Colac Otway

Victoria · Warrnambool and South West · 22,228 people · 69 suburbs · 16 postcodes

Colac Otway at a glance

22,228

Population

#53 of 79 in VIC

3,380

km² area

7/km² density

45.2

Median age

+6.1 vs VIC

938

SEIFA IRSAD

#60 of 79 in VIC

Schools

13 gov, 4 Cath, 0 indep

10.3%

Born overseas

22.3%

Renting

Map shows the Colac Otway LGA boundary in blue with a marker per suburb. Hover for suburb name, click for details.

Marker colour reflects SEIFA IRSAD decile: ● 1-2 (most disadvantaged), ● 3-4, ● 5-6, ● 7-8, ● 9-10 (most advantaged).

Boundary source: ABS ASGS 2021. Map tiles: OpenStreetMap contributors.

Federal electorate boundaries can be toggled on the map. Boundary source: ABS ASGS 2021 CED boundaries.

Colac Otway is a Local Government Area in Victoria, in the Melbourne region. It covers 69 suburbs across 16 postcodes and an area of 3,380 km². Colac Otway has a population of 22,228 , ranking #53 most populous in VIC. The most populous suburb is Colac (9,243 residents).About 10.3% of residents were born overseas and 5.9% speak a language other than English at home.

Who lives here

Age structure

16.7%

10.1%

22.5%

26.9%

23.9%

0–14 (16.7%) 15–24 (10.1%) 25–44 (22.5%) 45–64 (26.9%) 65+ (23.9%)

Show counts

0–14 years	3,696 (16.7%)
15–24 years	2,230 (10.1%)
25–44 years	4,990 (22.5%)
45–64 years	5,970 (26.9%)
65+ years	5,296 (23.9%)

10.3%

Born overseas

5.9%

Speak a language other than English at home

1.3%

First Nations

2.3

Avg household size

How they live

Housing tenure

44.9%

32.8%

22.3%

Owned outright (44.9%) Mortgaged (32.8%) Renting (22.3%)

Dwelling type mix

95.2%

Separate house (95.2%) Semi/townhouse (4.4%) Flat/apartment (0.3%)

$262

Median weekly rent

$1,389

Median monthly mortgage

39.7%

Households with 0-1 cars

60.3%

Households with 2+ cars

Work and learning

2.8%

Unemployment rate

5,741

In full-time work

3,873

In part-time work

Schools in Colac Otway

17 schools across Colac Otway: 76.5% Government, 23.5% Catholic, 0% Independent. The VIC average is 68.6% / 21.4% / 10.0%. Schools here have a median ICSEA of 972 (range 899 to 1052). VIC median is 1027; national mean is 1000.

Sector mix

76.5%

23.5%

VIC average for comparison

68.6%

21.4%

10.0%

Government Catholic Independent

Type breakdown

70.6%

11.8%

Primary (70.6%) Secondary (11.8%) Combined (11.8%) Special (5.9%)

ICSEA range

700 National mean 1000 1300

LGA median 972 VIC median 1027LGA range 899 to 1052

ICSEA (Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage) summarises the socio-economic background of each school's families. Higher values indicate more advantage. Source: ACARA 2025.

All 17 schools in Colac Otway, sorted by enrolment:

School	Sector	Type	Suburb	Students	ICSEA
Trinity College Colac	Catholic	Secondary	Colac	744	1015
Colac Secondary College	Government	Secondary	Colac	476	955
Sacred Heart School	Catholic	Primary	Elliminyt	398	1025
Apollo Bay P-12 College	Government	Combined	Apollo Bay	340	1043
St Mary's School	Catholic	Primary	Colac	266	1025
Elliminyt Primary School	Government	Primary	Elliminyt	229	996
Colac Primary School	Government	Primary	Colac	164	946
Colac South West Primary School	Government	Primary	Colac	129	948
Birregurra Primary School	Government	Primary	Birregurra	115	1052
Lake Colac School	Government	Special	Colac	82	933
Alvie Primary School	Government	Primary	Alvie	78	968
Colac West Primary School	Government	Primary	Colac	62	899
Lavers Hill K-12 College	Government	Combined	Lavers Hill	57	935
St Brendan's School	Catholic	Primary	Coragulac	37	977
Forrest Primary School	Government	Primary	Forrest	30	1009
Beeac Primary School	Government	Primary	Beeac	25	927
Carlisle River Primary School	Government	Primary	Carlisle River	4

Source: ACARA School Profiles 2025. ICSEA shown where reported; some schools (notably small primaries) do not publish ICSEA.

SEIFA socio-economic indexes

SEIFA 2021 ranks Australian areas across four dimensions. Scores are population-weighted averages of suburb-level SEIFA scores within Colac Otway. Higher scores indicate more advantage; the national mean is 1000.

IRSAD

Relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage

938

Ranked #60 of 79 VIC LGAs

IRSD

Relative disadvantage only (lower = more disadvantaged)

972

IER

Economic resources: income, wealth, housing

984

IEO

Education and occupation: qualifications, skill levels

924

Suburbs in Colac Otway

Colac Otway contains 69 suburbs and 16 postcodes. Sorted by population.

Suburb	Postcode	Population	Median income	Median age
Colac	3250	9,243	$1,108/wk	44
Elliminyt	3250	3,260	$1,815/wk	41
Apollo Bay	3233	1,790	$1,144/wk	52
Birregurra	3242	942	$1,521/wk	43
Barongarook	3249	458	$1,708/wk	44
Beeac	3251	394	$1,260/wk	51
Irrewarra	3249	365	$1,583/wk	47
Cororooke	3254	358	$1,485/wk	33
Barongarook West	3249	291	$1,531/wk	43
Marengo	3233	272	$1,292/wk	59
Forrest	3236	257	$1,091/wk	52
Skenes Creek	3233	249	$1,260/wk	55
Gellibrand	3239	230	$1,233/wk	52
Warrion	3249	204	$1,213/wk	50
Larpent	3249	200	$1,593/wk	43
Kawarren	3249	189	$1,071/wk	54
Coragulac	3249	171	$1,762/wk	45
Carlisle River	3239	168	$1,036/wk	45
Colac East	3250	168	$1,541/wk	46
Warncoort	3243	146	$2,250/wk	45
Alvie	3249	141	$1,100/wk	47
Barwon Downs	3243	136	$1,037/wk	48
Pirron Yallock	3249	132	$1,428/wk	53
Swan Marsh	3249	127	$1,458/wk	45
Beech Forest	3237	125	$840/wk	50
Yeo	3249	124	$1,968/wk	43
Corunnun	3249	119	$1,687/wk	44
Gerangamete	3243	112	$1,406/wk	41
Yeodene	3249	107	$1,463/wk	47
Ondit	3249	101	$1,291/wk	46
Irrewillipe	3249	100	$1,536/wk	48
Murroon	3243	95	$1,624/wk	48
Colac West	3250	89	$1,474/wk	30
Lavers Hill	3238	87	$1,375/wk	44
Johanna	3238	85	$1,562/wk	57
Irrewillipe East	3249	84	$1,416/wk	41
Dreeite	3249	77	$1,374/wk	37
Kennett River	3221	74	$1,812/wk	41
Nalangil	3249	72	$1,708/wk	43
Wye River	3221	67	$1,174/wk	48
Bungador	3260	65	$1,625/wk	42
Weering	3251	62	$1,375/wk	41
Balintore	3249	59	$866/wk	40
Wool Wool	3249	55	$1,437/wk	49
Yuulong	3237	49	$966/wk	60
Wongarra	3221	47	$1,093/wk	66
Hordern Vale	3238	44	$725/wk	49
Eurack	3251	43	$1,562/wk	49
Chapple Vale	3239	42	$1,937/wk	56
Wyelangta	3237	40	$850/wk	52
Cape Otway	3233	34	$1,124/wk	55
Glenaire	3238	33	$1,874/wk	52
Dreeite South	3249	28	$933/wk	54
Separation Creek	3221	28	$2,750/wk	63
Wingeel	3321	26	$2,250/wk	29
Whoorel	3243	25	$2,250/wk	63
Sugarloaf	3221	20	$725/wk	48
Skenes Creek North	3233	19	$1,375/wk	49
Cundare	3251	15	$2,250/wk	55
Tanybryn	3249	15	$2,250/wk	62
Weeaproinah	3237	15	$1,187/wk	42
Ferguson	3237	13	$474/wk	46
Barramunga	3249	11	$1,125/wk	48
Barunah Plains	3329	10	$2,999/wk	43
Cundare North	3251	10	$2,250/wk	55
Petticoat Creek	3233	7	$4,750/wk	69
Grey River	3221	4	$2,999/wk	61
Aire Valley	3237
Mount Sabine	3236

Postcodes covered

3221, 3233, 3234, 3236, 3237, 3238, 3239, 3242, 3243, 3249, 3250, 3251, 3254, 3260, 3321, 3329

Compare Colac Otway with neighbouring LGAs

Side-by-side demographic and socio-economic snapshot of Colac Otway and its closest neighbouring LGAs.

LGA	Population	Median age	SEIFA IRSAD	% renting	% overseas-born
Colac Otway (VIC)	22,228	45.2	938	22.3%	10.3%
Corangamite	16,100	48.0	955	18.6%	7.3%
Surf Coast	37,037	42.9	1076	18.9%	11.9%
Golden Plains	25,556	39.2	998	7.5%	9.3%

Services and amenities

NDIS Providers NDIS provider directory for Colac Otway Climate & weather Climate data for Colac

Frequently asked questions about Colac Otway

What is the population of Colac Otway?

The 2021 Census recorded 22,228 people living in Colac Otway, across 69 suburbs.

What suburbs are in Colac Otway?

Colac Otway contains 69 suburbs. The most populous are Colac, Elliminyt, Apollo Bay, Birregurra, Barongarook.See the full list in the Suburbs section above.

What postcodes are in Colac Otway?

Colac Otway covers 16 postcodes: 3221, 3233, 3234, 3236, 3237, 3238, 3239, 3242, 3243, 3249, 3250, 3251, 3254, 3260, 3321, 3329.

How many schools are in Colac Otway?

Colac Otway has 17 schools, including 13 government, 4 Catholic, and 0 independent schools (ACARA 2025).

What is the SEIFA score for Colac Otway?

Colac Otway has a population-weighted SEIFA IRSAD score of 938, where the national average is 1000. Higher scores indicate more relative advantage.

Page last reviewed June 2026. Data sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census (CC BY 4.0), SEIFA 2021 (IRSD, IRSAD, IER, IEO), ACARA School Profiles 2025, ABS ASGS 2021 LGA boundaries. How this data is sourced.