Mernda (South area)
Victoria · Whittlesea - Wallan, Melbourne - North East
Live · ABS ERP June 2025
Children under 15 are 27.6% of residents, against 17.5% in the middle Victoria area (Census 2021). The median age is 32, lower than the middle Victoria area (39, Census 2021). The weekday morning train from Mernda Railway Station reaches the CBD in 54 min, against 40 min from the middle Victoria area with a timetabled station.
Mernda (South area) has 3 schools (2 government, 1 non-government; ACARA School Profile 2025). The median house price is $757,500, +9.8% YoY (Valuer-General VIC Q4 2025). Population is 13,854 (ABS ERP June 2025); the AM-peak train journey to the CBD takes 54 min (Transport Victoria (PTV) incl. V/Line, static GTFS, timetable from 22 Oct 2026).
Mernda (South area) at a glance
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Boundaries: ABS Suburbs & Localities 2021. School pins are ACARA's published locations. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors, © CARTO. Open the full VIC map →
How the Family-Fit score is built64/100
Family-Fit score
Method published in fullStrong for families - strongest on families already here, weakest on getting around.
- Schools in the area · 20% of the score
- 72/100
- Everyday amenities · 15% of the score
- 78/100
- Getting around · 15% of the score
- 38/100
- Housing affordability · 15% of the score
- 45/100
- Families already here · 10% of the score
- 100/100
- Socio-economic profile · 10% of the score
- 56/100
VIC median 75/100
3 schools in this SA2 · average government-school ICSEA 1033
VIC median 78/100
90 parks · no GP mapped (not counted) · 1 supermarket · 9 playgrounds
VIC median 60/100
54 min to the CBD by train from Mernda Railway Station
VIC median 46/100
Paying over 30% of income on housing: 16.6% of mortgage-holding households, 29.0% of renting households
VIC median 67/100
27.6% of residents are children aged 0–14 · 59.5% of families are couples with children
VIC median 56/100
SEIFA IRSAD decile 6 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.
Not scored here (no published data for this area, so it is left out rather than counted as zero): Childcare & early years. The remaining inputs were rescaled to 100.
How this score is calculated
Each published figure for the Mernda - South 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 →
School results, crime and flood or bushfire overlays are not graded into this score. Limits of the score →
What families notice
What families notice
- This address is zoned to Mernda Central P-12 College (government, no fees).
- At least one nearby government school has an above-average ICSEA intake profile (1057 vs. 1000 national average).
- 90 parks mapped inside this SA2 (OpenStreetMap).
- Property figures are from Q4 2025, the most recent Valuer-General release we have - prices may have moved since.
- No NQS-rated childcare service matched to this area's postcodes - check neighbouring suburbs.
Living in Mernda - South: family snapshot
Living in Mernda - South
A mid-sized suburb particularly popular with young families. Strong India communities here (2021 Census). About a 54-minute train to the CBD. Mostly detached family homes.
Mernda (South area) compared with Victoria10 measures
| Measure | Mernda - South | VIC average | Against VIC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Children aged 0 to 4 | 9.9% | 5.8% | Higher |
| Children aged 5 to 14 | 17.7% | 12.2% | Higher |
| Couple families with children | 59.5% | 45.2% | Higher |
| One-parent families | 15.9% | 15.3% | About the same |
| Homes owned outright | 12.8% | 32.5% | Lower |
| Homes owned with a mortgage | 59.4% | 37.8% | Higher |
| Homes rented | 27.4% | 28.0% | About the same |
| Separate houses | 95.1% | 75.6% | Higher |
| Flats and apartments | 0.0% | 10.5% | Lower |
| Born overseas | 35.8% | 30.0% | Higher |
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
Mernda - South is a locality in the Whittlesea - Wallan area of Victoria. This profile draws on ABS population and Census figures, the ACARA school register and ACECQA childcare ratings for the Mernda - South SA2.
13,854 residents - 27.6% are children under 15, median age 32, the largest overseas-born community is India (11.2%).
Why “Mernda - South”? The ABS divides the larger suburb of Mernda into several statistical areas (SA2s); this profile covers one part of it. Other parts are listed further down. SA2 boundaries don’t always match suburb boundaries.
Property market
The median house price is $757,500, up 9.8% in a year, and a 3-bedroom house rents for a median $530 a week across the Whittlesea council area.
Source: Valuer-General VIC Q4 2025 · Homes Victoria (DFFH) Rental Report, Jun 2026 quarter
Homes and households
Source: ABS Census 2021. Where the shares do not add to 100%, the rest is "other" or "not stated".
Housing cost pressuremortgage and rent against income
Housing cost pressure
In Mernda - South, 29% of renting households spend more than 30% of their income on rent, and 16.6% 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
- 16.6%
- Rent over 30% of income
- 29%
VIC avg 15.4%
Share of households WITH a mortgage whose repayments take more than 30% of income. That's 358 of 1,963 households with a stated repayment.
VIC avg 30.9%
Share of RENTING households whose rent takes more than 30% of income. That's 288 of 916 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.
What's being built herenew homes approved, year by year
What's being built here
98 new homes were approved in Mernda - South in the year to June 2025. Councils approved 796 new dwellings here across the 6 years to June 2025 - an approval is permission to build, not a home that exists yet.
Approved in the year to June 2025
Middle VIC area: 44
Separate houses
Private sector, over these 6 years
Townhouses & apartments
Private sector, over these 6 years
Counts are for the whole Mernda - South statistical area. What these counts include → Dashed line: the median of 491Victoria areas.
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 Whittlesea 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
3 schools are located in the area, and the centre of the area is zoned to Mernda Central P-12 College. No childcare service is matched to this area on the national register.
Mernda Central P-12 College
The government school your child can attend for free by living in Mernda - South.
This is the zoned government school for the centre of Mernda - South (VIC catchment data) - addresses elsewhere in the suburb may be zoned to a different school.
See the catchment on the mapMedian VCE study score (2025): 27 · 98% satisfactory VCE completions - one measure, not a ranking.
Pathways: VCE, VCE VM · 54 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 Mernda - South (VIC catchment data) - addresses elsewhere in the suburb may be zoned to a different school.
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.
All school zones in the Whittlesea council area →
To look beyond Mernda - South, every Victoria school is on the Australian schools and catchment zones map.
Find the school zone for an address in Mernda
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 Mernda - South
- Students
- 1,746
- ICSEA
- 1009
- Students
- 369
- ICSEA
- 1057
- Students
- 359
- ICSEA
- 1119
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 services, ratings and fees
No childcare services matched to this area on the ACECQA register.
- Centre-based day care
- $13.89/hr
- Outside school hours care
- $11.48/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 Whittlesea - Wallan 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
More couple families with children than Victoria overall: 59.5% of families, against 45.2% statewide.
Ages of people here
Share of residents in each age band, in years. Source: ABS Census 2021.
How the area is changingCensus 2011 to 2021
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
Which way this area is moving
The 2011, 2016 and 2021 Censuses for Mernda - South, counted on today's boundaries.
Since 2011, Mernda - South has grown older, with a larger share of children, more residents born overseas and more residents speaking another language at home.
- People counted
- +8,773 people since 2011
- Median age
- +3 years since 2011
- Children aged 0–14
- +2.7 pts since 2011
- Born overseas
- +11.9 pts since 2011
- Speak another language at home
- +16.6 pts since 2011
Usual residents counted on Census night.
Half the residents are older than this, half younger.
Share of all residents. The clearest signal of families arriving or moving on.
Share of all residents born outside Australia.
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 →
How many people will live around hereofficial forecast
How many people will live around here
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 Whittlesea council area, which contains Mernda - South along with its neighbouring suburbs, to grow to 335,370 people by 2036: 103,570 more people than the 231,800 counted in 2021.
This is the council area, not Mernda - South. Whittlesea 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.
Where this year's population change came from+2.80% in a year
Where did the gain come from?
+371Reading the streams: organic growth - more babies than goodbyes - was the biggest driver.
Ages against the state average, band by band
Ages of people here
17.7% of people here are school-age children (5–14) - more than the Victoria average of 12.2%, and 9.9% are under 5. The median age is 32.
- 0–4 years · before school
- 9.9%
- 5–14 years · school age
- 17.7%
- 15–19 years · teens
- 5.5%
- 20–34 years
- 22.8%
- 35–54 years
- 32.4%
- 55–64 years
- 6.4%
- 65 years and over
- 5.3%
VIC avg 5.8%
VIC avg 12.2%
VIC avg 5.6%
VIC avg 21.3%
VIC avg 26.8%
VIC avg 11.5%
VIC avg 16.8%
Share of all residents of Mernda - South (ABS Statistical Area 2) at the 2021 Census; the grey marker is the Victoria average. How the bands and averages work →
Households and families
Households and families
75% of families here have children living at home - more than the Victoria average of 61%. The largest overseas-born communities are India (11.2%), Sri Lanka (2.3%) and Philippines (1.6%). 27% 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
- 59.5%
- One-parent family
- 15.9%
- Couple, no children
- 23.4%
VIC avg 45.2%
VIC avg 15.3%
VIC avg 37.8%
What people live in
Share of occupied private dwellings. Other and unstated structures are not shown.
- Separate house
- 95.1%
- Semi-detached / townhouse
- 4.7%
- Flat or apartment
- 0%
VIC avg 75.6%
VIC avg 13.5%
VIC avg 10.5%
Owned or rented
Share of occupied private dwellings. Other and unstated tenures are not shown.
- Owned outright
- 12.8%
- Owned with a mortgage
- 59.4%
- Rented
- 27.4%
VIC avg 32.5%
VIC avg 37.8%
VIC avg 28%
Figures describe Mernda - South (ABS Statistical Area 2) at the 2021 Census; the grey marker is the Victoria average. How these are counted →
Birthplaces, languages and communities
Who lives in Mernda - South
Top 5 overseas birthplaces shown · 81.8% born in Australia or a country not in the top five.
- India · growing since 2016
- 11.2%
- Sri Lanka · established by 2016
- 2.3%
- Philippines · established by 2016
- 1.6%
- United Kingdom · established by 2016
- 1.6%
- Iran · growing since 2016
- 1.5%
VIC avg 3.9%
VIC avg 0.7%
VIC avg 0.6%
VIC avg 3%
VIC avg 0%
- Co-located communities
- Mernda - South is home to established India and Sri Lanka communities - each is 2% or more of residents born overseas here, not a ranking of one against another.
- Nearby
- Mernda - North, South Morang - North and Doreen - North also have an established India community.
- Settlement pattern
- Of overseas-born residents who stated when they arrived, 19.8% arrived in the last 5 years (2016–2021) (VIC avg 17.5%) and 20.9% 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, 8.5% 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 Mernda - South (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 →
Socio-economic index (SEIFA)decile 6 of 10
- Decile (1 lowest, 10 highest)
- Decile 6 of 10
- Where this sits in VIC
- top 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 Mernda Railway Station reaches the city in 54 minutes, and the nearest emergency department is The Northern Hospital, 7.6 km away in a straight line.
Mapped inside the Mernda - South boundary. A zero can mean "not mapped" rather than "not there". Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Train to the city and nearest emergency department
Train to the city
Timetable published54 min from Mernda Railway Station
Median scheduled weekday morning-peak travel time to the central-city terminus, from the closest station to the middle of this area (2.3 km away in a straight line). Train leg only.
Nearest emergency department
MappedThe Northern Hospital · 7.6 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
Out with a baby
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 Mernda - South 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 Mernda - South
Police recorded 1,091 incidents in Mernda - South in the year ending June 2026, up 1% on the year before. This is a raw count, not a rate or a rating.
LGA rate, as published: 13,286 recorded incidents and 4,935.7 per 100,000 people across the whole Whittlesea council area, which is larger than Mernda - South. The rate is the agency's own figure - we do not calculate rates. Source: Crime Statistics Agency Victoria, year ending June 2026, released September 2026.
Largest offence categories
Is Mernda - South safe? Here's what police recorded
Police recorded 1,091 criminal incidents in Mernda - South in the year ending June 2026 (Crime Statistics Agency Victoria, released September 2026). Whittlesea council area, which includes Mernda - South, had 4,935.7 recorded incidents per 100,000 people (LGA rate, as published: Crime Statistics Agency Victoria, year ending June 2026, released September 2026). Counts are often higher where many people visit (shopping centres, stations, nightlife), not only where many people live. SuburbRadar does not rate suburbs as safe or unsafe.
How much crime is recorded in Mernda - South?
1,091 incidents in the year ending June 2026, against 1,082 the year before. The largest offence categories were Property and deception offences (646), Crimes against the person (208), Justice procedures offences (156). These are raw counts as published, not adjusted for population. Source: Crime Statistics Agency Victoria, released September 2026. Counts are often higher where many people visit (shopping centres, stations, nightlife), not only where many people live. SuburbRadar does not rate suburbs as safe or unsafe.
Police-recorded incident counts (Years ending June; latest = year ending June 2026). Raw counts, not a rate, and not a judgement about the suburb. Counts are often higher where many people visit (shopping centres, stations, nightlife), not only where many people live. SuburbRadar does not rate suburbs as safe or unsafe. Source: Crime Statistics Agency Victoria, released September 2026. More on crime & safety →
Crime Statistics Agency Victoria data, licensed under CC BY 3.0 AU. Suburb totals are added up from published figures.
Risks
3 of the 7 planning and hazard records we hold show something in this area: bushfire, heritage controls and traffic noise.
Bushfire
In an official overlay1.2% of the area
Heritage controls
In an official overlay3.3% of the area
Traffic noise
Freeway or highway presentPlenty Road · Bridge Inn Road · Lombardy Drive
Each line is the extent of an official record across the whole Mernda - South area - not a risk rating, and a specific address may or may not be affected. Not financial or insurance advice.
All 9 checks and what each one means
Flooding
Not in the overlayNo Victorian planning-scheme flood overlay (inundation, floodway or overland stormwater) intersects this area. Overlays map known planning constraints, not every place water can go.
Bushfire
In an official overlay1.2% 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 overlay3.3% 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 presentPlenty Road · Bridge Inn Road · Lombardy Drive
3 named roads through this area carry OpenStreetMap's highest classification - a freeway, motorway or major highway, whatever the road is called locally, alongside 5 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 overlayNo 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 overlayNo 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 mappedVictoria'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
Official counts published1,091 incidents
Police-recorded criminal incidents in Years ending June; latest = year ending June 2026, up 1% on the prior year. A count, not a rate - busier areas with more shops, stations and visitors record more incidents than quiet ones of the same size. Full breakdown ↑
Social housing
Census figure0.0% rented from a state or territory housing authority · 0.1% 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 Mernda - South 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 · Crime Statistics Agency Victoria, released September 2026 · ABS Census 2021 (G37 tenure and landlord type) · © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) - road classification
Nearby suburbs
- Mernda (North area) 1.3 km
- South Morang (North area) 3.3 km
- Doreen (North area) 3.4 km
- Doreen (South area) 3.7 km
- South Morang (South area) 4.7 km
- Epping (East area) 5.3 km
The six closest profiled areas in Victoria, by distance between area centres.
Other areas in Whittlesea - Wallansorted by growth in one year
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