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This analysis uses Suburbs and Localities (SAL) boundaries, which can materially differ from Statistical Areas (SA2) even when sharing the same name.
SAL boundaries are defined by Australia Post and the Australian Bureau of Statistics to represent commonly-known suburb names used in postal addresses.
Statistical Areas (SA2) are designed for census data collection and may combine multiple suburbs or use different geographic boundaries. For comprehensive analysis, consider reviewing both boundary types if available.
est. as @ -- *
2021 Census | -- people
Sales Activity
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Sales Detail
Population
Curlewis lies within the top 10% of areas nationally in terms of population growth performance according to AreaSearch analysis of short and medium-term trends
The population of the Curlewis (Vic.) statistical area (Lv2), as estimated by AreaSearch, was around 3,995 in November 2025. This figure represents a decrease from the 4,175 people recorded during the 2021 Census, marking a change of -180 persons or approximately 4.3%. The current population estimate is based on AreaSearch's validation of new addresses and examination of the latest ERP data release by the ABS in June 2024. This results in a density ratio of 197 persons per square kilometer, indicating significant space per person and potential room for further development. Over the past decade, from 2015 to 2025, Curlewis (Vic.) has demonstrated resilient growth patterns with an average annual increase of approximately 3.4%, outpacing the SA4 region. This growth was primarily driven by interstate migration, which contributed around 74% of overall population gains during recent periods.
However, natural growth and overseas migration also played positive roles in the area's demographic shifts. AreaSearch adopts ABS/Geoscience Australia projections for each SA2 area, released in 2024 with a base year of 2022. For areas not covered by this data, AreaSearch utilises the VIC State Government's Regional/LGA projections from 2023, adjusting them using a method of weighted aggregation of population growth from LGA to SA2 levels. Considering these projections, exceptional growth is predicted for Curlewis (Vic.) over the period leading up to 2041. The area is expected to grow by approximately 2,318 persons within this timeframe, reflecting an overall gain of around 67.7%. This places Curlewis (Vic.) in the top 10 percent of Australia's regional areas in terms of projected demographic shifts.
Frequently Asked Questions - Population
Development
The level of residential development activity in Curlewis is very low in comparison to the average area assessed nationally by AreaSearch
Curlewis has had less than 1 dwelling approval annually since 2017. This minimal development activity is typical of rural areas with modest housing needs and limited construction due to local demand and infrastructure capacity. Yearly growth figures can vary significantly based on individual projects, as seen in Curlewis' low approval numbers.
Compared to Rest of Vic., Curlewis has shown significantly less construction activity since 2017. Its development pattern is also well below national averages during this period.
Frequently Asked Questions - Development
Infrastructure
Curlewis has strong levels of nearby infrastructure activity, ranking in the top 30% nationally
Changes to local infrastructure significantly influence an area's performance. AreaSearch has identified a total of 24 projects that could impact the area. Notable projects include Belgrove Estate, Bellarine Highway Safety Improvements, Duke 3222, and Drysdale Sporting Precinct Stage 2. The following list details those most relevant.
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INFRASTRUCTURE SEARCH
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Frequently Asked Questions - Infrastructure
Drysdale Sporting Precinct Stage 2
Stage 2 expansion of the 32.5 hectare Drysdale Sporting Precinct includes three rectangular playing fields with competition lighting, a new multi-use pavilion with female-friendly change facilities and social spaces, two netball courts (expandable to four), play spaces, cricket training nets, a learn-to-ride cycle track, a 2.5km perimeter running track, and enhanced car parking and pathways. The precinct serves local sporting clubs including Drysdale Hawks Football Club, Drysdale Cricket Club, Drysdale Soccer Club, and Drysdale Netball Club. A separate North Bellarine Aquatic Centre with 50-metre pool opened at the precinct in 2024.
Clifton Springs Beach Renourishment
Design and construction of a rock armoured groyne, beach renourishment, and integration of a storm water outfall to protect and enhance the coastal area.
Drysdale Bypass Road Project
The Bellarine Peninsula's biggest road infrastructure project, a $117 million, 6-kilometer bypass road stretching from Jetty Road to north of Whitcombes Road. The project significantly reduces traffic congestion through Drysdale by diverting heavy vehicles away from High Street, improving safety for pedestrians and cyclists. Features include a 25-meter arch bridge over the Bellarine railway line with split stone finish, a pedestrian underpass connecting the town center with the education precinct, shared walking and cycling paths, upgraded intersections with traffic lights at Grubb Road and Portarlington Road, and extensive native landscaping with over 150,000 trees and plants. Opened to traffic on June 30, 2020.
MacKillop Senior Centre
A state-of-the-art senior learning centre at Saint Ignatius College featuring 16 classrooms, a 330-seat lecture theatre, dedicated maker spaces, break-out areas, learning decks, and integrated technology. The $24 million facility opened in March 2024, serving Years 10-12 students on a spacious 12.4-hectare campus. The centre incorporates light-filled stairwells, timber finishings, study nooks, collaboration spaces and Christian symbolism including a prominent cross on its central tower, emphasizing the Ignatian tradition of faith-based education.
Sanctuary Springs Estate, Leopold
Boutique residential estate in Leopold delivering approximately 536 lots with waterways, wetlands, parks and a display village. Current stages are sold out, with the next land release anticipated in 2026. The estate is developed by Granite Projects with project sales and marketing by RPM Group.
Jetty Road Urban Growth Area Stage 2
Rezoning of 150ha greenfield land to enable a major residential expansion with up to 2000 dwellings, including a mix of traditional lots, townhouses, retirement and residential village living, public open spaces, local parks, waterway reserves, trails and an extension of the foreshore reserve to support housing growth.
Baywater Estate
Waterfront residential estate in Curlewis on the Bellarine Peninsula. The sold-out community comprises about 380 lots with bay views, foreshore access and local open space. Final stage civil works were completed in late 2021 and the project won the 2022 UDIA Victoria Residential Development award.
Clifton Springs Boat Harbour Upgrade
The upgrade includes the completion of a new overflow car-trailer park with 30 additional paved parking spaces for boat trailers, formalizing an existing informal overflow area. This enhances facilities for recreational boating, yachting, fishing, and diving. Dredging is part of ongoing maintenance, supported by a grant.
Employment
The employment landscape in Curlewis presents a mixed picture: unemployment remains low at 3.7%, yet recent job losses have affected its comparative national standing
Curlewis has a skilled workforce with notable representation in essential services sectors. Its unemployment rate is 3.7%, indicating relative employment stability over the past year according to AreaSearch's statistical area data aggregation.
As of September 2025, there are 2,224 employed residents, with an unemployment rate aligned with Rest of Vic.'s 3.8%. Workforce participation stands at 67.1%, exceeding Rest of Vic.'s 57.4%. Key employment sectors include health care & social assistance, construction, and retail trade, with retail trade showing particular strength at 1.3 times the regional level. Agriculture, forestry & fishing has limited presence, accounting for only 1.1% of employment compared to the regional average of 7.5%.
Labour force levels decreased by 0.6% in Curlewis over the year to September 2025, with employment decreasing by 0.4%, leading to a 0.2 percentage point drop in unemployment rate. State-level data as of 25-Nov-25 shows VIC employment grew by 1.13% year-on-year, with an unemployment rate of 4.7%. National employment forecasts from May-25 project national growth rates of 6.6% over five years and 13.7% over ten years. Applying these projections to Curlewis's employment mix suggests local employment should increase by 6.6% over five years and 13.7% over ten years, though this is a simplified extrapolation for illustrative purposes.
Frequently Asked Questions - Employment
Income
Income analysis reveals strong economic positioning, with the area outperforming 60% of locations assessed nationally by AreaSearch
AreaSearch's latest postcode level ATO data for financial year ending June 2023 shows median income in Curlewis suburb is $59,297 and average income is $76,617. This compares to Rest of Vic.'s median income of $50,954 and average income of $62,728. Based on Wage Price Index growth of 8.25% since June 2023, estimated current incomes are approximately $64,189 (median) and $82,938 (average) as of September 2025. Census 2021 data indicates household, family and personal incomes in Curlewis are at the 56th percentile nationally. Income brackets show that 39.2% of locals (1,566 people) earn between $1,500 - 2,999, similar to metropolitan region's 30.3%. High housing costs consume 16.5% of income, but strong earnings place disposable income at the 55th percentile nationally. The area's SEIFA income ranking places it in the 5th decile.
Frequently Asked Questions - Income
Housing
Curlewis is characterized by a predominantly suburban housing profile, with a higher proportion of rental properties than the broader region
Curlewis' dwelling structure, as per the latest Census, was 98.9% houses and 1.1% other dwellings, compared to Non-Metro Vic.'s 93.0% houses and 7.0% other dwellings. Home ownership in Curlewis stood at 26.1%, with mortgaged dwellings at 43.5% and rented ones at 30.4%. The median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,777, below Non-Metro Vic.'s average of $1,950 and the national average of $1,863. Median weekly rent in Curlewis was $405, higher than Non-Metro Vic.'s $402 but lower than the national figure of $375.
Frequently Asked Questions - Housing
Household Composition
Curlewis features high concentrations of family households, with a higher-than-average median household size
Family households comprise 81.8% of all households, including 34.6% couples with children, 32.1% couples without children, and 14.1% single parent families. Non-family households account for 18.2%, with lone person households at 15.3% and group households making up 2.8%. The median household size is 2.7 people, larger than the Rest of Vic. average of 2.5.
Frequently Asked Questions - Households
Local Schools & Education
The educational profile of Curlewis exceeds national averages, with above-average qualification levels and academic performance metrics
The area's university qualification rate is 23.0%, significantly lower than Victoria's average of 33.4%. Bachelor degrees are the most common at 15.7%, followed by postgraduate qualifications (3.9%) and graduate diplomas (3.4%). Vocational credentials are prominent, with 42.6% of residents aged 15+ holding them, including advanced diplomas (13.6%) and certificates (29.0%). Educational participation is high, with 30.1% of residents currently enrolled in formal education, including 11.6% in primary, 7.4% in secondary, and 3.5% in tertiary education.
Educational participation is notably high, with 30.1% of residents currently enrolled in formal education. This includes 11.6% in primary education, 7.4% in secondary education, and 3.5% pursuing tertiary education.
Frequently Asked Questions - Education
Schools Detail
Nearby Services & Amenities
Transport
Transport servicing is moderate compared to other areas nationally based on assessment of service frequency, route connectivity and accessibility
Curlewis has 13 active public transport stops, all of which are bus stops. These stops are served by 8 different routes, together offering 735 weekly passenger trips. The accessibility of these services is rated as good, with residents typically residing 350 meters from the nearest stop.
On average, there are 105 trips per day across all routes, which equates to about 56 weekly trips per individual stop.
Frequently Asked Questions - Transport
Transport Stops Detail
Health
Curlewis's residents are healthier than average in comparison to broader Australia with a fairly standard level of common health conditions seen across both young and old age cohorts
Curlewis residents have relatively positive health outcomes, with common conditions seen across both young and old age cohorts at a fairly standard level.
Approximately 57% (~2,279 people) of the total population has private health cover, which is very high compared to other areas. The most prevalent medical conditions are mental health issues (10.4%) and asthma (9.3%). A majority of residents (67.7%) report being completely clear of medical ailments, slightly higher than the Rest of Vic's 66.8%. Curlewis has a lower proportion of seniors aged 65 and over at 12.7% (507 people), compared to the Rest of Vic's 24.2%. Despite this, health outcomes among seniors in Curlewis are above average and broadly align with the general population's health profile.
Frequently Asked Questions - Health
Cultural Diversity
Curlewis ranks below the Australian average when compared to other local markets across a number of language and cultural background related metrics
Curlewis, surveyed in June 2016, had a predominantly Australian-born population with 85.1% born there. Citizenship was also high at 91.6%. English was the primary language spoken at home by 93.1%.
Christianity was the dominant religion, practiced by 43.1%. Hinduism, however, was slightly overrepresented compared to the rest of Victoria, with 0.7% versus 0.4%. The top three ancestral groups were English (30.0%), Australian (27.9%), and Scottish (8.5%). Among other ethnicities, Polish (1.0%) and Maltese (1.4%) were notably more prevalent in Curlewis compared to regional averages of 0.7% and 0.9%, respectively.
Frequently Asked Questions - Diversity
Age
Curlewis hosts a young demographic, positioning it in the bottom quartile nationwide
Curlewis has a median age of 34, which is lower than the Rest of Vic figure of 43 and Australia's median age of 38. The 25-34 cohort is over-represented in Curlewis at 16.3%, compared to the Rest of Vic average, while the 65-74 year-olds are under-represented at 8.4%. Between 2021 and present, the 35-44 age group has increased from 15.1% to 16.4% of Curlewis's population. Conversely, the 55-64 cohort has decreased from 10.7% to 9.4%. By 2041, demographic modeling projects significant changes in Curlewis's age profile. The 25-34 age cohort is projected to grow significantly, expanding by 635 people (98%) from 651 to 1,287.