Shire profile
Surf Coast Shire is in south-western Victoria, about 20 minutes south of Geelong, where the Great Ocean Road begins. The council lists eleven townships: Torquay, Jan Juc, Bellbrae, Freshwater Creek, Anglesea, Aireys Inlet, Fairhaven and Lorne on or near the coast, and Winchelsea, Moriac and Deans Marsh inland. The council's offices are in Torquay.
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.
The area at a glance
- Population (ERP, 30 June 2025)
- 40,265ABS Estimated Resident Population (preliminary).
- Area
- 1,552.9 km²ABS.
- Population density
- About 26 people per km²ABS population ÷ ABS area (our calculation). Most people live in the coastal towns, so density varies widely.
- Wards
- 3, with three councillors eachOtway Range, Torquay and Winchelsea.
- Council group (LGPRF)
- Large Shire
- Rateable properties
- 24,472 assessments (2026–27 budget)Including 22,213 general (residential) assessments.
- Traditional Owners
- The Wadawurrung People, and the Gulidjan and Gadubanud Peoples of the Eastern MaarAs acknowledged by the council.
Suburbs & postcodes
- Aireys Inlet3231
- Anglesea3230
- Bambra3241
- Barrabool3221
- Bellbrae3228
- Bells Beach3228
- Benwerrin3235
- Big Hill3231
- Birregurra (part)3242
- Boonah3235
- Breamlea (part)3227
- Buckley3240
- Connewarre (part)3227
- Deans Marsh3235
- Eastern View3231
- Fairhaven3231
- Freshwater Creek3217
- Gherang3240
- Gnarwarre3221
- Inverleigh (part)3321
- Jan Juc3228
- Lorne3232
- Modewarre3240
- Moggs Creek3231
- Moriac3240
- Mount Duneed (part)3217
- Mount Moriac3240
- Ombersley (part)3241
- Paraparap3240
- Pennyroyal (part)3235
- Torquay3228
- Wensleydale3241
- Winchelsea (part)3241
- Winchelsea South3241
- Wurdiboluc3241
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 Surf Coast (all years from 2017). We checked each against the official Vicmap locality polygons and the ABS council boundary. A locality is marked '(part)' when less than 95% of its area is inside the shire: Birregurra (about 20% inside), Connewarre (25%), Ombersley (26%), Inverleigh (44%), Breamlea (47%), Mount Duneed (52%), Pennyroyal (89%) and Winchelsea (just under 95%). The rest of each of these localities is in a neighbouring council. Ombersley has no row in the CSA table, so its postcode comes from the Vicmap postcode polygons. 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
- ABS — Regional population 2024–25, data cube 32180DS0002 Table 2 (Victoria; LGA 26490) · ERP 30 Jun 2025
- ABS — Regional population, latest release · Released Mar 2026
- Surf Coast Shire — About the Shire · Sep 2026
- Surf Coast Shire — Acknowledgement of Country (site footer) · Sep 2026
- Victorian Electoral Commission — Surf Coast Shire Council (3 wards, 3 councillors each) · Sep 2026
- Surf Coast Shire — Budget Report 2026–27, section 4.1.1(d) number of assessments (PDF) · 2026–27
- Crime Statistics Agency (CSA) — LGA Recorded Offences, Table 03 (suburb and postcode by LGA) · Jul 2025 to Jun 2026
- DataVic — Vicmap Admin locality polygons · Sep 2026
- Vicmap — postcode polygons (open-data-platform:postcode_polygon, WFS) · Sep 2026
- Local Government Victoria — LGPRF 2020–2025 Full Council Data Set (council group: Large Shire) · 2024–25
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.