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Castlemaine Surrounds

Victoria · Heathcote - Castlemaine - Kyneton, Bendigo

Live · ABS ERP June 2025

The weekday morning train from Castlemaine Railway Station reaches the CBD in 96 min, against 40 min from the middle Victoria area with a timetabled station. The median age is 52, higher than the middle Victoria area (39, Census 2021). Children under 15 are 13.8% of residents, against 17.5% in the middle Victoria area (Census 2021).

Castlemaine Surrounds has 8 schools (7 government, 1 non-government; ACARA School Profile 2025) and 8 NQS-rated childcare services (ACECQA register). The median house price is $730,000, +2.3% YoY (Valuer-General VIC Q4 2025). Population is 9,675 (ABS ERP June 2025); the AM-peak train journey to the CBD takes 96 min (Transport Victoria (PTV) incl. V/Line, static GTFS, timetable from 22 Oct 2026).

Castlemaine Surrounds at a glance

Median house price
$730,000
Up 2.3% in a year
Rent: $565 a week, 3-bedroom house
Family-Fit score
55/100
Mixed for families
How it is calculated
Schools
8
Area centre zoned to Chewton Primary School
See the schools
Childcare services
8
6 rated Meeting NQS or above
Population
9,675
+1.1% in a year
Median age
52
13.8% are children under 15
Side-by-side schools, crime & safety, price & more in the Move Planner.
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Shade the map by values: Maldon

Boundaries: ABS Suburbs & Localities 2021. School pins are ACARA's published locations. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors, © CARTO. Open the full VIC map →

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How the Family-Fit score is built55/100

Family-Fit score

Method published in full
55 /100
Mixed for families

Mixed for families - strongest on schools in the area, weakest on getting around.

Schools in the area · 20% of the score
86/100

VIC median 75/100

8 schools in this SA2 · average government-school ICSEA 1030

Childcare & early years · 15% of the score
80/100

VIC median 100/100

8 NQS-rated services nearby

Everyday amenities · 15% of the score
78/100

VIC median 78/100

33 parks · no GP mapped (not counted) · 1 supermarket · 9 playgrounds

Getting around · 15% of the score
0/100

VIC median 60/100

96 min to the CBD by train from Castlemaine Railway Station

Housing affordability · 15% of the score
44/100

VIC median 46/100

Paying over 30% of income on housing: 14.0% of mortgage-holding households, 32.3% of renting households

Families already here · 10% of the score
36/100

VIC median 67/100

13.8% of residents are children aged 0–14 · 33.8% of families are couples with children

Socio-economic profile · 10% of the score
44/100

VIC median 56/100

SEIFA IRSAD decile 5 of 10 nationally

The grey marker on each bar is the median across the 500 Victoria areas we publish a score for (state median overall: 65/100). It is context, not a pass mark.

How this score is calculated

Each published figure for the Castlemaine Surrounds SA2 is mapped onto 0–100 by fixed thresholds, then weighted. Inputs with no data here are dropped and the rest rescaled - never scored as zero. Every threshold and weight →

Schools in the area 86/100 × 20% → 17.2 points
8 schools in this SA2 · average government-school ICSEA 1030
Childcare & early years 80/100 × 15% → 12 points
8 NQS-rated services nearby
Everyday amenities 78/100 × 15% → 11.7 points
33 parks · no GP mapped (not counted) · 1 supermarket · 9 playgrounds
Getting around 0/100 × 15% → 0 points
96 min to the CBD by train from Castlemaine Railway Station
Housing affordability 44/100 × 15% → 6.6 points
Paying over 30% of income on housing: 14.0% of mortgage-holding households, 32.3% of renting households
Families already here 36/100 × 10% → 3.6 points
13.8% of residents are children aged 0–14 · 33.8% of families are couples with children
Socio-economic profile 44/100 × 10% → 4.4 points
SEIFA IRSAD decile 5 of 10 nationally

School results, crime and flood or bushfire overlays are not graded into this score. Limits of the score →

What families notice
In their own terms

What families notice

Live
Families often notice
  • At least one nearby government school has an above-average ICSEA intake profile (1075 vs. 1000 national average).
  • 33 parks mapped inside this SA2 (OpenStreetMap).
  • 8 schools sit inside this SA2 - more choice than most areas this size.
Good to know
  • The zoned government school for part of this area sits just outside this SA2 - check the exact catchment boundary before assuming.
  • We don't yet have official crime data for VIC (only NSW and VIC) - that's a data gap on our side, not a claim this area is safe.
  • About 32% of renters here spend over 30% of income on rent - above the standard affordability guideline (ABS Census 2021).
Source: Templated from the live data on this page - ABS, ACARA, ACECQA, BOCSAR/CSA Victoria, SEIFA 2021.
Living in Castlemaine Surrounds: family snapshot
Family snapshot

Living in Castlemaine Surrounds

Live

A mid-sized suburb. Many childcare options nearby - 8 NQS-rated services. About a 96-minute train to the CBD. Mostly detached family homes.

Source: ABS population estimates · ABS Census 2021 · ACARA · ACECQA · state transit data (GTFS)
Castlemaine Surrounds compared with Victoria10 measures
Castlemaine Surrounds compared with the VIC average
Measure Castlemaine Surrounds VIC average Against VIC
Children aged 0 to 4 3.8% 5.8% Lower
Children aged 5 to 14 10.1% 12.2% Lower
Couple families with children 33.8% 45.2% Lower
One-parent families 12.0% 15.3% Lower
Homes owned outright 51.0% 32.5% Higher
Homes owned with a mortgage 38.0% 37.8% About the same
Homes rented 8.5% 28.0% Lower
Separate houses 98.7% 75.6% Higher
Flats and apartments 0.2% 10.5% Lower
Born overseas 11.4% 30.0% Lower

Source: ABS Census 2021. The VIC figure is the population-weighted average of the 520 VIC areas with a published value. "Higher" and "Lower" describe the number only.

About this area and its boundary

Castlemaine Surrounds is a locality in the Heathcote - Castlemaine - Kyneton area of Victoria. This profile draws on ABS population and Census figures, the ACARA school register and ACECQA childcare ratings for the Castlemaine Surrounds SA2.

9,675 residents - 13.8% are children under 15, median age 52.

This profile uses the ABS Castlemaine Surrounds statistical area (SA2) - the level Australian government data is published at. SA2 boundaries don’t always match suburb boundaries. It covers the gazetted suburbs of Maldon, Harcourt, Newstead, Elphinstone, Taradale, Barkers Creek, Muckleford and Redesdale and 33 more localities, drawn separately on the map above.

Property market

The median house price is $730,000, up 2.3% in a year, and a 3-bedroom house rents for a median $565 a week across the Mount Alexander council area.

Median house price
$730,000
Q4 2025
House price, change in a year
+2.3%
Median rent, 3-bedroom house
$565
per week, Mount Alexander council area

Source: Valuer-General VIC Q4 2025 · Homes Victoria (DFFH) Rental Report, Jun 2026 quarter

Homes and households

Who owns the homes
51% Owned outright 38% Mortgage 9% Rented
Families
34% Couple with children 53% Couple, no children 12% One parent
Types of home
99% House 1% Townhouse 0% Apartment

Source: ABS Census 2021. Where the shares do not add to 100%, the rest is "other" or "not stated".

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Housing cost pressuremortgage and rent against income
What households here actually pay

Housing cost pressure

Live

In Castlemaine Surrounds, 32.3% of renting households spend more than 30% of their income on rent, and 14% of households with a mortgage spend more than 30% on repayments - the ABS's stretched-household threshold (Census 2021).

ABS published figures, not our calculation.

Mortgage over 30% of income
14%

VIC avg 15.4%

Share of households WITH a mortgage whose repayments take more than 30% of income. That's 199 of 1,257 households with a stated repayment.

Rent over 30% of income
32.3%

VIC avg 30.9%

Share of RENTING households whose rent takes more than 30% of income. That's 103 of 286 households with a stated rent.

The two figures cover different households (mortgage-holding vs renting), so never add them. How the ABS counts these → Grey marker: VIC average (509 for mortgage and 508 for rent). Census 2021 - housing costs have moved since. Not financial advice.

Source: ABS Census 2021 - Mortgage & Rent Affordability Indicator Datasets (via ABS Data by Region, SA2)
What's being built herenew homes approved, year by year
Castlemaine Surrounds · new dwellings approved

What's being built here

Live

48 new homes were approved in Castlemaine Surrounds in the year to June 2025. Councils approved 374 new dwellings here across the 6 years to June 2025 - an approval is permission to build, not a home that exists yet.

48

Approved in the year to June 2025

Middle VIC area: 44

369

Separate houses

Private sector, over these 6 years

5

Townhouses & apartments

Private sector, over these 6 years

Counts are for the whole Castlemaine Surrounds statistical area. What these counts include → Dashed line: the median of 491Victoria areas.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Data by region, 2011-2025 (cat. 1410.0), sourced from ABS Building Approvals, Australia (cat. 8731.0) (source, CC BY 4.0). Each year is a year ended 30 June, published for the SA2, not the suburb.
About the rent figure

Homes Victoria does not publish a rent figure for this suburb on its own, so this is the median for the whole Mount Alexander council area: 3-bedroom houses with a lease that started in the June 2026 quarter. Rents inside the council area can sit above or below it.

Source: Homes Victoria (Department of Families, Fairness and Housing), Rental Report, from Residential Tenancies Bond Authority bond lodgements. Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Figures are as published; we have not adjusted them.

Schools and childcare

8 schools are located in the area, and the centre of the area is zoned to Chewton Primary School. 8 childcare services are on the national register, 6 rated Meeting the National Quality Standard or above.

Your zoned school Live VIC + NSW + QLD catchments

Chewton Primary School

The government school your child can attend for free by living in Castlemaine Surrounds.

Sector Government
Years Prep-6
Students 54
ICSEA 1119
A picture of students’ family backgrounds - not a ranking or a quality score.

The government catchment school for parts of Castlemaine Surrounds is Chewton Primary School - just outside the suburb boundary (VIC catchment data).

See the catchment on the map
Zoned secondary school
Castlemaine Secondary College Government · 7-12 · 695 students · just outside the suburb boundary
ICSEA 1040 intake context

Median VCE study score (2025): 26 · 88% satisfactory VCE completions - one measure, not a ranking.

Pathways: VCE, VCE VM, VPC · 49 VCE/VM/VET studies (Units 3-4)

© Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority; reproduced with permission. For current versions and related content visit http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au

The government Year 7 zone for the centre of Castlemaine Surrounds (VIC catchment data) - addresses elsewhere in the suburb may be zoned to a different school.

Also nearby - Catholic & Independent schools (not your catchment)
Castlemaine Steiner School & Kindergarten
Independent 135 students
ICSEA 1105 intake context

Fee-paying schools can’t be enrolled in by zone - they’re shown for context, not as the area’s school quality.

We show school intake context, catchments and, for Victorian government secondary schools, the VCE figures the VCAA publishes. We don’t publish a school ranking.

To look beyond Castlemaine Surrounds, every Victoria school is on the Australian schools and catchment zones map.

Find the school zone for an address in Castlemaine Surrounds

Type a street address in Victoria, NSW or Queensland. We show the government primary and secondary school zones it is in, from the official zone maps.

Your address goes from your browser straight to OpenStreetMap's address search to find it on the map. We never see it or store it. Address search © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Schools in Castlemaine Surrounds

ICSEA reflects student intake context, not teaching quality (1000 = national average). Source: ACARA School Profile 2025. All VIC schools →

Victorian Senior Secondary Completion and Achievement data source: Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA).

The VCAA is not associated with SuburbRadar and does not endorse any of the views or recommendations of SuburbRadar. The VCAA's assessment data for a given year cannot be used to predict results for schools or students in subsequent years. Each year's assessment results will vary due to different assessments being used and different populations of students participating in the assessment.

Childcare: 8 services

Exceeding NQS: 2Meeting NQS: 4Working Towards NQS: 1Not yet rated: 1

National Quality Standard ratings from the ACECQA register, refreshed Oct 2026. Services are matched by suburb name.

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Childcare services, ratings and fees8 services
  • Redgum - The Waldorf School of Central Victoria
    Centre-Based Care · 28 places · Muckleford
    Rated Jul 2023 · over 3 years old, check for a more recent assessment
    Exceeding NQS
  • Maldon Preschool Centre
    Centre-Based Care · 26 places · Maldon
    Rated Jul 2023 · over 3 years old, check for a more recent assessment
    Exceeding NQS
  • Harcourt Pre-School
    Centre-Based Care · 66 places · Harcourt
    Rated Nov 2023 · over 3 years old, check for a more recent assessment
    Meeting NQS
  • OSHC Adventures Harcourt Valley PS
    Centre-Based Care · 40 places · Harcourt
    Rated Jun 2025
    Meeting NQS
  • Newstead Preschool
    Centre-Based Care · 25 places · Newstead
    Rated Sep 2025
    Meeting NQS
  • OSHC Adventures Taradale
    Centre-Based Care · 15 places · Taradale
    Rated Oct 2023 · over 3 years old, check for a more recent assessment
    Meeting NQS
  • OSHC Adventures Maldon
    Centre-Based Care · 25 places · Maldon
    Rated May 2026
    Working Towards NQS
  • OSHC Adventures Newstead
    Centre-Based Care · 30 places · Newstead
    Not yet rated
Average subsidised fee - Heathcote - Castlemaine - Kyneton area
Centre-based day care
$13.79/hr
Outside school hours care
$12.27/hr

Mean hourly fee across CCS-approved services, December quarter 2025 - Dept of Education, © Commonwealth of Australia, CC BY 4.0. Published at SA3 level (a wider area than this suburb's SA2), so it's an average across Heathcote - Castlemaine - Kyneton and surrounds, not this specific service list.

Verify locations before visiting. A rating over 3 years old is flagged. What the NQS ratings mean → Childcare places per child, by suburb →

Who lives here

Fewer rented homes than Victoria overall: 8.5% of homes, against 28.0% statewide.

Median age
52
ABS Census 2021
Children under 15
13.8%
Below the VIC average
Born overseas
11.4%
Below the VIC average
Density
6
people per km²

Ages of people here

Castlemaine Surrounds VIC average

Share of residents in each age band, in years. Source: ABS Census 2021.

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How the area is changingCensus 2011 to 2021
People counted at the Census, 2011 to 2021
+1,048 people
2011: 8,177 2021: 9,225
Median age, 2011 to 2021
+4 years
2011: 48 2021: 52
Children aged 0 to 14, 2011 to 2021
−2.1 points
2011: 15.9% 2021: 13.8%
Born overseas, 2011 to 2021
−0.4 points
2011: 11.8% 2021: 11.4%
Speak another language at home, 2011 to 2021
+0.1 points
2011: 2.8% 2021: 2.9%
Mount Alexander council area, official forecast
+2,680 people
2021: 20,100 2036: 22,780

Each line is drawn on its own scale, so compare the numbers, not the heights. Source: ABS Census 2011, 2016 and 2021; Victoria in Future 2023, Victorian Department of Transport and Planning forecast, published for the council area, not the suburb.

Census trends against the middle VIC areafull charts
Three censuses, same boundaries

Which way this area is moving

Live

The 2011, 2016 and 2021 Censuses for Castlemaine Surrounds, counted on today's boundaries.

Since 2011, Castlemaine Surrounds has grown older, with a smaller share of children.

People counted
+1,048 people since 2011

Usual residents counted on Census night.

Median age
+4 years since 2011

Half the residents are older than this, half younger.

Children aged 0–14
−2.1 pts since 2011

Share of all residents. The clearest signal of families arriving or moving on.

Born overseas
−0.4 pts since 2011

Share of all residents born outside Australia.

Speak another language at home
+0.1 pts since 2011

Share of residents who stated a language, speaking one other than English at home.

The dashed line is the median across the Victoria areas we profile. How the three Censuses line up →

Source: ABS Census Time Series Profile 2021 (2011, 2016 and 2021 Censuses, SA2)
How many people will live around hereofficial forecast
Mount Alexander council area · official projection

How many people will live around here

Live

The rest of this page looks backwards. This is the one number that looks forward - and it is the state government's own, not ours. Victoria in Future 2023 (Vic. Dept of Transport and Planning) projects the Mount Alexander council area, which contains Castlemaine Surrounds along with its neighbouring suburbs, to grow to 22,780 people by 2036: 2,680 more people than the 20,100 counted in 2021.

This is the council area, not Castlemaine Surrounds. Mount Alexander is a whole local government area covering many suburbs, and neither state publishes a projection for a single suburb. Growth is never spread evenly across a council - a greenfield estate and an established street inside the same council will move very differently - so read this as the direction of the wider area a suburb sits in, not as a forecast for its own streets. Only the years the publisher itself lists are plotted: nothing is filled in between them, and nothing is carried past 2036. A projection is an assumption about the future, not a measurement of it, and it will be revised - this one was released September 2023. These figures sit on the projection's own series, so they are not directly comparable with the ABS resident-population and Census counts elsewhere on this page, which use different geographies and different years.

Source: Victoria in Future 2023, Victorian Department of Transport and Planning, released September 2023 (source, CC BY 4.0). Published for the council area, not the suburb; figures rounded to the nearest 10.
Where this year's population change came from+1.10% in a year
Population
9,675
ABS estimate, June 2025
Growth in one year
+1.10%
2024 to 2025
Net change
+104
people in a year

Where did the gain come from?

+104
Natural increase
Births minus deaths
+1
Internal migration
Net movers from elsewhere in Australia
+84
Overseas migration
Net arrivals from overseas
+19

Reading the streams: Australian movers from other suburbs drove most of the change.

Growth vs benchmarks
Castlemaine Surrounds
+1.10%
VIC median
+0.90%
National median
+0.80%
Ages against the state average, band by band
The neighbourhood, in people

Ages of people here

Live

10.1% of people here are school-age children (5–14) - fewer than the Victoria average of 12.2%, and 3.8% are under 5. The median age is 52.

0–4 years · before school
3.8%

VIC avg 5.8%

5–14 years · school age
10.1%

VIC avg 12.2%

15–19 years · teens
4.8%

VIC avg 5.6%

20–34 years
10.7%

VIC avg 21.3%

35–54 years
24.2%

VIC avg 26.8%

55–64 years
19%

VIC avg 11.5%

65 years and over
27.4%

VIC avg 16.8%

Share of all residents of Castlemaine Surrounds (ABS Statistical Area 2) at the 2021 Census; the grey marker is the Victoria average. How the bands and averages work →

Source: ABS Census 2021, General Community Profile (SA2)
Households and families
The neighbourhood, in people

Households and families

Live

46% of families here have children living at home - fewer than the Victoria average of 61%. The largest overseas-born communities are United Kingdom (4.9%), New Zealand (1.4%) and Netherlands (0.6%). 9% of homes are rented.

Family make-up

Share of all families in the area. A small "other family" group the ABS also counts is not shown.

Couple with children
33.8%

VIC avg 45.2%

One-parent family
12%

VIC avg 15.3%

Couple, no children
52.9%

VIC avg 37.8%

What people live in

Share of occupied private dwellings. Other and unstated structures are not shown.

Separate house
98.7%

VIC avg 75.6%

Semi-detached / townhouse
0.5%

VIC avg 13.5%

Flat or apartment
0.2%

VIC avg 10.5%

Owned or rented

Share of occupied private dwellings. Other and unstated tenures are not shown.

Owned outright
51%

VIC avg 32.5%

Owned with a mortgage
38%

VIC avg 37.8%

Rented
8.5%

VIC avg 28%

Figures describe Castlemaine Surrounds (ABS Statistical Area 2) at the 2021 Census; the grey marker is the Victoria average. How these are counted →

Source: ABS Census 2021, General Community Profile (SA2)
Birthplaces, languages and communities
The neighbourhood, in people

Who lives in Castlemaine Surrounds

Live

Top 5 overseas birthplaces shown · 92.4% born in Australia or a country not in the top five.

United Kingdom · established by 2016
4.9%

VIC avg 3%

New Zealand · established by 2016
1.4%

VIC avg 1.2%

Netherlands · established by 2016
0.6%

VIC avg 0.1%

Germany · established by 2016
0.5%

VIC avg 0.1%

Canada · growing since 2016
0.2%

VIC avg 0%

Nearby
Castlemaine, Kyneton and Daylesford also have an established United Kingdom community.
Settlement pattern
Of overseas-born residents who stated when they arrived, 3.5% arrived in the last 5 years (2016–2021) (VIC avg 17.5%) and 81% arrived before 2001 (VIC avg 47.4%).
English at home
Of residents who speak a language other than English at home and stated their English proficiency, 8% report speaking English “not well” or “not at all” (VIC avg 14.1%) - a self-reported ABS figure across all languages combined, not a judgement of any one community.

Figures describe Castlemaine Surrounds (ABS Statistical Area 2) at the 2021 Census. The ABS publishes only the five largest communities per area, so a missing name did not rank in the top five. How these are counted →

Source: ABS Census 2021, General Community Profile (SA2)
Socio-economic index (SEIFA)decile 5 of 10
Decile (1 lowest, 10 highest)
Decile 5 of 10
Where this sits in VIC
bottom 50% of Victoria areas

A relative comparison of the whole area against all of Australia - not a safety, liveability, or school-quality measure. What IRSAD measures → Source: ABS SEIFA 2021, IRSAD index (SA2).

Getting around and lifestyle

The morning-peak train from Castlemaine Railway Station reaches the city in 96 minutes, and the nearest emergency department is St John of God Hospital, 64.2 km away in a straight line.

1
Supermarkets
Middle VIC area: 1
None mapped
GPs
Middle VIC area: 0
33
Parks
Middle VIC area: 22
9
Playgrounds
Middle VIC area: 10
None mapped
Train stations
Middle VIC area: 0
None mapped
Libraries
Middle VIC area: 0

Mapped inside the Castlemaine Surrounds boundary. A zero can mean "not mapped" rather than "not there". Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors.

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Train to the city and nearest emergency department

Train to the city

Timetable published

96 min from Castlemaine Railway Station

Median scheduled weekday morning-peak travel time to the central-city terminus, from the closest station to the middle of this area (2.8 km away in a straight line). Train leg only.

Nearest emergency department

Mapped

St John of God Hospital · 64.2 km

Straight-line distance from the middle of this area - not a drive time. In an emergency call 000; do not plan around this figure.

Community and recreation
None mapped
Places of worship
Middle VIC area: 1
None mapped
Community centres
Middle VIC area: 0
1
Swimming pools
Middle VIC area: 0
5
Sport and fitness venues
Middle VIC area: 1
Out with a baby
1
Baby-change tables
None mapped
Baby-care rooms

Public-toilet facilities recorded on the National Public Toilet Map - not every place in the area that will let you change a baby.

About this data

Counts of features tagged in OpenStreetMap inside the Castlemaine Surrounds boundary. “Middle VIC area”: the median of 518 Victoria areas. How these counts and times are made →

Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors · baby-facility counts from the National Public Toilet Map (Continence Foundation of Australia, funded by the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, CC BY 3.0 AU) · Transport Victoria (PTV) incl. V/Line, static GTFS, timetable from 22 Oct 2026

Crime & safety in Castlemaine Surrounds

We don't have an official incident count matched to this specific area yet - that's a data gap on our side, not a claim that Castlemaine Surrounds is safe. SuburbRadar does not rate suburbs as safe or unsafe. More on crime & safety →

Risks

4 of the 7 planning and hazard records we hold show something in this area: flooding, bushfire, heritage controls and traffic noise.

Flooding

In an official overlay

1.6% of the area

Bushfire

In an official overlay

30.5% of the area

Heritage controls

In an official overlay

5.3% of the area

Traffic noise

Freeway or highway present

Calder Freeway · Midland Highway · Calder Highway · +2 more

Each line is the extent of an official record across the whole Castlemaine Surrounds area - not a risk rating, and a specific address may or may not be affected. Not financial or insurance advice.

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All 9 checks and what each one means

Flooding

In an official overlay

1.6% of the area

Part of this area sits inside a Victorian planning-scheme flood overlay - Land Subject to Inundation, Floodway, or Special Building (overland stormwater). Whether a specific address is affected depends on the property.

Bushfire

In an official overlay

30.5% of the area

Part of this area sits inside the Victorian Bushfire Management Overlay, which triggers extra planning requirements on affected land. The area is also inside the state’s designated Bushfire Prone Area - a separate and much wider designation that makes bushfire construction standards apply to a new home or extension.

Heritage controls

In an official overlay

5.3% of the area

Part of this area sits inside the Victorian Heritage Overlay, so changes to buildings there - extensions, demolition, sometimes even paint colours - need planning approval. It applies property by property: most homes in an area with an overlay are not in it, and being in one is a protection as much as a restriction.

Traffic noise

Freeway or highway present

Calder Freeway · Midland Highway · Calder Highway · +2 more

5 named roads through this area carry OpenStreetMap's highest classification - a freeway, motorway or major highway, whatever the road is called locally, alongside 25 named main roads. Roads are counted by name, not by mapped segment. Where a home sits relative to them matters far more than the count - a street two blocks back can be quiet.

Aircraft noise

Not in the overlay

No Victorian Airport Environs Overlay (including the Melbourne Airport one) intersects this area. The overlays cover land close to an airport under a mapped noise contour - aircraft still fly over areas outside them, including on flight paths.

Land contamination checks

Not in the overlay

No part of this area sits inside the Victorian Environmental Audit Overlay. The overlay records past land uses councils know about - it is not a test result, so absence means nothing has been flagged here, not that the ground has been cleared.

Acid sulfate soils

None mapped

Victoria's coastal acid sulfate soil mapping covers coastal and estuarine land only, and none is mapped in this area. These soils form in low-lying coastal sediments, so away from the coast and the estuaries there is nothing to map - read this as outside the mapped zone rather than as a soil test.

Recorded crime

Not published

No suburb-level incident record matched this area in the published statistics.

Social housing

Census figure

0.3% rented from a state or territory housing authority · 0.2% from a community housing provider

Share of occupied private dwellings here with a stated tenure (Census 2021). The middle VIC area is 1.0% public and 0.3% community, across 513 areas. Listed because families ask; it is a fact about who owns the homes, not a judgement about the people in them.

About this data

Every line is an official published record for the Castlemaine Surrounds area - we don't rate, score or rank any of them. Where a line is missing, treat it as not checked rather than clear. What each line covers and does not →

Source: Vicmap Planning, © The State of Victoria, Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action - CC BY 4.0 · Designated Bushfire Prone Area, © State of Victoria, Department of Transport and Planning - CC BY 4.0 · ABS Census 2021 (G37 tenure and landlord type) · © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) - road classification

Nearby suburbs

The six closest profiled areas in Victoria, by distance between area centres.

Castlemaine Surrounds · 41 gazetted suburbs

The suburbs in this area

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Everything else on this page is published for Castlemaine Surrounds as a whole - one ABS statistical area covering 41 separate gazetted suburbs. These are the figures published for each of those suburbs on its own.

Gazetted suburbs inside Castlemaine Surrounds, with each suburb's own published figures.
Suburb Residents
Census 2021
Schools Median
house price
Maldon 1,665 1 $730k
Harcourt 1,038 1 $730k
Newstead 820 1 $520k
Elphinstone 633 1 none published
Taradale 524 1 none published
Barkers Creek 487 0 none published
Muckleford 426 1 none published
Redesdale 299 1 none published

Each row is that suburb's own published figure - nothing here is the wider area's number divided up. Resident counts are the Census 2021 usual-resident count for the gazetted suburb, so they will not add up to the population at the top of this page, which is the ABS's later June 2025 estimate for the whole statistical area: a different measure on a different date. Schools are ACARA-registered schools whose published address falls inside the suburb boundary, which is not the same as the school your address is zoned to. Median house prices are the Valuer-General's figure for the suburb itself, over its most recent reporting period; a suburb with too few sales to publish shows a dash. Every other figure on this page - crime & safety, overlays, commute, amenities, projections, the Family-Fit score - is published for the whole statistical area and cannot be separated by suburb.

Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing 2021, General Community Profile for Suburbs and Localities; ABS ASGS Edition 3 suburb boundaries; ACARA School Location 2025; Valuer-General Victoria median house prices.

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A note on this page. Nothing on this page is property, financial, legal or schooling advice - verify with primary sources before any decision.