Portsea VIC 3944
Portsea is a suburb in Victoria, 112 km from Melbourne CBD, around 1 hour 45 minutes by car. Population is 787; the median age is 68 and the median household income is $128,440 per year. On socioeconomic measures it sits in the top 20% nationally. Population grew 54.3% from 2016 to 2021. The 2021 Census recorded a median rent of $577 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $2,806. The area shows high coastal erosion risk. Walkability is low.
Is Portsea a good suburb?
Portsea scores a B (67/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on community, weaker on transit and prices.
Car-dependent
Walkability 20/100 · 112.1 km · 103 min drive to Melbourne
Above the state median
Median $3.85M · Less affordable than 99% of VIC
Moderate crime risk
Fire 27/100 · Crime 59/100 · Flood 25/100
Very advantaged
SEIFA decile 10/10 · median age 68 · 787 residents
Liveability Rating
67 / 100 · Ranked #184 in VICEach bar is Portsea'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 Portsea?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
67 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataPortsea's house market is moving lower: the median sale price reached $3.85 million, roughly 27% below where it sat a year earlier.
Houses
$3,855,000
Based on 52 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 59 days — median across 26 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 3 bed 15 sales $2.85M
- 4 bed 23 sales $3.75M
- 5 bed 9 sales $5.4M
Land
$3,330,000
Based on only 7 sales — small sample, take as indicative.
Typically sold in 38 days — median across 3 sales that recorded a listing period
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in Portsea are currently listed at around $2.38 million on average. Based on 15 houses listed in the past six months.
$2.38M
15 houses listed in the last 6 months.
16 of the suburb's 328 dwellings (4.9%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Rental Market
Advertised rents · last 6 monthsHouses in Portsea rent for around $1,348 a week on average, based on 6 houses listed for rent in the past six months.
$1,348/wk
6 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
Gross rental yield
Indicative$1,348/week ($70,000 a year) on a $2.38 million median
Based on a small sample (6 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
61 active Airbnb listings: 60 whole homes and 1 room. 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 Portsea safe? Crime statistics
2026Crime in Portsea sits in the moderate band, with 35 incidents recorded in 2026 — down roughly 44% on the prior year.
35 offences
43.5% since 2025Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2021–20254 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.
Coastal Erosion
Shoreline Change Summary
1988–2025Nearest Eroding Coastline
- Distance
- 813 m
- Rate
- -0.03 m/yr
- Net Movement
- -0.9 m
- Certainty
- good
Data Quality
Schools
Walkability
Portsea is very car-dependent on foot — at 20/100, nearly all errands require a car.
Public transport
Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Portsea.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 18.2 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 18.4 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 12.4 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 1 min
- Span of service
- 17.6 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 Portsea.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 46%
- Premises covered
- 1,633
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
Mornington Peninsula: 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
Portsea is home to 787 residents, with a median age of 68 — noticeably older than the national figure of 38. Median household income runs at $128,000 a year, with unemployment at 2.3%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
787
Median Age
68
Median Household Income
$128,440/yr
Census Median Rent
$577/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$2,806/mo
Avg Household Size
1.8
Median Personal Income
$80,132/yr
Unemployment Rate
2.3%
Unoccupied Dwellings
299.1%
Total Dwellings
328
Owner-Occupier Rate
93.1%
Houses
97.6%
Rental Stress
23.4%
Mortgage Stress
26.2%
Work From Home
58.0%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 79.2%
- English Spoken at Home
- 88.9%
- Employment Rate
- 40%
- Completed Year 12
- 66.7%
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.
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 778 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
13% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (40 of 303).
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 $1,659 a year through Mornington Peninsula based on 2024 figures.
How this land is zoned
- Parks and recreation 61%
- Residential 32%
- Rural and farming 5%
- Infrastructure and transport 2%
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: Mornington Peninsula
In the year to August 2026, 791 new dwellings were approved across Mornington Peninsula. That mix is 511 houses and 280 units. Approvals are up 9.2% 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 Point Wilson, 29.0 kmwarm summers — mild winters.
- Elevation
- 48 m
- above sea level, at the suburb centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 792 m
- 1.5 km to a named beach
- Annual rainfall
- —
- Summer max (Jan)
- 22.8°C
- 3 days ≥ 35°C
- Winter min (Jul)
- 7.8°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 3944, 37 of 1,181 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 1.9% (22 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 5.0%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 3944, 292 rooftop-solar systems totalling 2.7 MW have been installed since 2001, against 1,315 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 26 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.
0 first-home grants were paid in postcode 3944 in 2025-26. The most was 2, in 2007-08.
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 $3,855,000 this is $3,105,000 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 Zoe Mckenzie Liberal
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Zoe Mckenzie | 45.2% | 54.8% | +1.4 |
| 2022 | Zoe Mckenzie | 43.3% | 56.7% | +1.1 |
| 2019 | Greg Hunt | 44.4% | 55.6% | -1.4 |
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 Anthony Marsh Liberal — elected at the May 2026 by-election, after the results below
Next state election: 28 November 2026.
| Year | Winner | Won with | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Sam Groth LP | 50.5% | 43.3% | 56.7% |
| 2018 | Chris Brayne ALP | 50.9% | 50.9% | 49.1% |
| 2014 | Martin Dixon LP | 53.3% | 42.4% | 57.6% |
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 Portsea?
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 787 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.
Compare Portsea 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 Portsea
Is Portsea a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Portsea is moderate (59/100, ranked against other VIC suburbs on offences per resident).
What natural hazards affect Portsea?
Portsea has a low recorded bushfire history (27/100, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history). Flood overlays cover a low share of it (25/100). These are suburb-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.
Is Portsea a good place to live?
Portsea has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of B (67/100), 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 Portsea?
Portsea, VIC had a population of 787 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Portsea, VIC?
The postcode for Portsea, VIC is 3944.
How far is Portsea from Melbourne?
Portsea is 112 km from Melbourne CBD by road, about 103 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Portsea?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Portsea was $128,440 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 Portsea?
The median advertised rent in Portsea is $1,348 a week for houses (6 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.
What is the median age in Portsea?
The median age of residents in Portsea was 68 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Portsea at risk of bushfire?
Portsea has a low recorded bushfire history (27/100). 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.
Is Portsea walkable?
Portsea scores 20/100 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 Portsea?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Portsea, Point Wilson (29 km away), summer days average 22.8°C, winter nights 7.8°C, and 3 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Portsea?
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 Portsea belong to?
Portsea sits within the Mornington Peninsula local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Portsea?
The average residential rates bill through Mornington Peninsula is $1,659 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Portsea?
Across Mornington Peninsula, 791 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's up 9.2% 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 Portsea in?
Portsea sits within the federal Division of Flinders, currently held by Zoe Mckenzie (Liberal).
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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
- 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.