Surges Bay TAS 7116

Located in Tasmania, Surges Bay sits 68 km from Hobart CBD, around 1 hour 5 minutes by car. The locality has 163 residents, a median age of 50, and a median household income of $67,444 per year. On socioeconomic measures it sits in the lower-middle tier nationally. Population grew 28.3% from 2016 to 2021. The 2021 Census recorded a median rent of $288 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,300. The area shows high bushfire risk. 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 163. 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 Surges Bay?

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Currently for Sale

Last 6 months

Houses in Surges Bay are currently listed at around $829,000 on average. Based on 4 houses listed in the past six months.

$829K

4 houses listed in the last 6 months.

4 of the suburb's 61 dwellings (6.6%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.

Short-Stay Rentals

1 active Airbnb listing: 1 whole home and 0 rooms.

Airbnb only, as at Jun 2026; other platforms are not included. Active means reviewed in the past 12 months.

Crime in the Huon Valley council area

Crime recorded across the whole council area over the 12 months to Jul 2026, not in Surges Bay alone. Tasmania Police publish by council, not by suburb.

Type Count Per 1,000 residents
All offences 477 24.0
Assault 46 2.3
Assault in a public place 6 0.3
Home burglary 15 0.8
Stolen vehicles 35 1.8
Robbery 6 0.3
Serious crime 23 1.2
Public order incidents 366 18.4
Family violence order breaches 22 1.1
Police family violence order breaches 12 0.6

Rates use the council’s 19,893 residents. The latest month is preliminary and may be revised.

Serious Road Crashes

2021–2025

No crash in Surges Bay 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.

Coastal Erosion

22
monitoring points
within 5 km
19
actively eroding
> 0.1 m/yr retreat
-0.25
worst rate (m/yr)
Moderate
1.6 km
nearest coastline
monitoring point

Shoreline Change Summary

1988–2025
Stable or accreting 6 (27%)
Moderate erosion (0.1–0.3 m/yr) 16 (73%)
Significant erosion (> 0.3 m/yr) 0 (0%)

Nearest Eroding Coastline

Distance
1.6 km
Rate
-0.12 m/yr
Net Movement
-14.5 m
Certainty
good

Data Quality

High certainty: 14 of 22 points (64%)

Schools

No schools in this locality boundary.

Walkability

Surges Bay is very car-dependent on foot — at 6/100, nearly all errands require a car.

6
out of 100
Very Car-Dependent
Public Transport within 1 km 21
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

NBN connectivity

The internet access technology available across NBN premises in Surges Bay.

30
connectivity score / 100
Most common
Fixed wireless
Full-fibre (FTTP) share
0%
Premises covered
80
Technology mix
Fixed wireless (WIRELESS) 98%
Satellite (Sky Muster) (SATELLITE) 2%

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
None
Sport & Recreation
1 in locality
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

Huon Valley: council population

The whole council area, not just Surges Bay · estimated residents
at 30 June 2025
Residents
19,893
+0.9% in a year
Change
+181
people since 2024
Density
3.6
people per km² across the council area
What drove the change
Natural increase
+37
births minus deaths
Net internal migration
+76
moves within Australia
Net overseas migration
+68
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
3/10
6/10 within TAS
income, education, jobs and housing together
Economic resources
3/10
4/10 within TAS
income against housing cost and household size
Education and occupation
5/10
7/10 within TAS
qualifications and job type, income excluded

Surges Bay is home to 163 residents, with a median age of 50 — noticeably older than the national figure of 38. Median household income runs at $67,000 a year, with unemployment at 11.2%.

2021 Census · change since 2016

Population

163

28.3% since 2016

Median Age

50

2.0% since 2016

Median Household Income

$67,444/yr

0.5% since 2016

Census Median Rent

$288/wk

16.6% since 2016

Census Median Mortgage

$1,300/mo

9.1% since 2016

Avg Household Size

2.6

3.7% since 2016

Median Personal Income

$28,132/yr

13.4% since 2016

Unemployment Rate

11.2%

119.6% since 2016

Unoccupied Dwellings

19.7%

10.5% since 2016

Total Dwellings

61

22.0% since 2016

Owner-Occupier Rate

81.0%

14.0% since 2016

Houses

95.1%

4.9% since 2016

Rental Stress

22.2%

16.8% since 2016

Mortgage Stress

23.1%

9.5% since 2016

Work From Home

19.1%

154.7% since 2016

Dwelling Types

Houses 58 (95.1%)
Flats / Apartments 3 (4.9%)

Property Ownership

Owned Outright 26 (41.3%)
Mortgage 25 (39.7%)
Renting 12 (19.0%)

Demographics

Born in Australia
77.9%
English Spoken at Home
89.6%
Employment Rate
47.9%
9.3% since 2016
Completed Year 12
40.5%

Occupations

Technicians & Trades 16 (24.6%)
Community & Personal Service 13 (20.0%)
Labourers 10 (15.4%)
Clerical & Administrative 9 (13.8%)
Professionals 7 (10.8%)
Managers 6 (9.2%)
Sales 3 (4.6%)

Religion

No Religion 97 (59.5%)
Christianity 53 (32.5%)
Buddhism 4 (2.5%)

Country of Birth (overseas)

Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents.

New Zealand 13 (8.0%)
England 4 (2.5%)

Age Distribution

0-4 5 (3.1%)
5-14 14 (8.6%)
15-19 8 (4.9%)
20-24 8 (4.9%)
25-34 14 (8.6%)
35-44 10 (6.1%)
45-54 29 (17.8%)
55-64 22 (13.5%)
65-74 24 (14.7%)
75-84 17 (10.4%)

Family & Household Composition

Couple Families 17 (70.8%)
Lone Person 4 (16.7%)
One Parent Families 3 (12.5%)

Commute to Work

Car (driver) 38 (80.9%)
Worked from Home 9 (19.1%)

Education

Certificate III & IV 29 (17.8%)
Bachelor Degree 14 (8.6%)
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 14 (8.6%)
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 3 (1.8%)

Cars per Dwelling

1 car 14 (22.6%)
2 cars 25 (40.3%)
3 cars 11 (17.7%)
4+ cars 4 (6.5%)

Council Rates

Huon Valley
FY 2024-25

Households face an average residential rates bill of $1,884 a year through Huon Valley based on 2024 figures.

Avg residential rate
$1,884/yr
Valuation basis
AAV/CV

How this land is zoned

Share of Surges Bay's area by planning zone
2026-09
  • Rural and farming 76%
  • Environmental 23%
  • 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: Huon Valley

The whole council area, not just Surges Bay · new residential dwellings
to 2026-08

In the year to August 2026, 81 new dwellings were approved across Huon Valley. That mix is 79 houses and 2 units. Approvals are down 33.3% on the same period a year earlier.

Trailing 12 months
81dwellings
-33.3% YoY
Houses
79
detached dwellings
Units
2
townhouses + apartments

Climate & Setting

from Dover, 11.8 km

Moderate rainfall — warm summers, cold winters with occasional frost.

Elevation
57 m
above sea level, at the locality centre
Distance to the ocean
1.4 km
Annual rainfall
854 mm
134 rainy days
Summer max (Jan)
21.0°C
1 days ≥ 35°C
Winter min (Jul)
3.7°C
11 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 0.18% in 2021
+0.1 points this year

In postcode 7116, 14 of 2,399 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 1.2% (28 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 1.8%.

Electric share, year by year
2021
0.18%
2022
0.14%
2023
0.31%
2024
0.51%
2025
0.58%

Rooftop solar

37
systems per 100 dwellings
Averaging 5.8 kW each

In postcode 7116, 428 rooftop-solar systems totalling 2.5 MW have been installed since 2001, against 1,166 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 34 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
15
2020
22
2021
27
2022
33
2023
33
2024
33
2025
23
2026
23

2026 covers part of the year only, to 2026-07.

First Home Owner Grant

FY2026-27

$20,000 for new homes.

$20,000 for transactions commencing 1 July 2026 - 30 June 2027. THE AMOUNT MOVES EVERY YEAR AND THE SRO PUBLISHES THE TABLE: $30,000 (FY2025-26), $10,000 (FY2024-25), $30,000 (Apr 2021 - Jun 2024). We held $10,000 until 2026-09-18, which was the FY2024-25 figure — two years stale, and wrong in both directions in between. Nothing is published beyond 30 June 2027, so this is due again then regardless of the 1 July sweep. No purchase-price cap is STATED on the eligibility pages (an absence, not an explicit "no cap"); the Grant Guideline PDF was not read. Eligible new builds include substantially renovated homes and kit homes. Completion within 24 months of the transaction start date, or the grant drops to $10,000. Separate from the grant: the first home buyer duty exemption on ESTABLISHED homes up to $750,000 closed for settlements after 30 June 2026.

Verify eligibility with State Revenue Office of Tasmania

Federal Electorate

Division of Franklin

Currently held by Julie Collins Australian Labor Party

Year Winner 2PP ALP 2PP LNP Swing
2025 Julie Collins 69.4% 30.6% +5.7
2022 Julie Collins 63.7% 36.3% -1.5
2019 Julie Collins 62.2% 37.8% -1.5

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

Division of Franklin · 7 members

Elected at the 2025 election:

Year Seats won
2025 2 Independent · 2 Liberal Party · 2 Australian Labor Party · 1 Tasmanian Greens
2024 3 Liberal Party · 2 Australian Labor Party · 1 Tasmanian Greens · 1 Independent

A vacancy here is filled by a recount of the original votes, not a by-election, so a member listed may since have been replaced. Results: Tasmanian Electoral Commission.

Looking at a specific address in Surges Bay?

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 Surges Bay to another suburb

Side-by-side stats for any other TAS suburb — type a name and pick one.

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Common questions about Surges Bay

Is Surges Bay a safe place to live?

TAS does not publish suburb-level crime statistics, so there is no crime figure for Surges Bay.

What natural hazards affect Surges Bay?

Surges Bay has a high recorded bushfire history (97/100, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history). These are locality-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.

What is the population of Surges Bay?

Surges Bay, TAS had a population of 163 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.

What is the postcode for Surges Bay, TAS?

The postcode for Surges Bay, TAS is 7116.

How far is Surges Bay from Hobart?

Surges Bay is 68 km from Hobart CBD by road, about 65 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.

What is the median household income in Surges Bay?

At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Surges Bay was $67,444 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 Surges Bay?

There are too few current rental listings in Surges Bay for a reliable median. At the 2021 ABS Census the median weekly rent was $288, across all dwelling types.

What is the median age in Surges Bay?

The median age of residents in Surges Bay was 50 at the 2021 ABS Census.

Is Surges Bay at risk of bushfire?

Surges Bay has a high recorded bushfire history (97/100). The score comes from Geoscience Australia's historical bushfire boundaries, with planned burns excluded: the area of recorded fires touching the locality 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 Surges Bay walkable?

Surges Bay scores 6/100 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 Surges Bay?

At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Surges Bay, Dover (11.8 km away), summer days average 21°C, winter nights 3.7°C, 854 mm of rain a year over 134 rainy days, and 1 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.

Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Surges Bay?

First-home buyers in TAS may be eligible for $20,000 towards new homes. The grant is administered by State Revenue Office of Tasmania; confirm current eligibility before signing a contract — state rules and amounts can change.

What council does Surges Bay belong to?

Surges Bay sits within the Huon Valley local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.

How much are council rates in Surges Bay?

The average residential rates bill through Huon Valley is $1,884 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.

How much is being built near Surges Bay?

Across Huon Valley, 81 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's down 33.3% 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 Surges Bay in?

Surges Bay sits within the federal Division of Franklin, currently held by Julie Collins (Australian Labor Party).

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