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Suburb profile ·South Gippsland LGA · VIC ·3956

Tarwin Lower VIC 3956

Tarwin Lower is in South Gippsland LGA, VIC, postcode 3956, with population 462.

The read

Verify-first

The page has enough signal to be useful, but the story is mixed rather than decisive. Use compare mode to pressure-test it against stronger nearby options, then use the calculator if it still makes the shortlist.

What to check

Small local population makes the signal set more fragile.

Median house
No local house series
Median rent
$433/wk
Rent context available
D9 vs AU
Gross yield
Need rent + price
Population
31,109
31K via South Gippsland LGA · SAL undercount
Schools
1
Matched school context
D1 vs AU
Drive to city
Not in commute dataset
Solar
1,048
53 added 12mo · 6MW

Price history

No price history available

Price series isn't recorded for this suburb. Census housing data is shown instead.

Median mortgage · mth$1,548
Median rent · wk$210

Rental vacancy rate

Rental vacancy rate · Regional Victoria
1.9%
Tight (landlord) market

Official vacancy is published at the Regional Victoria level, not per suburb. Shaded band marks a balanced market (2.5–3.5%).

Source: Homes Victoria Rental Report (DFFH) · Latest: Sep 2025
Investor profile

Who invests in Tarwin Lower

Owner-occupied 89%Rented 11%
Investor activityATO
Negatively geared5.7%
94 of 224 landlords
Avg rental loss$8,703/yr
Landlords (rental income)224
Reported capital gains183
The read

Owner-occupier stronghold

88% of homes here are owner-occupied and 11% rented, with 6% of landlords negatively geared.

Why it fits

88% owner-occupied — owner-occupiers hold longer and absorb rate shocks, supporting price stability.

ABS Census 2021 tenure (G37), ATO postcode rental statistics, and QuickProperty's investor-exposure index. Owner-occupied = owned outright + with a mortgage.

Affordability

34%
median weekly rent as a share of gross household income (the 30% rule)
Stretched

Owners with a mortgage repay a median of $1,548/mo, while renters pay about $1,876/mo — renting runs $328/mo higher on these medians.

Household income · yr
$66K
Median rent · wk
$433
Owner mortgage · mo
$1,548

Household income

$66K household · yr-20.3% vs VIC suburb median
Personal
$37K
Family
$87K
Household
$66K
Household income distribution (ABS Census 2021 · weekly)
Under $300
8
$300-649
23
$650-999
34
$1,000-1,499
26
$1,500-1,999
18
$2,000-2,999
20
$3,000-3,999
23
$4,000+
24

At the median asking rent, about 51% of households here would spend more than 30% of income on rent (rent stress line: $1,443/wk income).

Housing stock and tenure

Tenure (190 households)
Owned outright
54%
Owned with mortgage
34%
Rented
11%
Dwelling structure32.2% of dwellings unoccupied on census night
Separate house
97%
Townhouse / semi
3%
Flat / apartment
0%

Getting to work: 60% drive, 0% public transport, 7% walk or cycle, 31% worked from home (2021 Census, taken during COVID-era work-from-home arrangements).

Schools

Total1
Avg ICSEA990
Students34
Government1
  • Tarwin Lower Primary SchoolPrimary · Government · ICSEA 990
Crime Year ending Mar 2026
2,660
8,499 per 100k
D9 vs AU

Crime

Rate · per 100k8,499
Total incidents2,660· Year ending Mar 2026
  • Assault19527%
  • Sexual Offences29040%
  • Robbery10%
  • Break And Enter23332%

Building due diligence

Construction requirements can change by location.

The National Construction Code is the baseline. Local hazards and site classifications can change the required structure, materials, fixings, insulation and detailing.

Known here

SUBURB CONTEXT

Bushfire-prone designation

Severe broad-area context

About 92.5% of the suburb is within Victoria's mapped Bushfire Prone Area.

May affect: External construction · Roof and wall systems · Openings, screens and decks

Flood and moisture context

No mapped flood exposure

About 0.0% of the suburb intersects VIC LSIO.

May affect: Floor levels and drainage · Water-resistant assemblies · Material durability

Check the property

ADDRESS + DESIGN

NCC climate zone

Check the property

Confirm the NCC climate zone used for the building design and energy provisions.

May affect: Insulation and glazing · Condensation control · Roof-space ventilation

Wind class and BAL

Site assessment required

A suburb layer cannot determine the site wind classification or Bushfire Attack Level.

May affect: Structure and tie-downs · Cladding and fixings · Openings and bushfire detailing

Corrosion and termite exposure

Check the property

Confirm marine or corrosive exposure and the applicable termite-management requirements.

May affect: Fasteners and connectors · Roofing and coatings · Termite management

This screen identifies investigation triggers, not building quality or property compliance. Confirm the address, design and current jurisdiction rules with the council, building surveyor or certifier, designer and engineer.

NCC 2022 Housing Provisions: how to use · NCC 2022 Volume Two and Housing Provisions

Bushfire-prone area

Partly designated ~92.5%
~92.5% of the suburb is within Victoria's designated Bushfire Prone Area

Share of the suburb within Victoria's gazetted Bushfire Prone Area (Vicmap, CC BY), point-sampled across the suburb. A Bushfire Prone Area is a planning designation that triggers the building code's bushfire construction provisions — it is not a graduated hazard rating or a property-level Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) assessment. Obtain a BAL assessment (AS 3959) for an individual property.

Flood exposure

No mapped exposure ~0.0%
~0.0% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood-hazard area

Estimated exposure to the official flood-hazard layer (VIC LSIO), point-sampled across the suburb. This shows how much of the suburb sits within mapped flood-planning areas — it is not a property-level flood certificate. Areas without a completed flood study may be unmapped. Check the local council's flood maps for an individual property.

Planning zones

Dominant zone Farming (FZ)
Rural / Green wedge 81% Public / Open space 11%

Land-use mix estimated by point-sampling the suburb against Vicmap Planning scheme-zone polygons (CC BY 4.0). This is a suburb-level snapshot of planning zones, not a parcel-level zoning certificate or development advice. Check the relevant planning scheme for an individual property.

Growth outlook · South Gippsland LGA

Dwellings
+18.1%
17,150 → 20,250
+3,100 dwellings
Population
+15.5%
30,380 → 35,100
Households
+20.5%
13,090 → 15,770

LGA-level official projection (Victoria in Future 2023, DTP). Indicative of the wider council area, not a suburb-level forecast.

Population outlook

9,439 people · 20229,845 by 2032 (+4.3%)

ABS population projection (2022 base) for the Foster SA2 statistical area — the finest official projection grain available; suburb-level projections do not exist.

Full data detail Census · ATO · ABS · state datasets
Tarwin Lower VIC — Property Data and Demographics

Tarwin Lower (postcode 3956) is a sparsely populated locality in Victoria within the South Gippsland local government area. With a population of 462, the suburb has a settled, mature resident base with a median age of 53. Households earn a median income of $66K per year, with an average household size of 2.2 people. Recent annual estimates show population movement staying broadly stable across the broader catchment, with population growth running at +0.6% year-on-year at the LGA level. VIC employment has moved +0.8% year-on-year in the official ABS Labour Force trend series, which provides the broader jobs backdrop for this suburb. VIC also had 41 Commonwealth-backed major projects under construction, 18 underway, and 24 in planning as at 2025-09-01, which is useful as a broader delivery backdrop rather than a suburb-specific project count. The most common occupations are managers, professionals, technicians & trades. Employment in the area leans toward agriculture and construction. The top ancestries reported are English, Australian, Irish.

The current median weekly rent is $433. The median monthly mortgage repayment is $1,548.

Tarwin Lower is served by 1 school, including 1 primary. The average ICSEA score is 990, which is around the national average of 1,000. The crime rate in the South Gippsland LGA is higher than average at 8,499 incidents per 100,000 population.

On the investment side, Population growth of +0.6% year-on-year points to stable demand fundamentals. Building approvals have changed +0% year-on-year, indicating steady development activity.

Market & money
Investment signalsHeuristics
Pop. Growth+0.6%· Stable
Development+0%· Steady
InvestmentVIC
Mortgage · mth$1,548
Rent · wk(Census)$210
Market rent · wk(Sep 2025)$433
Population growth · South Gippsland LGAABS ERP
Population (2025)31,109
5-year growth+0.5% CAGR
YoY change+0.6%
20012025
Development · South Gippsland LGAABS Approvals
Approvals (2026)138
Houses 96%Units 4%
YoY change+0%
Employment · South Gippsland LGASALM
Unemployment (Dec-25)2.6%
YoY change-0.5pp
Dec-10Dec-25
Property investors · Postcode 3956ATO
Negatively geared5.7%
94 of filers
Avg rental loss$8,703/yr
Landlords (rental income)224
Reported capital gains183
People & prosperity
DemographicsCensus 21
Population462
Median age53
Household size2.2
HH income · wk$1,262
Personal income · wk$716
Persons / bedroom0.7
SEIFA indexABS
Advantage (IRSAD)6/10
Education (IEO)7/10
Economic (IER)7/10
Disadvantage (IRSD)7/10
Income momentumCensus 16→21
HH income · wk$924 → $1,262
Change+36.6%
vs VIC median+13.1 pp
Median rent+16.7%
gentrifyingvs VIC 2016–21
Area & amenity
Local amenitiesOSM
Supermarkets1
Pharmacies0
GP / clinics0
Fuel stations1
Cafes & dining1
iga1
Hospitals · South Gippsland LGAAIHW
Public3
Private0
Gippsland Southern Health Service - Korumburrapublic
Gippsland Southern Health Service - Leongathapublic
South Gippsland Hospital [Foster]public
Aged care · South Gippsland LGAGEN
Facilities7
Residential places332
Calvary Strzelecki House75 places
Prom Country Aged Care70 places
Carinya Lodge Hostel60 places
Woorayl Lodge Hostel41 places
Koorooman House Nursing Home36 places
Hillside Lodge Hostel30 places
+1 more in South Gippsland LGA
Childcare · South Gippsland LGAACECQA
Services25
Approved places1,198
Exceeding NQS6
Brown Street Children's Centre120 places
Karmai Community Children's Centre120 places
Leongatha Early Learning Centre120 places
Leongatha Children's Centre95 places
Mirboo North Early Learning Centre71 places
Prom Coast Centre for Children67 places
+19 more in South Gippsland LGA
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Current status
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Sources & freshness
Strong evidence

Tarwin Lower has enough direct local evidence for a first-pass decision.

QuickProperty mixes release files, Census baselines, and matched local services on this page. Read the status panel before treating every metric as equally fresh.

PRICE POSTURE
Manual release files still matter here.

DataVic-discovered annual suburb price workbooks parsed into suburb prices. Quarterly VIC resources are discovered and cached, but not yet used as current-price anchors.

RENT POSTURE
Rent is using a state market dataset when available.

Use current rent as a starting signal, not as a fixed underwriting truth.

SERVICE POSTURE
Service coverage is matched locally, not inferred nationally.

Schools, transport, and hospitals are useful as presence signals, but they still have different source cadences.

Data status
Property prices
VIC Property Sales Report · DataVic-discovered annual suburb price workbooks parsed into suburb prices. Quarterly VIC resources are discovered and cached, but not yet used as current-price anchors.
medium stability · mixed acquisition · every update · quarterly
Missing
Market rent
Homes Victoria · Sep 2025 · State market dataset
medium stability · automated · every update · quarterly
Available
Crime
VIC Crime Statistics Agency · Year ending Mar 2026 · Area-level release dataset
Available
Schools
ACARA 2025 · 1 schools matched
stable source · automated · every update · annual
Available
Hospitals
AIHW · No linked local hospital coverage
medium stability · manual file · snapshot · mixed
Missing
Transport
GTFS feeds · No matched local transport stops
medium stability · manual file · snapshot · mixed
Missing
Population growth
ABS ERP · 2025 · Annual estimate series
stable source · automated · every update · annual
Available
Building approvals
ABS Building Approvals · 2026 · Annual release series
stable source · automated · every update · monthly
Available
Available means a direct local dataset is linked. Verify means coverage exists but freshness or precision is weaker, such as ABS price fallback, Census rent fallback, or low-confidence hospital matching.

Tarwin Lower FAQ

Common questions
  1. What LGA is Tarwin Lower in?

    Tarwin Lower is in the South Gippsland Local Government Area, VIC, postcode 3956. Council-level context for South Gippsland LGA (suburb mix, population, rent, and price coverage) is available on the QuickProperty LGA page.

  2. What is the typical weekly rent in Tarwin Lower?

    The median weekly rent in Tarwin Lower is $433/wk, based on the current market rent dataset. The current rent signal is rent context available.

  3. What does the rent signal say about Tarwin Lower?

    Rent context available: Tarwin Lower has usable rent context. Use this as a suburb screening signal before comparing candidates or modelling a purchase; the matching rent ranking can provide broader market context.

  4. Is Tarwin Lower a good investment?

    QuickProperty's investment signals for Tarwin Lower show: Stable, Steady. These are computed from price, rent, income, and population data — not an opaque score.

  5. Where does QuickProperty get its data for Tarwin Lower?

    Property prices come from state Valuers General offices and ABS Data by Region. Demographics are from ABS Census 2021. School ICSEA scores are from ACARA. Crime statistics are from state police agencies. Transport data is sourced from GTFS feeds.

  6. How often is the Tarwin Lower data updated?

    Property prices update quarterly. RBA macro indicators update with each deploy. Demographics are from Census 2021. School ICSEA scores are from ACARA 2025.