VIC · Buloke Council
Birchip, 3483
Current weather
9.5°CLight drizzle
93% humidity · 26 km/h wind · 13° / 8.4° today · 6.9 mm rain
Desirability score
Suburb snapshot
Birchip is a small locality in the Buloke area, home to around 694 residents (2021 Census). Available data shows 24 offences in 2026 with falling year-on-year trends (-25%), roughly 34.6 offences per 1,000 residents, 1 school and preschool site in the area, limited but present public transport access, fewer mapped amenities than nearby suburbs, and some planning and development activity on record. Snapshot data also shows parks or public open space within the suburb and hospitals or GP clinics within the suburb.
Population
- Population
- 694
- Median age
- 49
- Median household income / week
- $1,171
- Dwelling vacancy
- 15.7%
- Unoccupied private dwellings
- 55 of 351
- Median monthly mortgage
- $758
- Employment rate
- 54.6%
- Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
- 19 / 0 / 16
Contributes to desirability score · Community (5%)
Employment, household income and age diversity (2021 Census)
Data sources & freshness
- 2021 Census — General Community Profile — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Period: 2021 · Updated on site · 2021 Census release
The 2026 Census runs in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.
Crime & safety
- Total offences (2026)
- 24
- Against the person
- 5
- Against property
- 15
- Rate per 1,000 residents
- 34.6
- Person-crime prevalence
- About 1 in 139 residents
- State safety percentile
- 30.4th (lower crime is better)
- Decrease (daily rate)
- -25%
Reported offences decreased compared with the previous period.
Reported offences by period
Most common offence types
- A212 Non-Fv Serious Assault1
- B21 Criminal Damage3
- B322 Non-Residential Non-Aggravated Burglary4
- B49 Other Theft4
- D21 Riot And Affray2
Contributes to desirability score · Safety (18%)
Crime rate and year-on-year trend
Data sources & freshness
- Recorded offences by suburb/town — Crime Statistics Agency (Victoria) · Period: 2025 · Updated on site · Year ending March release
Schools & preschools
- Schools & preschools
- 1
- Median school ICSEA
- 989
- Birchip P-12 SchoolCombined
Contributes to desirability score · Education (15%)
School and preschool counts, median school ICSEA
Data sources & freshness
- ACARA school locations — Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority · Period: 2025 · Updated on site · Annual ACARA release
- School ICSEA scores — Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority · Period: 2025 · Updated on site · Annual ACARA release
Public transport
2 public transport stops in this suburb
- Memorial Park/Cumming Ave
- Memorial Park/Cumming Ave
Contributes to desirability score · Accessibility (15%)
Public transport stop coverage
Data sources & freshness
- GTFS public transport stops — State transport authority open-data feeds · Period: current · Updated on site · GTFS static feed
Planning & development
Development applications from PPARS statewide register (lodged 2020–2022). Free public PPARS MapServer — applications through ~2022 (service last updated Feb 2024).
8 planning-related records
2021· 3 proposals
May 2021
- Development of land for a service station, construct and display a business identification sign and alter access to RDZ12 CAMPBELL STREET BIRCHIP 3483NOD issued by the Resp. Authority
April 2021
- Construct and display a major promotion signBIRCHIP-WYCHEPROOF ROAD BIRCHIP 3483Permit issued by a delegate of the RA
March 2021
- Construction of a farm shedBirchip-Wycheproof RoadPermit issued by a delegate of the RA
2020· 5 proposals
June 2020
- Dwelling18 Johnson StreetPermit issued by a delegate of the RA
May 2020
- Use and development of land for an above ground, self-bunded Diesel cell94 Birchip-Sea Lake RoadPermit issued by a delegate of the RA
April 2020
- Construction of storage shed ancillary to existing emergency service facility (Birchip SES)89 Cumming AvenuePermit issued by a delegate of the RA
March 2020
- Store21 King StreetPermit issued by a delegate of the RA
January 2020
- Demolition of a building and construction a shed in a Heritage Overlay17 Campbell StreetPermit issued by a delegate of the RA
Contributes to desirability score · Future Growth (7%)
Development and planning activity
Data sources & freshness
- PPARS planning permit activity (statewide) — Department of Transport and Planning (Victoria) · Period: 2020–2022 · Updated on site · Public MapServer last updated Feb 2024 — applications through FY 2022–23 only; newer PPARS data requires council/API access
Amenities
13 nearby amenities within ~1.5 km
- Birchip BakeryBakery
- Bbq
- Bench
- Birchip CafeCafe
65 Cumming Avenue, Birchip
- Picnic Table (5)
- Saint Mary's Catholic ChurchPlace of worship
- Birchip HotelPub
- Doyles IGASupermarket
- Waste Basket
Names and addresses from OpenStreetMap. Unnamed venues show as their type (e.g. Cafe).
Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (15%)
Food, shopping, recreation and sport (OpenStreetMap)
Data sources & freshness
- OpenStreetMap amenities — OpenStreetMap contributors · Period: current · Updated on site · Weekly refresh
Parks & reserves
3 parks and public open space in this suburb
- Birchip Shire Soldiers Memorial ParkPark
- J.E. Taylor Sunset ParkPark
- Karyrie I297 Bushland ReserveNature reserve
Data sources & freshness
- Parks & reserves — State government + ABS LGA boundaries · Period: current · Updated on site
Health access
- Hospitals & GP clinics
- 1
- Emergency department
- On site
- East Wimmera Health Service (Birchip Campus)Duncan Streethospital
Contributes to desirability score · Accessibility (15%)
Hospitals and GP clinics
Data sources & freshness
- Hospitals & clinics — OpenStreetMap + state health datasets · Period: current · Updated on site
Socio-economic (SEIFA)
- IRSAD decile (2021)
- 5/10
- IRSD decile (2021)
- 5/10
SEIFA indexes from ABS 2021. Decile 10 = most advantaged / least disadvantaged in Australia.
Contributes to desirability score · Community (5%)
Socio-economic advantage (IRSAD decile)
Data sources & freshness
- SEIFA 2021 (IRSAD / IRSD) — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Period: 2021 · Updated on site · 2021 SEIFA release
Hazards
- Bushfire planning zone
- No overlay at centroid
Bushfire overlay checked at suburb centroid via Victorian Bushfire Management Overlay mapping.
Contributes to desirability score · Safety (18%)
Bushfire hazard overlays
Data sources & freshness
- Hazard planning overlays — State government hazard layers · Period: current · Updated on site
Green cover
- Parks & woodland (OSM)
- 5
- Parks (OSM)
- 2
OpenStreetMap parks and natural woodland features mapped within the suburb boundary.
Contributes to desirability score · Environment (10%)
Parks and green cover (OpenStreetMap)
Data sources & freshness
- OpenStreetMap green cover features — OpenStreetMap contributors · Period: current · Updated on site · Weekly refresh
Desirability index
- Desirability score
- 37.1/100
- National rank
- 3780th in Australia
- State rank
- 751st in VIC
- Peer rank
- #131 among Country & regional · Mature suburbs
- Cohort rank
- #319 among Country & regional suburbs
- Data confidence
- 82%
Data sources & freshness
- Suburb Guide desirability index — Suburb Guide (derived score) · Period: current · Updated on site · Derived from source metrics
Recent changes
- A212 Non-Fv Serious Assaultcrime1
- B21 Criminal Damagecrime3
- B322 Non-Residential Non-Aggravated Burglarycrime4
- B49 Other Theftcrime4
- D21 Riot And Affraycrime2
- East Wimmera Health Service (Birchip Campus)healthDuncan Streethospital
- Birchip Shire Soldiers Memorial Parkgovernmentpark
- J.E. Taylor Sunset Parkgovernmentpark
- Karyrie I297 Bushland Reservegovernmentnature_reserve
- Construct and display a major promotion signplanningBIRCHIP-WYCHEPROOF ROAD BIRCHIP 3483Lodged 22 Apr 2021 · Permit issued by a delegate of the RA
Data sources & freshness
- Recorded offences by suburb/town — Crime Statistics Agency (Victoria) · Updated on site · Year ending March release
- Parks & reserves — State government + ABS LGA boundaries · Updated on site
- Hospitals & clinics — OpenStreetMap + state health datasets · Updated on site
- PPARS planning permit activity (statewide) — Department of Transport and Planning (Victoria) · Updated on site · Public MapServer last updated Feb 2024 — applications through FY 2022–23 only; newer PPARS data requires council/API access
Similar suburbs
Suburbs with a similar population, SEIFA decile and location.