← Colac Otway Shire Council
City profile

Shire profile

Colac Otway Shire is in south-western Victoria, about two hours west of Melbourne. It runs from the volcanic lakes and plains in the north, through the forests of the Otway Ranges, to the Great Ocean Road coast. Colac is the main town and service centre, and Apollo Bay the other main centre; the council's offices are in Colac. The shire was created in 1994 from the former Shires of Otway and Colac and the City of Colac.

New to these terms? Read them in plain English
Local Government Area (LGA)
The official area a council governs.
Estimated Resident Population (ERP)
The official population count for an area.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
The national statistics agency behind population figures.
See the full explainer, with formulas →

The area at a glance

Population (ERP, 30 June 2025)
22,209ABS Estimated Resident Population (preliminary). The council cites 12,756 people in the Colac urban area and 2,311 in Apollo Bay, Marengo and Skenes Creek (2021 Census); it says visitors lift Apollo Bay's population to about 20,000 each summer.
Area
3,437.5 km²ABS. The VEC gives 3,434 km².
Population density
About 6 people per km²ABS population ÷ ABS area (our calculation). Most people live in Colac, so density varies widely.
Wards
None — 7 councillors elected shire-wide
Council group (LGPRF)
Large Shire
Rateable properties
16,259 assessments (2026–27 budget)Including 6,118 residential assessments in Colac and Elliminyt, 5,727 residential elsewhere, 2,931 rural farm and 463 holiday rental.
Traditional Owners
The Gulidjan and Gadubanud peoplesAs acknowledged by the council.

Suburbs & postcodes

On the map

The shaded area is the official Local Government Area boundary.

Localities and postcodes come from the CSA's suburb-and-postcode table for Colac-Otway (all years from 2017). We checked each against the official Vicmap locality polygons and the ABS council boundary, and added four localities the CSA table doesn't list (Aire Valley, Gellibrand Lower, Pennyroyal, Winchelsea) with postcodes from the Vicmap postcode polygons. A locality is marked '(part)' when less than 95% of its area is inside the shire: Winchelsea (about 5% inside), Jancourt East (9%), Pennyroyal (11%), Gellibrand Lower (13%), Carpendeit (21%), Wool Wool (29%), Stonyford (38%), Cundare North (40%), Cressy (42%), Wingeel (59%), Dreeite (67%), Pirron Yallock (70%), Ombersley (74%), Birregurra (80%), Chapple Vale (86%), Dreeite South (91%) and Alvie (92%). The rest of each is in a neighbouring council. If you live in a split locality, your rates notice shows which council you pay. The shaded area on the map is the ABS council boundary (ASGS 2025); area and density figures use the ABS area.

Sources — check it yourself

Figures are current as at the dates shown and may change — always confirm with the linked source. See the notice at the bottom of the page for full details and how to report a correction.