VIC · Ballarat Council
Lake Gardens, 3355
Current weather
7.3°CLight drizzle
95% humidity · 25.6 km/h wind · 9.1° / 5.9° today · 13.9 mm rain
Desirability score
Suburb snapshot
Lake Gardens is a small locality in the Ballarat area, home to around 1,801 residents (2021 Census). Available data shows 209 offences in 2026 with rising year-on-year trends (+47%), roughly 116.0 offences per 1,000 residents, 2 school and preschool sites in the area, 7 public transport stops within the suburb, a reasonable spread of amenities, and some planning and development activity on record. Snapshot data also shows parks or public open space within the suburb.
Population
- Population
- 1,801
- Median age
- 51
- Median household income / week
- $1,534
- Dwelling vacancy
- 6.6%
- Unoccupied private dwellings
- 53 of 798
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,733
- Employment rate
- 51.8%
- Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
- 40 / 54 / 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)
- 209
- Against the person
- 16
- Against property
- 147
- Rate per 1,000 residents
- 116
- Person-crime prevalence
- About 1 in 113 residents
- State safety percentile
- 79.3th (lower crime is better)
- Increase (daily rate)
- +47.2%
Reported offences increased compared with the previous period.
Reported offences by period
Most common offence types
- B21 Criminal Damage18
- B41 Motor Vehicle Theft20
- B42 Steal From A Motor Vehicle70
- E21 Breach Family Violence Order18
- E23 Breach Bail Conditions12
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
- 2
- Median school ICSEA (2 schools)
- 983
- Ballarat High SchoolSecondary
- Ballarat Specialist SchoolSpecial
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
7 public transport stops in this suburb
- Aquatic Centre/Gillies St N
- Ballarat HS/Gillies St N
- Lake Gardens Ave/Gillies St N
- Stirling Dr/Gillies St N
- Wendouree Railway Station
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).
9 planning-related records
2021· 1 proposal
May 2021
- 12 lot subdivision18 GREGORY STREET WEST LAKE GARDENS 3355Permit issued by a delegate of the RA
2020· 8 proposals
September 2020
- Use and development of 12 warehouses and a reduction in car parking18 Gregory Street WestPermit issued by a delegate of the RA
- Use of land for motor repairs and car sales14 Gregory Street WestLapsed
- Use and development of a vehicle store24 Gregory Street WestPermit issued by a delegate of the RA
- Change of use to vehicle store12 Gregory Street WestWithdrawn
- Development of the land for extensions to a retirement village25 Charles Anderson GrovePermit issued by a delegate of the RA
August 2020
- Development of four dwellings and a four lot subdivision15 Limetree WayPermit issued by a delegate of the RA
March 2020
- Development of two dwellings and two lot subdivision8 Cinnamon DriveLapsed
February 2020
- Development of a verandah4 Liliane PlacePermit 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
15 nearby amenities within ~1.5 km
- Bench (4)
- Bicycle Parking
- Bus stop (3)
- Park
- Picnic Table
- Australia PostPost Box
- WendoureeTrain station
- Wendouree 1Train station
- Wendouree 2Train station
- 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
2 parks and public open space in this suburb
- Lake Gardens PlaygroundPark
- St John's WoodPark
Data sources & freshness
- Parks & reserves — State government + ABS LGA boundaries · Period: current · Updated on site
Socio-economic (SEIFA)
- IRSAD decile (2021)
- 8/10
- IRSD decile (2021)
- 8/10
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
Heritage
2 state heritage places
- BALLARAT HIGH SCHOOLNH1797
- BALLARAT HIGH SCHOOLNH1797
Data sources & freshness
- State heritage register — State heritage authority · Period: current · Updated on site
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)
- 9
- Parks (OSM)
- 9
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
- 35.3/100
- National rank
- 4130th in Australia
- State rank
- 816th in VIC
- Peer rank
- #159 among Country & regional · Mature suburbs
- Cohort rank
- #366 among Country & regional suburbs
- Data confidence
- 78%
Data sources & freshness
- Suburb Guide desirability index — Suburb Guide (derived score) · Period: current · Updated on site · Derived from source metrics
Recent changes
- B21 Criminal Damagecrime18
- B41 Motor Vehicle Theftcrime20
- B42 Steal From A Motor Vehiclecrime70
- E21 Breach Family Violence Ordercrime18
- E23 Breach Bail Conditionscrime12
- BALLARAT HIGH SCHOOLheritageNH1797
- BALLARAT HIGH SCHOOLheritageNH1797
- Lake Gardens Playgroundgovernmentpark
- St John's Woodgovernmentpark
- 12 lot subdivisionplanning18 GREGORY STREET WEST LAKE GARDENS 3355Lodged 25 May 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
- State heritage register — State heritage authority · 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.