Piara Waters (Forrestdale area)
Western Australia · Armadale, Perth - South East
Live · ABS ERP June 2025
Children under 15 are 29.8% of residents, against 18.0% in the middle Western Australia area (Census 2021). The median age is 31, lower than the middle Western Australia area (39, Census 2021).
Piara Waters (Forrestdale area) has 8 schools (5 government, 3 non-government; ACARA School Profile 2025) and 17 NQS-rated childcare services (ACECQA register). Population is 21,815 (ABS ERP June 2025); the AM-peak train journey to the CBD takes 23 min (Transperth, static GTFS, timetable from 27 Oct 2026).
Piara Waters (Forrestdale 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 WA map →
How the Family-Fit score is built84/100
Family-Fit score
Method published in fullVery strong for families - strongest on childcare & early years, weakest on housing affordability.
- Schools in the area · 20% of the score
- 92/100
- Childcare & early years · 15% of the score
- 100/100
- Everyday amenities · 15% of the score
- 65/100
- Getting around · 15% of the score
- 95/100
- Housing affordability · 15% of the score
- 60/100
- Families already here · 10% of the score
- 100/100
- Socio-economic profile · 10% of the score
- 78/100
WA median 71/100
8 schools in this SA2 · average government-school ICSEA 1058
WA median 60/100
17 NQS-rated services nearby
WA median 78/100
46 parks · 1 GP · 1 supermarket · 29 playgrounds
WA median 95/100
23 min to the CBD by train from Aubin Grove Stn
WA median 53/100
Paying over 30% of income on housing: 13.4% of mortgage-holding households, 24.2% of renting households
WA median 68/100
29.8% of residents are children aged 0–14 · 65.1% of families are couples with children
WA median 44/100
SEIFA IRSAD decile 8 of 10 nationally
The grey marker on each bar is the median across the 234 Western Australia areas we publish a score for (state median overall: 67/100). It is context, not a pass mark.
How this score is calculated
Each published figure for the Piara Waters - Forrestdale 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
- Ranks in the top 30% for socio-economic advantage in WA (ABS SEIFA - not a safety or school-quality measure).
- At least one nearby government school has an above-average ICSEA intake profile (1091 vs. 1000 national average).
- The share of children living here has grown since 2011 (22% → 30% of residents).
- We don't have official school-zoning data for WA yet (only VIC, NSW and QLD) - confirm zoning directly with the school or department.
- We don't yet have official crime data for WA (only NSW and VIC) - that's a data gap on our side, not a claim this area is safe.
- We don't yet have property or rent figures for this area - check a real-estate portal directly for current prices.
Living in Piara Waters - Forrestdale: family snapshot
Living in Piara Waters - Forrestdale
A large suburb particularly popular with young families. Growing quickly - population is up 5.9% in the past year. Strong India and United Kingdom communities here (2021 Census). Many childcare options nearby - 17 NQS-rated services. About a 23-minute train to the CBD. Mostly detached family homes.
Piara Waters (Forrestdale area) compared with Western Australia10 measures
| Measure | Piara Waters - Forrestdale | WA average | Against WA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Children aged 0 to 4 | 11.5% | 6.1% | Higher |
| Children aged 5 to 14 | 18.3% | 12.9% | Higher |
| Couple families with children | 65.1% | 44.4% | Higher |
| One-parent families | 9.7% | 15.2% | Lower |
| Homes owned outright | 9.8% | 29.3% | Lower |
| Homes owned with a mortgage | 73.3% | 41.0% | Higher |
| Homes rented | 16.2% | 27.4% | Lower |
| Separate houses | 98.6% | 81.3% | Higher |
| Flats and apartments | 0.0% | 5.7% | Lower |
| Born overseas | 48.4% | 32.2% | Higher |
Source: ABS Census 2021. The WA figure is the population-weighted average of the 259 WA areas with a published value. "Higher" and "Lower" describe the number only.
About this area and its boundary
Piara Waters - Forrestdale is a locality in the Armadale area of Western Australia. This profile draws on ABS population and Census figures, the ACARA school register and ACECQA childcare ratings for the Piara Waters - Forrestdale SA2.
21,815 residents - 29.8% are children under 15, median age 31, the largest overseas-born community is India (14.1%).
Why “Piara Waters - Forrestdale”? The ABS divides the larger suburb of Piara Waters 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. It covers the gazetted suburbs of Piara Waters and Forrestdale, drawn separately on the map above.
Property market
No free house sale price or 3-bedroom house rent is published for this area. 16.2% of homes are rented, against 27.4% across Western Australia.
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 Piara Waters - Forrestdale, 24.2% of renting households spend more than 30% of their income on rent, and 13.4% 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
- 13.4%
- Rent over 30% of income
- 24.2%
WA avg 13%
Share of households WITH a mortgage whose repayments take more than 30% of income. That's 482 of 3,140 households with a stated repayment.
WA avg 28.4%
Share of RENTING households whose rent takes more than 30% of income. That's 193 of 697 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: WA average (234 for mortgage and 238 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
457 new homes were approved in Piara Waters - Forrestdale in the year to June 2025. Councils approved 2,409 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 WA area: 50
Separate houses
Private sector, over the 3 of these 6 years where the breakdown is published
Townhouses & apartments
Private sector, over the 3 of these 6 years where the breakdown is published
Counts are for the whole Piara Waters - Forrestdale statistical area. What these counts include → Dashed line: the median of 230Western Australia areas.
Schools and childcare
8 schools are located in the area. 17 childcare services are on the national register, 14 rated Meeting the National Quality Standard or above.
Government schools in Piara Waters - Forrestdale
Free government schools your child may attend. Exact school zones aren’t mapped for WA yet, so we can’t confirm which one is yours.
A picture of students’ family backgrounds (ICSEA) - not a ranking or a quality score.
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 and catchments, not exam results. We don’t publish a school ranking.
To look beyond Piara Waters - Forrestdale, every Western Australia school is on the Australian schools and catchment zones map.
Schools in Piara Waters - Forrestdale
- Students
- 1,243
- ICSEA
- 1063
- Students
- 1,070
- ICSEA
- 1078
- Students
- 1,024
- ICSEA
- 1091
- Students
- 854
- ICSEA
- 1066
- Students
- 760
- ICSEA
- 1081
- Students
- 599
- ICSEA
- 1042
- Students
- 558
- ICSEA
- 1065
- Students
- 264
- ICSEA
- 990
ICSEA reflects student intake context, not teaching quality (1000 = national average). Source: ACARA School Profile 2025. All WA schools →
Childcare: 17 services
National Quality Standard ratings from the ACECQA register, refreshed Oct 2026. Services are matched by suburb name.
Childcare services, ratings and fees17 services
- Meeting NQSPiara Waters OSHClubCentre-Based Care · 120 places · Piara WatersRated May 2026
- Meeting NQSVillage Early Learning Piara WatersCentre-Based Care · 120 places · Piara WatersRated May 2025
- Meeting NQSAspiri OSHClubCentre-Based Care · 107 places · Piara WatersRated Nov 2022 · over 3 years old, check for a more recent assessment
- Meeting NQSTreasured Tots Early Education Piara WatersCentre-Based Care · 106 places · Piara WatersRated Jun 2024
- Meeting NQSMercyCare Early Learning Service Piara WatersCentre-Based Care · 95 places · Piara WatersRated Apr 2025
- Meeting NQSEverwood Early Education - ForrestdaleCentre-Based Care · 92 places · ForrestdaleRated May 2026
- Meeting NQSNido Early School Piara WatersCentre-Based Care · 92 places · Piara WatersRated Apr 2025
- Meeting NQSGreen Leaves Early Learning Piara WatersCentre-Based Care · 79 places · Piara WatersRated Jul 2024
- Meeting NQSGreen Leaves Early Learning WildflowerCentre-Based Care · 74 places · Piara WatersRated Apr 2026
- Meeting NQSAustralian Islamic Forrestdale OSHClubCentre-Based Care · 70 places · ForrestdaleRated May 2026
- Meeting NQSRiva OSHClubCentre-Based Care · 60 places · Piara WatersRated May 2024
- Meeting NQSCamp Australia -Forrestdale Primary School OSHCCentre-Based Care · 50 places · ForrestdaleRated Mar 2025
+ 5 more services in this area.
- Centre-based day care
- $13.95/hr
- Outside school hours care
- $12.88/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 Armadale 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 Western Australia overall: 65.1% of families, against 44.4% 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.
Census trends against the middle WA areafull charts
Which way this area is moving
The 2011, 2016 and 2021 Censuses for Piara Waters - Forrestdale, counted on today's boundaries.
Since 2011, Piara Waters - Forrestdale has seen a larger share of children, more residents born overseas and more residents speaking another language at home.
- People counted
- +12,396 people since 2011
- Median age
- +1 year since 2011
- Children aged 0–14
- +8.3 pts since 2011
- Born overseas
- +12.7 pts since 2011
- Speak another language at home
- +26.6 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 Western Australia areas we profile. How the three Censuses line up →
Where this year's population change came from+5.90% in a year
Where did the gain come from?
+1,212Reading the streams: Australian movers from other suburbs drove most of the change.
Ages against the state average, band by band
Ages of people here
18.3% of people here are school-age children (5–14) - more than the Western Australia average of 12.9%, and 11.5% are under 5. The median age is 31.
- 0–4 years · before school
- 11.5%
- 5–14 years · school age
- 18.3%
- 15–19 years · teens
- 4.4%
- 20–34 years
- 23.6%
- 35–54 years
- 32.3%
- 55–64 years
- 5.6%
- 65 years and over
- 4.3%
WA avg 6.1%
WA avg 12.9%
WA avg 5.8%
WA avg 20%
WA avg 27.4%
WA avg 11.8%
WA avg 16.1%
Share of all residents of Piara Waters - Forrestdale (ABS Statistical Area 2) at the 2021 Census; the grey marker is the Western Australia 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 Western Australia average of 60%. The largest overseas-born communities are India (14.1%), United Kingdom (5%) and Malaysia (3.3%). 16% 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
- 65.1%
- One-parent family
- 9.7%
- Couple, no children
- 24.2%
WA avg 44.4%
WA avg 15.2%
WA avg 38.9%
What people live in
Share of occupied private dwellings. Other and unstated structures are not shown.
- Separate house
- 98.6%
- Semi-detached / townhouse
- 1.3%
- Flat or apartment
- 0%
WA avg 81.3%
WA avg 12.2%
WA avg 5.7%
Owned or rented
Share of occupied private dwellings. Other and unstated tenures are not shown.
- Owned outright
- 9.8%
- Owned with a mortgage
- 73.3%
- Rented
- 16.2%
WA avg 29.3%
WA avg 41%
WA avg 27.4%
Figures describe Piara Waters - Forrestdale (ABS Statistical Area 2) at the 2021 Census; the grey marker is the Western Australia average. How these are counted →
Birthplaces, languages and communities
Who lives in Piara Waters - Forrestdale
Top 5 overseas birthplaces shown · 71.7% born in Australia or a country not in the top five.
- India · established by 2016
- 14.1%
- United Kingdom · established by 2016
- 5%
- Malaysia · established by 2016
- 3.3%
- South Africa · established by 2016
- 3%
- Philippines · growing since 2016
- 2.9%
WA avg 2.1%
WA avg 8.9%
WA avg 0.8%
WA avg 1.3%
WA avg 1.1%
- Co-located communities
- Piara Waters - Forrestdale is home to established India, United Kingdom, Malaysia, South Africa and Philippines communities - each is 2% or more of residents born overseas here, not a ranking of one against another.
- Nearby
- Harrisdale, Banjup and Seville Grove also have an established India community.
- Settlement pattern
- Of overseas-born residents who stated when they arrived, 15.9% arrived in the last 5 years (2016–2021) (WA avg 12.8%) and 14.8% arrived before 2001 (WA avg 45.8%).
- English at home
- Of residents who speak a language other than English at home and stated their English proficiency, 9.3% report speaking English “not well” or “not at all” (WA avg 10.6%) - a self-reported ABS figure across all languages combined, not a judgement of any one community.
Figures describe Piara Waters - Forrestdale (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 →
Community guides that include Piara Waters - Forrestdale: Sri Lankan community in Perth, Indian community in Perth
Socio-economic index (SEIFA)decile 8 of 10
- Decile (1 lowest, 10 highest)
- Decile 8 of 10
- Where this sits in WA
- top 30% of Western Australia 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 Aubin Grove Stn reaches the city in 23 minutes, and the nearest emergency department is Armadale Kelmscott District Memorial Hospital, 8.6 km away in a straight line.
Mapped inside the Piara Waters - Forrestdale 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 published23 min from Aubin Grove Stn
Median scheduled weekday morning-peak travel time to the central-city terminus, from the closest station to the middle of this area (6.9 km away in a straight line). Train leg only.
Nearest emergency department
MappedArmadale Kelmscott District Memorial Hospital · 8.6 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 Piara Waters - Forrestdale boundary. “Middle WA area”: the median of 255 Western Australia 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) · Transperth, static GTFS, timetable from 27 Oct 2026
Crime & safety in Piara Waters - Forrestdale
Official recorded-incident data is only published on this site for NSW and VIC so far - that's a coverage gap on our side, not a claim that Piara Waters - Forrestdale is safe. SuburbRadar does not rate suburbs as safe or unsafe. More on crime & safety →
Risks
1 of the 1 planning and hazard records we hold show something in this area: traffic noise. 6 more are not published for WA - treat them as not checked.
Traffic noise
Freeway or highway presentArmadale Road · Tonkin Highway · Anstey Road Rotary · +5 more
Each line is the extent of an official record across the whole Piara Waters - Forrestdale 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 publishedNo free statewide flood overlay is published for WA yet, so we show none. Check the local council's planning maps.
Bushfire
Not publishedWe hold official bushfire mapping for Victoria and New South Wales only - nothing is published here for WA yet. Check the state fire service's mapping.
Heritage controls
Not publishedWe hold official heritage overlay mapping for Victoria and New South Wales only - nothing is published here for WA yet. Check the local council's planning scheme and the state heritage register.
Traffic noise
Freeway or highway presentArmadale Road · Tonkin Highway · Anstey Road Rotary · +5 more
8 named roads through this area carry OpenStreetMap's highest classification - a freeway, motorway or major highway, whatever the road is called locally, alongside 7 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 publishedWe hold official aircraft-noise mapping for Victoria and New South Wales only - nothing is published here for WA yet. Check the airport's noise contours and the local planning scheme.
Land contamination checks
Not mappedWe hold official contaminated-land overlay mapping for Victoria only - nothing is published here for WA yet. Check the state environment authority's contaminated land register and the local planning scheme.
Acid sulfate soils
Not publishedWe hold acid sulfate soil mapping for Victoria and New South Wales only - nothing is published here for WA yet. Coastal and estuarine land is where these soils occur; check the state's soil mapping and the local planning scheme.
Recorded crime
Not publishedWA does not release the suburb-level incident counts we republish for New South Wales and Victoria, so we show none here.
Social housing
Census figure0.1% rented from a state or territory housing authority · 0.0% from a community housing provider
Share of occupied private dwellings here with a stated tenure (Census 2021). The middle WA area is 2.1% public and 0.5% community, across 241 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 Piara Waters - Forrestdale 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: ABS Census 2021 (G37 tenure and landlord type) · © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) - road classification
Nearby suburbs
- Harrisdale 3.1 km
- Banjup 5.2 km
- Seville Grove 6.1 km
- Huntingdale (Southern River area) 6.4 km
- Casuarina (Wandi area) 6.6 km
- Success (Hammond Park area) 7.1 km
The six closest profiled areas in Western Australia, by distance between area centres.
The suburbs in this area
Everything else on this page is published for Piara Waters - Forrestdale as a whole - one ABS statistical area covering 2 separate gazetted suburbs. These are the figures published for each of those suburbs on its own.
| Suburb | Residents Census 2021 | Schools |
|---|---|---|
| Piara Waters | 15,029 | 5 |
| Forrestdale | 1,027 | 3 |
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. No free source publishes suburb-level house medians in Western Australia, so no price column is shown - that is our coverage gap, not a statement about the market here. 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 Armadalesorted by growth in one year
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