Otway
Victoria · Colac - Corangamite, Warrnambool and South West
Live · ABS ERP June 2025
The median age is 52, higher than the middle Victoria area (39, Census 2021). Children under 15 are 12.9% of residents, against 17.5% in the middle Victoria area (Census 2021).
Otway has 4 schools (4 government, 0 non-government; ACARA School Profile 2025) and 5 NQS-rated childcare services (ACECQA register). The median house price is $795,000, -10.7% YoY (Valuer-General VIC Q4 2025). Population is 3,974 (ABS ERP June 2025).
Otway 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 built58/100
Family-Fit score
Method published in fullMixed for families - strongest on everyday amenities, weakest on families already here.
- Schools in the area · 20% of the score
- 79/100
- Childcare & early years · 15% of the score
- 50/100
- Everyday amenities · 15% of the score
- 89/100
- Housing affordability · 15% of the score
- 35/100
- Families already here · 10% of the score
- 26/100
- Socio-economic profile · 10% of the score
- 44/100
VIC median 75/100
4 schools in this SA2 · average government-school ICSEA 996
VIC median 100/100
5 NQS-rated services nearby
VIC median 78/100
14 parks · no GP mapped (not counted) · 2 supermarkets · 7 playgrounds
VIC median 46/100
Paying over 30% of income on housing: 20.7% of mortgage-holding households, 30.4% of renting households
VIC median 67/100
12.9% of residents are children aged 0–14 · 29.6% of families are couples with children
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.
Not scored here (no published data for this area, so it is left out rather than counted as zero): Getting around. The remaining inputs were rescaled to 100.
How this score is calculated
Each published figure for the Otway 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 Lavers Hill K-12 College (government, no fees).
- 14 parks mapped inside this SA2 (OpenStreetMap).
- 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 30% of renters here spend over 30% of income on rent - above the standard affordability guideline (ABS Census 2021).
- Property figures are from Q4 2025, the most recent Valuer-General release we have - prices may have moved since.
Living in Otway: family snapshot
Living in Otway
A smaller suburb. Strong United Kingdom communities here (2021 Census). Many childcare options nearby - 5 NQS-rated services. Mostly detached family homes.
Otway compared with Victoria10 measures
| Measure | Otway | VIC average | Against VIC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Children aged 0 to 4 | 3.6% | 5.8% | Lower |
| Children aged 5 to 14 | 9.3% | 12.2% | Lower |
| Couple families with children | 29.6% | 45.2% | Lower |
| One-parent families | 13.6% | 15.3% | Lower |
| Homes owned outright | 51.1% | 32.5% | Higher |
| Homes owned with a mortgage | 26.6% | 37.8% | Lower |
| Homes rented | 20.0% | 28.0% | Lower |
| Separate houses | 91.3% | 75.6% | Higher |
| Flats and apartments | 2.3% | 10.5% | Lower |
| Born overseas | 15.8% | 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
Otway is a locality in the Colac - Corangamite area of Victoria. This profile draws on ABS population and Census figures, the ACARA school register and ACECQA childcare ratings for the Otway SA2.
3,974 residents - 12.9% are children under 15, median age 52, the largest overseas-born community is United Kingdom (5.2%).
This profile uses the ABS Otway 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 Apollo Bay, Marengo, Forrest, Skenes Creek, Gellibrand, Kawarren, Carlisle River and Beech Forest and 22 more localities, drawn separately on the map above.
Property market
The median house price is $795,000, down 10.7% in a year, and a 3-bedroom house rents for a median $500 a week across the Colac Otway 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 Otway, 30.4% of renting households spend more than 30% of their income on rent, and 20.7% 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
- 20.7%
- Rent over 30% of income
- 30.4%
VIC avg 15.4%
Share of households WITH a mortgage whose repayments take more than 30% of income. That's 86 of 359 households with a stated repayment.
VIC avg 30.9%
Share of RENTING households whose rent takes more than 30% of income. That's 95 of 283 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
25 new homes were approved in Otway in the year to June 2025. Councils approved 252 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 Otway 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 Colac Otway 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
4 schools are located in the area, and the centre of the area is zoned to Lavers Hill K-12 College. 5 childcare services are on the national register, 5 rated Meeting the National Quality Standard or above.
Lavers Hill K-12 College
The government school your child can attend for free by living in Otway.
This is the zoned government school for the centre of Otway (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): not published · 100% satisfactory VCE completions - one measure, not a ranking.
Pathways: VCE, VCE VM, VPC · 10 VCE/VM/VET studies (Units 3-4)
The VCAA flags this as a small school - figures reflect a small cohort.
© 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 Otway (VIC catchment data) - addresses elsewhere in the suburb may be zoned to a different school.
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 Colac Otway council area →
To look beyond Otway, every Victoria school is on the Australian schools and catchment zones map.
Find the school zone for an address in Otway
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 Otway
- Students
- 57
- ICSEA
- 935
- Students
- 340
- ICSEA
- 1043
- Students
- 30
- ICSEA
- 1009
- Students
- 4
- ICSEA
- not published
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: 5 services
National Quality Standard ratings from the ACECQA register, refreshed Oct 2026. Services are matched by suburb name.
Childcare services, ratings and fees5 services
- Exceeding NQSApollo Bay KindergartenCentre-Based Care · 66 places · Apollo BayRated Sep 2025
- Meeting NQSApollo Bay Child Care ServicesCentre-Based Care · 24 places · Apollo BayRated Feb 2024
- Meeting NQSForrest Learning CentreCentre-Based Care · 20 places · ForrestRated Dec 2025
- Meeting NQSOtway Kids OSHCCentre-Based Care · 15 places · Lavers HillRated Jul 2026
- Meeting NQSLavers Hill and District PreschoolCentre-Based Care · 14 places · Lavers HillRated Aug 2026
- Centre-based day care
- $12.95/hr
- Outside school hours care
- $9.54/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 Colac - Corangamite 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 couple families with children than Victoria overall: 29.6% 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 Otway, counted on today's boundaries.
Since 2011, Otway has grown older, with a smaller share of children and more residents speaking another language at home.
- People counted
- +743 people since 2011
- Median age
- +3 years since 2011
- Children aged 0–14
- −2.0 pts since 2011
- Born overseas
- +1.6 pts since 2011
- Speak another language at home
- +2.6 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 Colac Otway council area, which contains Otway along with its neighbouring suburbs, to grow to 23,910 people by 2036: 1,610 more people than the 22,300 counted in 2021.
This is the council area, not Otway. Colac Otway 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+1.20% in a year
Where did the gain come from?
+48Reading the streams: Australian movers from other suburbs drove most of the change.
Ages against the state average, band by band
Ages of people here
9.3% of people here are school-age children (5–14) - fewer than the Victoria average of 12.2%, and 3.6% are under 5. The median age is 52.
- 0–4 years · before school
- 3.6%
- 5–14 years · school age
- 9.3%
- 15–19 years · teens
- 4.2%
- 20–34 years
- 12%
- 35–54 years
- 24.1%
- 55–64 years
- 19.3%
- 65 years and over
- 27.5%
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 Otway (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
43% of families here have children living at home - fewer than the Victoria average of 61%. The largest overseas-born communities are United Kingdom (5.2%), New Zealand (1.2%) and India (0.6%). 20% 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
- 29.6%
- One-parent family
- 13.6%
- Couple, no children
- 56%
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
- 91.3%
- Semi-detached / townhouse
- 5.3%
- Flat or apartment
- 2.3%
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
- 51.1%
- Owned with a mortgage
- 26.6%
- Rented
- 20%
VIC avg 32.5%
VIC avg 37.8%
VIC avg 28%
Figures describe Otway (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 Otway
Top 5 overseas birthplaces shown · 91.8% born in Australia or a country not in the top five.
- United Kingdom · established by 2016
- 5.2%
- New Zealand · established by 2016
- 1.2%
- India · growing since 2016
- 0.6%
- Germany · established by 2016
- 0.6%
- Netherlands · growing since 2016
- 0.6%
VIC avg 3%
VIC avg 1.2%
VIC avg 3.9%
VIC avg 0.1%
VIC avg 0.1%
- Nearby
- Colac Surrounds, Lorne - Anglesea and Winchelsea also have an established United Kingdom community.
- Settlement pattern
- Of overseas-born residents who stated when they arrived, 13% arrived in the last 5 years (2016–2021) (VIC avg 17.5%) and 61.3% 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, 6.3% 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 Otway (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 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
2 supermarkets and 14 parks are mapped in the area, and the nearest emergency department is South West Healthcare - Camperdown Campus, 57.7 km away in a straight line.
Mapped inside the Otway 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
Not publishedNo station within reach of the middle of this area appears in the Victoria timetable feed, so we show no train travel time. Buses are not covered anywhere on this site.
Nearest emergency department
MappedSouth West Healthcare - Camperdown Campus · 57.7 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 Otway 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)
Crime & safety in Otway
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 Otway is safe. SuburbRadar does not rate suburbs as safe or unsafe. More on crime & safety →
Risks
6 of the 7 planning and hazard records we hold show something in this area: flooding, bushfire, heritage controls, traffic noise, aircraft noise and acid sulfate soils.
Flooding
In an official overlay2.7% of the area
Bushfire
In an official overlay99.2% of the area
Heritage controls
In an official overlay0.5% of the area
Traffic noise
Main roads onlyGreat Ocean Road · Colac-Lavers Hill Road · Grant Street · +13 more
Aircraft noise
In an official overlay0.1% of the area
Acid sulfate soils
Mapped as likely0.9% of the area
Each line is the extent of an official record across the whole Otway 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
In an official overlay2.7% 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 overlay99.2% 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 overlay0.5% 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
Main roads onlyGreat Ocean Road · Colac-Lavers Hill Road · Grant Street · +13 more
No freeway or highway is mapped inside this area. 16 named main roads (arterial or connector) run through it. Roads are counted by name, not by mapped segment.
Aircraft noise
In an official overlay0.1% of the area
Part of this area sits inside a Victorian Airport Environs Overlay - land where forecast aircraft noise around an airport adds building and subdivision requirements. It marks where the planning scheme applies those controls, not how loud a specific home is.
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
Mapped as likely0.9% of the area
Part of this area is mapped by the state as land where coastal acid sulfate soils are likely to occur. Acid sulfate soils are harmless while they stay wet and buried; digging into them - for a pool, footings, a basement or drainage - exposes them to air and produces acid that eats concrete and steel and can kill fish downstream, so excavation may need a management plan. This is soil mapping rather than a planning overlay, and it describes the ground, not the house standing on it.
Recorded crime
Not publishedNo suburb-level incident record matched this area in the published statistics.
Social housing
Census figure0.3% rented from a state or territory housing authority · 0.6% 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 Otway 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
- Colac 32 km
- Colac Surrounds 41 km
- Corangamite (South area) 48 km
- Lorne (Anglesea area) 52 km
- Camperdown 56 km
- Winchelsea 61 km
The six closest profiled areas in Victoria, by distance between area centres.
The suburbs in this area
Everything else on this page is published for Otway as a whole - one ABS statistical area covering 30 separate gazetted suburbs. These are the figures published for each of the 28 the ABS publishes a profile for.
| Suburb | Residents Census 2021 | Schools | Median house price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apollo Bay | 1,790 | 1 | $795k |
| Marengo | 272 | 0 | none published |
| Forrest | 257 | 1 | none published |
| Skenes Creek | 249 | 0 | none published |
| Gellibrand | 230 | 0 | none published |
| Kawarren | 189 | 0 | none published |
| Carlisle River | 168 | 1 | none published |
| Beech Forest | 125 | 0 | none published |
| Lavers Hill | 87 | 1 | none published |
| Johanna | 85 | 0 | none published |
| Kennett River | 74 | 0 | none published |
| Wye River | 67 | 0 | none published |
| Yuulong | 49 | 0 | none published |
| Wongarra | 47 | 0 | none published |
| Hordern Vale | 44 | 0 | none published |
| Chapple Vale | 42 | 0 | none published |
| Wyelangta | 40 | 0 | none published |
| Cape Otway | 34 | 0 | none published |
| Glenaire | 33 | 0 | none published |
| Separation Creek | 28 | 0 | none published |
| Sugarloaf | 20 | 0 | none published |
| Skenes Creek North | 19 | 0 | none published |
| Tanybryn | 15 | 0 | none published |
| Weeaproinah | 15 | 0 | none published |
| Ferguson | 13 | 0 | none published |
| Barramunga | 11 | 0 | none published |
| Petticoat Creek | 7 | 0 | none published |
| Grey River | 4 | 0 | none published |
2 smaller localities are also inside this area. The ABS publishes no separate census profile for them, so they have no row here.
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.
Other areas in Colac - Corangamitesorted by growth in one year
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