57.3% | 34.3% | 65.7% |
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 Loch?
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.
- The census for a few hundred neighbours, not all 707 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.
Nearby suburbs
Compare Loch 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 Loch
Is Loch a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Loch is moderate (59/100, ranked against other VIC suburbs on offences per resident).
What natural hazards affect Loch?
Loch has no recorded bushfire history. Flood overlays cover a low share of it (37/100). These are locality-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.
Is Loch a good place to live?
Loch 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 Loch?
Loch, VIC had a population of 707 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Loch, VIC?
The postcode for Loch, VIC is 3945.
How far is Loch from Melbourne?
Loch is 105 km from Melbourne CBD by road, about 83 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Loch?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Loch was $79,352 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 Loch?
There are too few current rental listings in Loch for a reliable median. At the 2021 ABS Census the median weekly rent was $325, across all dwelling types.
What is the median age in Loch?
The median age of residents in Loch was 50 at the 2021 ABS Census.
How are the schools in Loch?
There is 1 school inside the Loch boundary: 1 at similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
Is Loch walkable?
Loch 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 Loch?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Loch, Wonthaggi (27.2 km away), summer days average 24.6°C, winter nights 6.9°C, 906 mm of rain a year over 119 rainy days, and 6 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Loch?
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 Loch belong to?
Loch sits within the South Gippsland local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Loch?
The average residential rates bill through South Gippsland is $2,282 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Loch?
Across South Gippsland, 170 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's up 21.1% 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 Loch in?
Loch sits within the federal Division of Monash, currently held by Mary Aldred (Liberal).
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Data freshness
- Census · 2021
- Median sale prices · 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
- Climate · 2006–2026
- Socio-economic (SEIFA) · 2021
- EV adoption · Jan 2025
- First Home Owner Grant · Sep 2026
- Federal electorate · 2025
- 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.