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This analysis uses ABS Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2) boundaries, which can materially differ from Suburbs and Localities (SAL) even when sharing similar names.
SA2 boundaries are defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics and are designed to represent communities for statistical reporting (e.g., census and ERP).
Suburbs and Localities (SAL) represent commonly-used suburb/locality names (postal-style areas) and may use different geographic boundaries. For comprehensive analysis, consider reviewing both boundary types if available.
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Sales Activity
Curious about local property values? Filter the chart to assess the volume and appreciation (including resales) trends and regional comparisons, or scroll to the map below view this information at an individual property level.
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Population
Population growth drivers in Dandenong - South are above average based on AreaSearch's ranking of recent, and medium to long-term trends
Dandenong - South's population was around 10,048 as of May 2026, according to AreaSearch's analysis. This figure represents an increase of 698 people, a 7.5% rise from the 2021 Census which reported a population of 9,350. The change was inferred from the estimated resident population of 10,039 in June 2025 and an additional 147 validated new addresses since the Census date. This results in a density ratio of 186 persons per square kilometer, indicating significant space per person and potential for further development. Dandenong - South's growth exceeded that of the SA3 area (7.0%), making it a growth leader in the region. Overseas migration contributed approximately 76.4% of overall population gains during recent periods.
AreaSearch uses ABS/Geoscience Australia projections released in 2024 with a base year of 2022 for each SA2 area, and VIC State Government's Regional/LGA projections released in 2023 with adjustments made employing a method of weighted aggregation of population growth from LGA to SA2 levels for areas not covered by the ABS data. Growth rates by age group are applied across all areas for years 2032 to 2041. Based on demographic trends, an above median population growth is projected for the area, with an expected expansion of 2,154 persons by 2041, reflecting a total gain of 21.4% over the 16-year period.
Frequently Asked Questions - Population
Development
AreaSearch assessment of residential development drivers sees a low level of activity in Dandenong - South, placing the area among the bottom 25% of areas assessed nationally
Dandenong - South has seen approximately 27 new homes approved annually over the past five financial years, totalling 137 homes. In FY26 so far, 91 approvals have been recorded. On average, 0.3 new residents per year arrive for each new home built between FY21 and FY25, indicating that supply is meeting or exceeding demand. The average construction cost of new properties is $214,000, below the regional average, suggesting more affordable housing options.
This financial year has seen $15.0 million in commercial development approvals, showing steady commercial investment activity. Compared to Greater Melbourne, Dandenong - South records about three-quarters the building activity per person, placing it among the 17th percentile of areas assessed nationally. This suggests somewhat limited buyer options while strengthening demand for established properties. The area's development activity is also below average nationally, reflecting its maturity and possible planning constraints.
New development in Dandenong - South consists of 55% standalone homes and 45% townhouses or apartments, with a growing mix providing options across different price points. The estimated population density is 972 people per dwelling approval, indicating a quiet, low activity development environment. Future projections estimate that Dandenong - South will add 2,145 residents by 2041. If current construction levels persist, housing supply may lag population growth, potentially intensifying buyer competition and underpinning price growth.
Frequently Asked Questions - Development
Development applications around Dandenong - South
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SOURCE: Planning portals and council registers, compiled by AreaSearch. Distance & bearing measured from the suburb midpoint.
Infrastructure
Dandenong - South has moderate levels of nearby infrastructure activity, ranking in the 41stth percentile nationally
Changes to local infrastructure significantly influence an area's performance. AreaSearch has identified 66 projects likely to impact the area. Notable ones include Webster Street Level Crossing Removal, Casey Green Estate, Glismann Road Development Plan, and Princes Highway Intersection Upgrades. The following list details those most relevant.
Professional plan users can use the search below to filter and access additional projects.
INFRASTRUCTURE SEARCH
Denotes AI-based impression for illustrative purposes only, not to be taken as definitive under any circumstances. Please follow links and conduct other investigations from the project's source for actual imagery. Developers and project owners wishing us to use original imagery please Contact Us and we will do so.
Frequently Asked Questions - Infrastructure
Dandenong Wellbeing Centre
A 122.15 million dollar state-of-the-art aquatic and wellness hub being built at Mills Reserve to replace the 45-year-old Dandenong Oasis. The facility will include an indoor 50-metre pool, a 25-metre 10-lane pool, two warm water program pools for hydrotherapy and rehabilitation, a learn-to-swim pool, and a family leisure pool with splashpad. Supporting amenities include a large gymnasium, group fitness studios, more than 200 square metres of allied water lounge and allied health consulting suites, community meeting rooms, a cafe, spa, sauna and steam room, plus an integrated hockey pavilion replacing the existing Mills Reserve facilities. The design features large-span engineered timber beams across the main pool hall and entry foyer, targets a 5 Star Green Star rating, and includes culturally inclusive features such as a parents and prayer room and capacity to isolate the warm water pool for women-only programs. Construction began with a sod-turning ceremony on 5 July 2025 and the centre is on track to open in early to mid 2027. The project is supported by a 20 million dollar Federal Government grant.
Little India Precinct
A $600 million redevelopment project including 470 new homes, apartment towers, retail spaces, office towers, a 29-storey hotel and conference centre, community spaces, an outdoor plaza, and an urban brewery entertainment district as part of the Revitalising Central Dandenong program. The project includes a brand-new Little India precinct featuring a pedestrian-only laneway between Halpin Way and Foster Street, supermarket, food market hall, and modern facilities for existing traders.
Hampton Park Central Revitalisation (Master & Development Plan)
The project outlines a multi-stage revitalisation of Hampton Park Central, guided by a Master Plan and a Development Plan adopted in 2019. It aims to create a vibrant retail, commercial, and community hub with a new town square, realigned Main Street, and integrated facilities like a library and youth center. The framework provides guidelines for street network, building design, and accessibility. Progress is dependent on securing external funding, with a review of the Development Plan scheduled for 2025/26.
Dandenong Community Hub
A multi-purpose community facility planned for central Dandenong on a site bounded by Stuart Street, Clow Street and Sleeth Avenue. The hub is intended to integrate early years services, kindergarten, childcare, maternal and child health, community meeting rooms, maker spaces, a cafe, co-working spaces, a technology hub and outdoor recreational areas. After cost estimates blew out from an original $30 million budget to about $65 million (plus up to $15 million for a basement car park) for a one-storey design, councillors voted on 8 December 2025 to halve the building from around 3,950 square metres to about 1,800 square metres - comparable to the recently completed Keysborough Community Hub. A rescission motion was lodged but at the 26 January 2026 Council meeting the original decision was upheld. Council has approved a redesign comparable in size and budget to the Keysborough Hub, completion of the co-design process, an accelerated program to better attract State and Federal funding, and exploration of public-private partnership options including air rights above the site. The project is being coordinated alongside the Dandenong Market Precinct Plan, which was released for public consultation in March 2026.
Dandenong New Art (DNA)
Redevelopment of the heritage 1920s Masonic Hall into a contemporary art gallery known as Dandenong New Art (DNA). The project includes state-of-the-art exhibition spaces, collection storage, education facilities, and community spaces. Construction commenced in 2020, was halted in 2021 due to COVID, recommenced in 2023, but is currently paused pending the demolition of the adjacent PEP building due to structural issues. Funds are being reallocated to address shortfalls, with completion now expected in late 2026.
Station Street Level Crossing Removal
Removal of dangerous and congested level crossing at Station Street, Beaconsfield by building a new road bridge over the Pakenham rail line. The project includes the new McKenna Drive bridge and improved pedestrian access, contributing to making the Pakenham Line level crossing-free by 2025.
Webster Street Level Crossing Removal
Major infrastructure project removing the dangerous Webster Street level crossing and constructing a new road underpass beneath the rail line. The project connects Princes Highway-Lonsdale Street to Cheltenham and Hammond roads, includes a new walking and cycling path connecting to the Dandenong Creek Trail, and will eliminate over 60 minutes of boom gate down time during morning peak. The level crossing will close in late 2025 with the new road underpass opening in 2026, two years ahead of original schedule.
Casey Green Estate
Master-planned residential estate by Osanrae featuring over 1,300 high-quality homes across five distinct neighbourhoods spanning 20 hectares. The development includes N3 and N4 (completed family-friendly housing), N1 and N2 Vista (architecturally designed homes in ecologically protected setting with construction commenced), and N5 Deblin (mixed houses, apartments, and retirement living coming soon). Premium amenities include swimming pool, multipurpose hall, childcare centre, medical suite, convenience store and cafe. Designed by renowned architects Demaine Partnership and Peddle Thorp Architects with landscape design by Jack Merlo, John Patrick and Paul Hamilton.
Employment
Employment conditions in Dandenong - South face significant challenges, ranking among the bottom 10% of areas assessed nationally
Dandenong - South has a skilled workforce with the construction sector prominently represented. Its unemployment rate was 14.4% as of December 2025. Employment growth in the past year was estimated at 0.8%.
As of that date, 3967 residents were employed while the unemployment rate was 9.6%, significantly higher than Greater Melbourne's rate of 4.8%. Workforce participation lagged behind Greater Melbourne at 58.4% compared to 69.9%. Only 10.6% of residents worked from home, though Covid-19 lockdown impacts should be considered. Key industries of employment among residents were manufacturing, construction, and health care & social assistance.
Manufacturing showed notable concentration with employment levels at 2.3 times the regional average. Professional & technical services had limited presence with 4.2% employment compared to 10.1% regionally. There were 6.2 workers for every resident as of the Census, indicating that the area functions as an employment hub attracting workers from surrounding areas. During the year to December 2025, employment levels increased by 0.8% and labour force grew by 4.2%, leading to a rise in unemployment rate by 2.9 percentage points. In contrast, Greater Melbourne saw employment rise by 2.4%, labour force grow by 2.8%, and unemployment increase by 0.3 percentage points. National employment forecasts from Jobs and Skills Australia suggest that Dandenong - South's employment should increase by 5.4% over five years and 11.9% over ten years, based on industry-specific projections applied to the local employment mix.
Frequently Asked Questions - Employment
Income
Income figures position the area below 75% of locations analysed nationally by AreaSearch
The Dandenong - South SA2's income level is below the national average according to the latest ATO data aggregated by AreaSearch for financial year 2023. The median income among taxpayers in this area is $47,084 and the average income stands at $54,279. In comparison, Greater Melbourne's median income is $57,688 and its average income is $75,164. Based on Wage Price Index growth of 9.62% since financial year 2023, current estimates would be approximately $51,613 (median) and $59,501 (average) as of March 2026. Census data from 2021 shows that income levels in Dandenong - South fall between the 10th and 19th percentiles nationally for household, family, and personal incomes. Income analysis reveals that the predominant cohort spans 28.4% of locals (2,853 people) with incomes in the $1,500 - 2,999 category, which is consistent with broader trends across regional levels showing 32.8% in the same category. Housing affordability pressures are severe in Dandenong - South, with only 80.4% of income remaining after housing costs, ranking at the 16th percentile nationally.
Frequently Asked Questions - Income
Housing
Dandenong - South displays a diverse mix of dwelling types, with a higher proportion of rental properties than the broader region
Dwelling structure in Dandenong - South, as per the latest Census, consisted of 59.9% houses and 40.2% other dwellings (semi-detached, apartments, 'other' dwellings). This compares to Melbourne metro's 67.9% houses and 32.1% other dwellings. Home ownership in Dandenong - South was at 29.0%, with the rest of dwellings either mortgaged (25.4%) or rented (45.6%). The median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,647, below Melbourne metro's average of $2,000. Median weekly rent in Dandenong - South was $341, compared to Melbourne metro's $390. Nationally, Dandenong - South's mortgage repayments were significantly lower than the Australian average of $1,863, and rents were less than the national figure of $375.
Frequently Asked Questions - Housing
Household Composition
Dandenong - South features high concentrations of group households, with a higher-than-average median household size
Family households constitute 65.8% of all households, including 34.4% couples with children, 17.9% couples without children, and 11.7% single parent families. Non-family households comprise the remaining 34.2%, with lone person households at 27.2% and group households comprising 7.2%. The median household size is 3.0 people, larger than the Greater Melbourne average of 2.6.
Frequently Asked Questions - Households
Local Schools & Education
Dandenong - South faces educational challenges, with performance metrics placing it in the bottom quartile of areas assessed nationally
The area's university qualification rate is 19.2%, significantly lower than Greater Melbourne's average of 37.0%. Bachelor degrees are the most common at 13.3%, followed by postgraduate qualifications (4.8%) and graduate diplomas (1.1%). Vocational pathways account for 24.6% of qualifications among those aged 15 and above, with advanced diplomas at 9.1% and certificates at 15.5%. Educational participation is high, with 33.5% of residents currently enrolled in formal education.
This includes 11.4% in primary education, 8.3% in secondary education, and 5.0% pursuing tertiary education.
Frequently Asked Questions - Education
Schools Detail
Nearby Services & Amenities
Transport
Transport servicing is good compared to other areas nationally based on assessment of service frequency, route connectivity and accessibility
Dandenong - South has 131 active public transport stops, all of which are bus stops. These stops are served by 14 different routes that together facilitate 4,214 weekly passenger trips. The area's transport accessibility is rated as good, with residents living an average of 207 meters from the nearest stop. Most residents commute outwards due to its residential nature. Cars remain the primary mode of transport at 86%, while trains are used by 6%. On average, there are 1.2 vehicles per dwelling.
According to the 2021 Census, only 10.6% of residents work from home, which may be due to COVID-19 conditions. The service frequency averages 602 trips daily across all routes, equating to approximately 32 weekly trips per individual stop. A map accompanies this information and highlights the 100 nearest stops to the location's centrepoint.
Frequently Asked Questions - Transport
Transport Stops Detail
Health
Dandenong - South's residents boast exceedingly positive health performance metrics with younger cohorts in particular seeing very low prevalence of common health conditions
Health outcomes data shows excellent results in Dandenong - South based on AreaSearch's assessment of mortality rates and chronic condition prevalence among younger cohorts. Notably, these groups have a very low prevalence of common health conditions. The rate of private health cover is found to be very low at approximately 47% of the total population (~4,702 people), compared to 56.7% across Greater Melbourne and the national average of 55.7%.
The most prevalent medical conditions in the area are diabetes and mental health issues, affecting 5.3% and 5.3% of residents respectively. Conversely, 79.6% of residents declare themselves completely clear of medical ailments, compared to 72.6% across Greater Melbourne. Working-age residents exhibit low chronic condition prevalence. The area has 14.3% of residents aged 65 and over (1,441 people), ranking lower nationally than the broader population.
Frequently Asked Questions - Health
Cultural Diversity
Dandenong - South is among the most culturally diverse areas in the country based on AreaSearch assessment of a range of language and cultural background related metrics
Dandenong-South is among the most culturally diverse areas in Australia, with 60.4% of its population born overseas and 73.6% speaking a language other than English at home. The predominant religion in Dandenong-South as of 2016 was Islam, comprising 54.4% of people, significantly higher than the Greater Melbourne average of 5.6%. In terms of ancestry, the top three groups in Dandenong-South were Other (53.8%), English (10.1%), and Australian (9.7%).
These figures differed substantially from regional averages: Other was notably higher at 14.6%, while English and Australian were significantly lower at 20.1% and 18.4% respectively. Additionally, certain ethnic groups showed notable divergences in representation: Macedonian was overrepresented at 2.2% (vs regional 0.7%), Sri Lankan at 1.1% (vs 0.8%), and Russian at 0.8% (vs 0.4%).
Frequently Asked Questions - Diversity
Age
Dandenong - South hosts a very young demographic, ranking in the bottom 10% of areas nationwide
At age 32, Dandenong - South's median age is notably younger than the Greater Melbourne average of 37 and significantly lower than the national average of 38. Compared to Greater Melbourne, Dandenong - South has a higher proportion of 5-14 year-olds at 14.0%, but fewer 55-64 year-olds at 7.6%. According to data from the 2021 Census and beyond, the 15 to 24 age group has increased from 12.6% to 13.5% of the population. Meanwhile, the 25 to 34 cohort has decreased from 19.3% to 17.6%. By 2041, demographic projections suggest Dandenong - South's age profile will change significantly. The 45 to 54 cohort is expected to grow by 38%, adding 418 residents to reach a total of 1,518. The 0 to 4 group is projected to grow by 4%, with an increase of 30 residents.