Middle Tarwin VIC 3956

Middle Tarwin is a rural locality in Victoria, 158 km from Melbourne CBD, around 2 hours 5 minutes by car. Population is 91; the median age is 41 and the median household income is $100,724 per year. By household income, education, and employment patterns, it ranks in the top 20% nationally. The locality fell 4.2% between 2016 and 2021. At the 2021 Census, households here paid a median rent of $180 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,625. Middle Tarwin is characterised by high flood risk and no recorded bushfire exposure. 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 91. 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 Middle Tarwin?

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Is Middle Tarwin safe? Crime statistics

2024

Crime in Middle Tarwin sits in the moderate band, with 2 incidents recorded in 2024.

2 offences

Assault 2 (100.0%)

Crime Trend

Serious Road Crashes

2021–2025

No crash in Middle Tarwin 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

Middle Tarwin 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 Middle Tarwin.

28
connectivity score / 100
Most common
Fixed wireless
Full-fibre (FTTP) share
0%
Premises covered
39
Technology mix
Fixed wireless (WIRELESS) 87%
Satellite (Sky Muster) (SATELLITE) 13%

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
1 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

South Gippsland: council population

The whole council area, not just Middle Tarwin · estimated residents
at 30 June 2025
Residents
31,109
+0.6% in a year
Change
+172
people since 2024
Density
9.4
people per km² across the council area
What drove the change
Natural increase
-45
births minus deaths
Net internal migration
+148
moves within Australia
Net overseas migration
+69
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
9/10
8/10 within VIC
income, education, jobs and housing together
Economic resources
10/10
10/10 within VIC
income against housing cost and household size
Education and occupation
8/10
8/10 within VIC
qualifications and job type, income excluded

Middle Tarwin is home to 91 residents, with a median age of 41, broadly in line with the national figure. Median household income runs at $101,000 a year, with unemployment at 0.0%.

2021 Census · change since 2016

Population

91

4.2% since 2016

Median Age

41

8.9% since 2016

Median Household Income

$100,724/yr

19.2% since 2016

Census Median Rent

$180/wk

10.0% since 2016

Census Median Mortgage

$1,625/mo

13.6% since 2016

Avg Household Size

2.7

no change since 2016

Median Personal Income

$48,828/yr

11.7% since 2016

Unemployment Rate

0.0%

Unoccupied Dwellings

0.0%

Total Dwellings

34

2.9% since 2016

Owner-Occupier Rate

89.7%

6.0% since 2016

Houses

100.0%

no change since 2016

Rental Stress

9.3%

24.4% since 2016

Mortgage Stress

19.4%

27.3% since 2016

Work From Home

36.4%

9.9% since 2016

Dwelling Types

Houses 34 (100.0%)

Property Ownership

Owned Outright 20 (69.0%)
Mortgage 6 (20.7%)
Renting 3 (10.3%)

Demographics

Born in Australia
85.7%
English Spoken at Home
91.2%
Employment Rate
74%
24.4% since 2016
Completed Year 12
44.0%

Occupations

Managers 29 (52.7%)
Sales 6 (10.9%)
Professionals 5 (9.1%)
Community & Personal Service 5 (9.1%)
Clerical & Administrative 4 (7.3%)
Technicians & Trades 3 (5.5%)

Religion

Christianity 49 (53.8%)
No Religion 39 (42.9%)

Country of Birth (overseas)

Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents.

Netherlands 5 (5.5%)
England 3 (3.3%)

Age Distribution

0-4 10 (11.0%)
5-14 8 (8.8%)
15-19 7 (7.7%)
25-34 7 (7.7%)
35-44 14 (15.4%)
45-54 14 (15.4%)
55-64 19 (20.9%)
65-74 8 (8.8%)
75-84 6 (6.6%)

Family & Household Composition

Couple Families 13 (59.1%)
Lone Person 9 (40.9%)

Commute to Work

Car (driver) 24 (54.5%)
Worked from Home 16 (36.4%)
Walked Only 4 (9.1%)

Education

Certificate III & IV 18 (19.8%)
Bachelor Degree 10 (11.0%)
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 7 (7.7%)
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 3 (3.3%)

Cars per Dwelling

1 car 9 (27.3%)
2 cars 12 (36.4%)
3 cars 7 (21.2%)
4+ cars 6 (18.2%)

Council Rates

South Gippsland
FY 2024-25

Households face an average residential rates bill of $2,282 a year through South Gippsland based on 2024 figures.

Avg residential rate
$2,282/yr
18% above the VIC average of $1,937 · median of 79 councils
Rate in the dollar
0.297¢ / $
of property valuation
Valuation basis
Capital Improved Value
land + buildings

How this land is zoned

Share of Middle Tarwin's area by planning zone
2026-09
  • Rural and farming 96%
  • Parks and recreation 4%
  • 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

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

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.

Trailing 12 months
170dwellings
+21.1% YoY
Houses
154
detached dwellings
Units
16
townhouses + apartments

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, 29.4 km

High rainfall — warm summers, mild winters.

Elevation
24 m
above sea level, at the locality centre
Distance to the ocean
7.8 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

0.6%
of light vehicles are electric
Up from 0.10% in 2021
+0.3 points this year

In postcode 3956, 21 of 3,253 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 1.8% (57 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 2.4%.

Electric share, year by year
2021
0.10%
2022
0.09%
2023
0.12%
2024
0.38%
2025
0.65%

Rooftop solar

36
systems per 100 dwellings
Averaging 6.2 kW each

In postcode 3956, 1,056 rooftop-solar systems totalling 6.6 MW have been installed since 2001, against 2,975 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 57 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
63
2020
56
2021
83
2022
81
2023
60
2024
79
2025
46
2026
33

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 3956 in 2025-26, rank 213 of 298 Victorian postcodes. The most was 24, in 2001-02.

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 Monash

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

Gippsland South District

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 Middle Tarwin?

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 Middle Tarwin 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 Middle Tarwin

Is Middle Tarwin a safe place to live?

Recorded crime in Middle Tarwin is moderate (53/100, ranked against other VIC suburbs on offences per resident).

What natural hazards affect Middle Tarwin?

Middle Tarwin has no recorded bushfire history. Flood overlays cover a high share of it (76/100). These are locality-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.

What is the population of Middle Tarwin?

Middle Tarwin, VIC had a population of 91 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.

What is the postcode for Middle Tarwin, VIC?

The postcode for Middle Tarwin, VIC is 3956.

How far is Middle Tarwin from Melbourne?

Middle Tarwin is 158 km from Melbourne CBD by road, about 123 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.

What is the median household income in Middle Tarwin?

At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Middle Tarwin was $100,724 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 Middle Tarwin?

There are too few current rental listings in Middle Tarwin for a reliable median. At the 2021 ABS Census the median weekly rent was $180, across all dwelling types.

What is the median age in Middle Tarwin?

The median age of residents in Middle Tarwin was 41 at the 2021 ABS Census.

What is the weather like in Middle Tarwin?

At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Middle Tarwin, Wonthaggi (29.4 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 Middle Tarwin?

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 Middle Tarwin belong to?

Middle Tarwin 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 Middle Tarwin?

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 Middle Tarwin?

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 Middle Tarwin in?

Middle Tarwin sits within the federal Division of Monash, currently held by Mary Aldred (Liberal).

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