Golden Plains

Victoria · Warrnambool and South West · 25,556 people · 48 suburbs · 15 postcodes

Golden Plains at a glance

25,556
Population
#52 of 79 in VIC
2,742
km² area
9/km² density
39.2
Median age
+0.1 vs VIC
998
SEIFA IRSAD
#28 of 79 in VIC
13
Schools
12 gov, 1 Cath, 0 indep
9.3%
Born overseas
7.5%
Renting

Map shows the Golden Plains 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.

Golden Plains is a Local Government Area in Victoria, in the Melbourne region. It covers 48 suburbs across 15 postcodes and an area of 2,742 km². Golden Plains has a population of 25,556 , ranking #52 most populous in VIC. The most populous suburb is Bannockburn (6,470 residents).About 9.3% of residents were born overseas and 3.0% speak a language other than English at home.

Who lives here

Age structure

0–14 (22.1%) 15–24 (11.5%) 25–44 (23.8%) 45–64 (27.5%) 65+ (15.1%)
Show counts
0–14 years5,636 (22.1%)
15–24 years2,925 (11.5%)
25–44 years6,076 (23.8%)
45–64 years7,018 (27.5%)
65+ years3,864 (15.1%)
9.3%
Born overseas
3.0%
Speak a language other than English at home
1.5%
First Nations
2.9
Avg household size

How they live

Housing tenure

Owned outright (37.7%) Mortgaged (54.7%) Renting (7.5%)

Dwelling type mix

Separate house (99.2%) Semi/townhouse (0.7%) Flat/apartment (0.1%)
$333
Median weekly rent
$1,725
Median monthly mortgage
17.5%
Households with 0-1 cars
82.5%
Households with 2+ cars

Work and learning

3.1%
Unemployment rate
7,282
In full-time work
4,349
In part-time work

Schools in Golden Plains

13 schools across Golden Plains: 92.3% Government, 7.7% Catholic, 0% Independent. The VIC average is 68.6% / 21.4% / 10.0%. Schools here have a median ICSEA of 1001 (range 959 to 1048). VIC median is 1027; national mean is 1000.

Sector mix

VIC average for comparison
Government Catholic Independent

Type breakdown

Primary (92.3%) Secondary (0%) Combined (7.7%) Special (0%)

ICSEA range

700 National mean 1000 1300
LGA median 1001 VIC median 1027LGA range 959 to 1048

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 13 schools in Golden Plains, sorted by enrolment:

School Sector Type Suburb Students ICSEA
Bannockburn P-12 College Government Combined Bannockburn 799 989
St Mary MacKillop Catholic Primary School Catholic Primary Bannockburn 392 1047
Woady Yaloak Primary School Government Primary Smythesdale 326 993
Teesdale Primary School Government Primary Teesdale 250 1019
Haddon Primary School Government Primary Haddon 232 1019
Inverleigh Primary School Government Primary Inverleigh 194 1048
Lethbridge Primary School Government Primary Lethbridge 112 1002
Napoleons Primary School Government Primary Napoleons 86 996
Meredith Primary School Government Primary Meredith 71 987
Rokewood Primary School Government Primary Rokewood 42 959
Linton Primary School Government Primary Linton 21 1001
Cape Clear Primary School Government Primary Cape Clear 13 977
Shelford Primary School Government Primary Shelford 13 1013

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 Golden Plains. Higher scores indicate more advantage; the national mean is 1000.

IRSAD

Relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage

998
Ranked #28 of 79 VIC LGAs

IRSD

Relative disadvantage only (lower = more disadvantaged)

1040

IER

Economic resources: income, wealth, housing

1076

IEO

Education and occupation: qualifications, skill levels

966

Suburbs in Golden Plains

Golden Plains contains 48 suburbs and 15 postcodes. Sorted by population.

SuburbPostcodePopulationMedian incomeMedian age
Bannockburn 3331 6,470 $2,055/wk 35
Teesdale 3328 2,308 $2,171/wk 37
Smythes Creek 3351 1,762 $2,132/wk 38
Inverleigh 3321 1,746 $2,160/wk 38
Haddon 3351 1,276 $1,945/wk 40
Ross Creek 3351 1,221 $2,065/wk 40
Smythesdale 3351 1,189 $1,656/wk 39
Lethbridge 3332 1,181 $1,955/wk 38
Batesford 3213 1,141 $2,837/wk 39
Scarsdale 3351 855 $1,548/wk 39
Meredith 3333 821 $1,638/wk 45
Dereel 3352 664 $1,256/wk 46
Linton 3360 635 $1,148/wk 48
Enfield 3352 574 $1,882/wk 39
Napoleons 3352 555 $1,718/wk 47
Cambrian Hill 3352 292 $2,042/wk 39
Shelford 3329 263 $1,778/wk 39
Maude 3331 211 $2,214/wk 42
Rokewood 3330 208 $1,286/wk 41
Berringa 3351 194 $900/wk 49
Nintingbool 3351 168 $1,792/wk 51
Cape Clear 3351 148 $1,208/wk 52
Gheringhap 3331 132 $2,150/wk 49
Murgheboluc 3218 132 $2,849/wk 45
Corindhap 3352 131 $1,145/wk 54
Garibaldi 3352 131 $1,687/wk 43
Sutherlands Creek 3331 129 $3,250/wk 41
She Oaks 3331 126 $2,333/wk 42
Mount Mercer 3352 94 $1,958/wk 45
Happy Valley 3351 87 $1,187/wk 47
Stonehaven 3218 79 $2,750/wk 44
Russells Bridge 3331 70 $1,343/wk 52
Werneth 3352 66 $1,375/wk 36
Mannibadar 3360 65 $1,437/wk 48
Staffordshire Reef 3351 63 $739/wk 60
Steiglitz 3331 61 $1,062/wk 52
Bamganie 3333 44 $2,125/wk 40
Wallinduc 3351 42 $1,624/wk 34
Illabarook 3351 41 $1,375/wk 36
Springdallah 3351 35 $1,416/wk 44
Rokewood Junction 3351 34 $1,333/wk 43
Barunah Park 3329 33 $900/wk 58
Piggoreet 3351 17 $949/wk 65
Hesse 3321 14 $1,624/wk 48
Pitfield 3351 14 $1,875/wk 52
Durdidwarrah 3342 12 $725/wk 48
Pittong 3360 12 $1,187/wk 58
Willowvale 3360 10 $2,124/wk 62

Postcodes covered

3213, 3218, 3221, 3321, 3328, 3329, 3330, 3331, 3332, 3333, 3342, 3351, 3352, 3360, 3549

Compare Golden Plains with neighbouring LGAs

Side-by-side demographic and socio-economic snapshot of Golden Plains and its closest neighbouring LGAs.

LGA Population Median age SEIFA IRSAD % renting % overseas-born
Golden Plains (VIC) 25,556 39.2 998 7.5% 9.3%
Ballarat 113,441 39.3 965 32.5% 11.3%
Greater Geelong 268,725 39.9 989 29.0% 17.7%
Moorabool 37,481 39.4 987 17.7% 14.2%
Pyrenees 7,530 50.0 928 12.3% 9.6%
Corangamite 16,100 48.0 955 18.6% 7.3%

Services and amenities

NDIS Providers NDIS provider directory for Golden Plains Climate & weather Climate data for Bannockburn

Frequently asked questions about Golden Plains

What is the population of Golden Plains?

The 2021 Census recorded 25,556 people living in Golden Plains, across 48 suburbs.

What suburbs are in Golden Plains?

Golden Plains contains 48 suburbs. The most populous are Bannockburn, Teesdale, Smythes Creek, Inverleigh, Haddon.See the full list in the Suburbs section above.

What postcodes are in Golden Plains?

Golden Plains covers 15 postcodes: 3213, 3218, 3221, 3321, 3328, 3329, 3330, 3331, 3332, 3333, 3342, 3351, 3352, 3360, 3549.

How many schools are in Golden Plains?

Golden Plains has 13 schools, including 12 government, 1 Catholic, and 0 independent schools (ACARA 2025).

What is the SEIFA score for Golden Plains?

Golden Plains has a population-weighted SEIFA IRSAD score of 998, where the national average is 1000. Higher scores indicate more relative advantage.

Page last reviewed . 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.