VIC · Alpine Council
Buffalo River, 3737
Current weather
10.8°CModerate drizzle
88% humidity · 19.5 km/h wind · 13.1° / 8.5° today · 10.9 mm rain
Updated
Desirability score
- Rural
- Established
- Residential
- Amenities
- Open space
Suburb profile
In Alpine, Buffalo River keeps a rural calm, a smaller community with room to breathe and a strong local rhythm. Set in the wider countryside, it offers distance from the capital and a strong sense of place. The landscape itself is part of the lifestyle: open paddocks, big skies and room to breathe.
A mature community gives the area a calm, settled social fabric, with families and grandchildren still a visible part of community life. Life here is grounded in local routine rather than big-city choice, and that is part of the charm. The market sits in a sensible middle ground: not cheap, but fair value for the area.
The streetscape feels settled and established, with older homes giving the area a familiar, lived-in look.
The desirability score is below average, weighed down by weaker local dining and lifestyle amenities and growth momentum against similar regional towns, even with housing affordability holding up better. Limited access to some essential local services also trimmed the result.
Population
- Population
- 285
- Median age
- 54
- Median household income / week
- $1,421
- Dwelling vacancy
- 7.9%
- Unoccupied private dwellings
- 10 of 127
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,733
- Employment rate
- 59.1%
- Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
- 10 / 0 / 0
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)
- 4
- Against the person
- 0
- Against property
- 4
- Rate per 1,000 residents
- 14
- State safety percentile
- 7.3th (lower crime is better)
- Increase (daily rate)
- +100%
Reported offences increased compared with the previous period.
Reported offences by period
Most common offence types
- B21 Criminal Damage2
- B321 Residential Non-Aggravated Burglary1
- B42 Steal From A Motor Vehicle1
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
Roadworks & transport
1 active roadworks / incidents
- Utility Works activities occurring between 22/06/2026 and 31/07/2026 during the following times: Weekdays 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. Impact to traffic will be lanes closed both directions. Altered speed limit during operation will be 40 and the traffic delay is expected to be Greater than 10 min.BUFFALO RIVER ROAD, YARRARABULA CREEK ROAD21 Jun 2026 – 30 Jul 2026
Data sources & freshness
- Road incidents & closures — State road authority open-data feeds · Period: current · Updated on site · Hourly refresh where supported
Planning & development
Development applications from PPARS statewide register (lodged 2020–2022). Free public PPARS MapServer — applications through ~2022 (service last updated Feb 2024).
6 planning-related records
2021· 3 proposals
August 2021
- Use and Buildings and Works for the Construction of a Dwelling, and Alteration of Access to a Road in a Road Zone - Category 1.650 BUFFALO RIVER RD BUFFALO RIVER 3737Refusal issued by the Resp. Authority
May 2021
- Buildings and Works RHIANNON VICSMART1237 BUFFALO RIVER RDPermit issued by a delegate of the RA
February 2021
- Buildings and Works642 BUFFALO RIVER RDPermit issued by a delegate of the RA
2020· 3 proposals
December 2020
- Mobile Chicken Coop VICSMART ALISON650 BUFFALO RIVER RDPermit issued by a delegate of the RA
June 2020
- Buildings and Works for the Construction of an Outbuilding ALISON716 BUFFALO RIVER RDPermit issued by a delegate of the RA
May 2020
- Buildings and Works for the Construction of a Dwelling, and the creation of access to a road in a Road Zone Category 1Lot 1 Buffalo River RoadPermit 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
No OpenStreetMap amenities mapped for this suburb yet.
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
Socio-economic (SEIFA)
- IRSAD decile (2021)
- 6/10
- IRSD decile (2021)
- 6/10
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
- Overlay applies
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)
- 4
- Parks (OSM)
- 0
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
- 31.1/100 — Below average
- National rank
- 5023rd in Australia
- State rank
- 940th in VIC
- Peer rank
- #225 among Country & regional · Mature suburbs
- Cohort rank
- #473 among Country & regional suburbs
- Data confidence
- 62%
Data sources & freshness
- Suburb Guide desirability index — Suburb Guide (derived score) · Period: current · Updated on site · Derived from source metrics
Recent changes
- B21 Criminal Damagecrime2
- B321 Residential Non-Aggravated Burglarycrime1
- B42 Steal From A Motor Vehiclecrime1
- Buildings and Worksplanning642 BUFFALO RIVER RDLodged 11 Feb 2021 · Permit issued by a delegate of the RA
- Buildings and Works RHIANNON VICSMARTplanning1237 BUFFALO RIVER RDLodged 14 May 2021 · Permit issued by a delegate of the RA
- Buildings and Works for the Construction of a Dwelling, and the creation of access to a road in a Road Zone Category 1planningLot 1 Buffalo River RoadLodged 12 May 2020 · Permit issued by a delegate of the RA
- Buildings and Works for the Construction of an Outbuilding ALISONplanning716 BUFFALO RIVER RDLodged 11 Jun 2020 · Permit issued by a delegate of the RA
- Mobile Chicken Coop VICSMART ALISONplanning650 BUFFALO RIVER RDLodged 23 Dec 2020 · Permit issued by a delegate of the RA
- Use and Buildings and Works for the Construction of a Dwelling, and Alteration of Access to a Road in a Road Zone - Category 1.planning650 BUFFALO RIVER RD BUFFALO RIVER 3737Lodged 10 Aug 2021 · Refusal issued by the Resp. Authority
- Utility Works activities occurring between 22/06/2026 and 31/07/2026 during the following times: Weekdays 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. Impact to traffic will be lanes closed both directions. Altered speed limit during operation will be 40 and the traffic delay is expected to be Greater than 10 min.roadworksBUFFALO RIVER ROAD, YARRARABULA CREEK ROAD21 Jun 2026 – 30 Jul 2026
Data sources & freshness
- Recorded offences by suburb/town — Crime Statistics Agency (Victoria) · Updated on site · Year ending March release
- 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
- Road incidents & closures — State road authority open-data feeds · Updated on site · Hourly refresh where supported
More in Alpine Council
Other suburbs in the same local government area.
Comparable suburbs
Similar population and socio-economic profile in other parts of Victoria.