Skenes Creek, Colac Otway: zoning, flood risk, school zones and what to check before you buy
Valuer-General Victoria doesn't report a median house or unit price for Skenes Creek: too few sales. Median rent: $295 a week (ABS Census 2021, older than the price figures). Postcode 3233.
What stands out: A bushfire overlay covers 100% of the suburb's land (Vicmap Planning).
Page updated
- Zoning: mostly Rural Conservation zone (RCZ), 82% of the land
- Planning change: a new overlay since 2017, latest in 2021 (details)
- School zones: parts of Skenes Creek are zoned for Apollo Bay P-12 College (primary); Apollo Bay P-12 College (secondary)
- Getting there: nearest train station about 42.4 km from the suburb centre
- Median rent
- $295/wk
- Census 2021 (older)
- Census 2021 median, all rented homes
- Four years older than the price figures; not directly comparable.
- ABS Census 2021
- Planning risk
- Flood 3% LowBushfire 100% Very highHeritage 1% Very low
- share of suburb land area
- 1 suburb-specific overlay to check
- Vicmap Planning
- Getting around
- 42.4 km to nearest station
- 1 zoned primary, 1 secondary schools
- PTV timetable data · Victorian Department of Education school zones
Skenes Creek is a small community with a median age of 55, more socio-economically advantaged than most areas on the ABS's SEIFA index. Housing here is overwhelmingly standalone houses. The area is still light on cafés, shops and other everyday amenity. It's not served by train or tram. House sales here are too infrequent for a reliable median — see the unit and land figures below.
Ready to look at a specific property here? See the due diligence hub for what to verify before you sign.
Scope: Victoria, Australia. Suburb data here is Victorian (state valuer, rental, planning and school records); regional Victoria comparison group.
In this profile
- Planning and riskZones, overlays, flood and bushfire, and what is planned nearby, with an address check.
- Prices and rentsMedian prices and rents, how they have moved, and sales volume.
- SchoolsThe government school zones that cover the suburb.
- Living hereTransport, commute times, who lives here and the suburbs nearby.
- Before you buyThe checks every purchase needs, common questions and guides.
Is Skenes Creek in a flood, bushfire or heritage area?
Skenes Creek has relatively light heritage-overlay coverage (about 1%), though it can still apply to individual parcels. A Bushfire Management Overlay affects about 100% of the area.
Suburb-wide shares of the land, not a check of any one address.
Flood-related overlays can add building rules and raise insurance cost.
Share of the suburb. Source: Vicmap Planning · Verify this address
If it applies it adds bushfire construction requirements (a BAL rating) and cost.
Share of the suburb. Source: Vicmap Planning · Verify this address
In a designated bushfire prone area a minimum construction standard applies to new homes, based on the bushfire attack level (BAL). (Department of Transport and Planning (Victoria), verified 22 Oct 2026) So building or rebuilding there means working out the home’s BAL and pricing in what meeting it costs.
Share of the suburb. Source: Designated Bushfire Prone Area (DataVic) · Verify this address
Changes to the outside of a building, and demolition, need council approval. 1 named overlay area (HO312) — oldest gazetted 2015.
Share of the suburb. Source: Vicmap Planning · Verify this address
Worth checking in Skenes Creek
Bushfire Management Overlay
A Bushfire Management Overlay affects ~100% of Skenes Creek. If it applies, it drives bushfire construction requirements (BAL rating) and cost.
Zoning mix and building controls
Land use across the suburb (planning zones)
- Zoning
- Rural / Green
- mostly Rural Conservation Zone (RCZ) · 82% of the suburb
Planning overlays that can affect building, renovating or removing vegetation somewhere in Skenes Creek — confirm whether any apply to the specific address.
- Design & Development Overlay — height, setback or design rules on new building
- Vegetation Protection Overlay — a permit is needed to remove or lop protected trees
- Significant Landscape Overlay — controls to protect the area’s landscape character
- Environmental Significance Overlay — environmental values that constrain development
- Neighbourhood Character Overlay — new building must fit the established street character
Planning changes in Skenes Creek: 1 recorded since 2017
Planning controls on land in Skenes Creek have changed since 2017. Each row below is one gazetted amendment — a batch of parcels changed together in the same notice, not a single lot — the kind of thing that moves land value and that portals don’t show.
Source: Vicmap Planning Scheme History (2017–present); parcel-level zone & overlay changes grouped by suburb, zone transition and gazettal batch. A suburb-level record — confirm the specific parcel. See how Melbourne’s zoning changed over the decade →
- Suburb
Layers on this map, as a table
| Layer | Share of suburb | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Suburb boundary | The whole suburb | ABS SAL 2021 |
Overlay colours reflect how much of the suburb an overlay covers — green under ~8%, amber ~8–20%, red above 20%. Public-acquisition, contamination (EAO) and floodway overlays are listed above under "Worth checking" wherever they apply, because even a small area can include a specific property. Source: Vicmap Planning. What do these terms mean? · How to verify planning controls for an address
What do homes cost in Skenes Creek?
Skenes Creek has too few recorded sales for a reliable median. Typical rent is $295/wk (Census 2021).
Show recorded crime and amenity-density comparisons
Which school zones cover Skenes Creek?
Parts of Skenes Creek fall within 1 primary and 1 secondary government school catchments. No schools sit within the suburb boundary itself, though the catchments above extend into it from neighbouring areas.
Government schools have address-based catchment zones; Catholic and independent schools set their own enrolment processes.
| Zone | Covers | Boundary | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary school zones | |||
| Apollo Bay P-12 College | 100% | — | |
| Secondary school zones | |||
| Apollo Bay P-12 College | 100% | — | |
How well connected is Skenes Creek?
0 train, 0 tram and 4 bus stop points sit inside the suburb (PTV timetable data).
- Getting around
- 0 train · 0 tram · 4 bus
- nearest train station ~42.4 km · counts are stop points, not stations (a station is often several)
- Train frequency
- every 120 min
- at the nearest station, weekday AM peak
- Tram frequency
- every 15 min
- at the nearest stop, weekday AM peak
- Schools
- 0
- primary & secondary
- Nearest Centrelink
- ~43 km
- outside the suburb
Everyday amenity (OpenStreetMap)
- Cafés & amenity density
- 0 cafés
- Low café & amenity density — likely more car-dependent
- Restaurants
- 1
- places to eat nearby
- Supermarkets
- 0
- grocery stores nearby
- Pharmacies
- 0
- chemists nearby
- Parks
- 1
- green space nearby
- Childcare
- 0
- centres nearby
- GP & medical centres
- 0
- nearby
Who lives in Skenes Creek?
— 249 residents · median age 55 · 82% own their home · SEIFA 7/10
- Population
- 249
- usual residents (Census 2021)
- Owner-occupied
- 82%
- 82% own, 10% private rent, 0% social, 8% other or not stated
- Median age
- 55 yrs
- of residents
- Personal income
- $705/wk
- median, per week
- Household income
- $1,260/wk
- median, per week
- Avg household size
- 2.0 people
- people per home · 16% live alone
- Monthly mortgage
- $1,450/mo
- median repayment
- Taxpayer income
- $43,700/yr
- median taxable income, per year (ATO)
- Population growth
- no data
- Recorded crime
- 87 per 1,000 residents
- a year, across all of Colac Otway council, not just Skenes Creek · around the state average
In Skenes Creek itself: 17 recorded offences in the year to 2026 (Crime Statistics Agency, matched by suburb name and postcode — a closer figure than the council-wide band above, though still a count, not a rate per resident).
Recorded offences by year, Skenes Creek (up 112% since 2019):
| Year | Offences |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 8 |
| 2020 | 7 |
| 2021 | 17 |
| 2022 | 17 |
| 2023 | 9 |
| 2024 | 10 |
| 2025 | 7 |
| 2026 | 17 |
- Median household incomeup 36%
- Median personal incomeup 25%
- Median weekly rentup 32%
- Median ageyounger by 3 years
How advantaged the area is
Deciles 1–10 vs all Victorian areas — 10 = most advantaged — from the ABS SEIFA index. A demographic measure, not a house-price one. These three don’t always move together — a suburb with lots of renters or students, for example, can score high on education but lower on income and housing costs.
- Overall advantage
- 7/10
- More advantaged than most
- Economic resources
- 6/10
- income, housing costs & wealth
- Education & occupation
- 8/10
- qualifications & skilled jobs
The homes here
Mix of dwelling types across the suburb (Census 2021)
Who owns and rents here (Census 2021)
More detail on building height and bedroom mix (Census 2021)
Bedroom mix (share of all occupied dwellings):
- Studio or 1 bedroom: 3%
- 2 bedrooms: 20%
- 3 bedrooms: 55%
- 4 or more bedrooms: 19%
Not sure whether a house, townhouse or apartment suits you? Decide what to buy →
Recorded crime is a council-wide rate — every offence police logged over the latest year (theft, property damage, drug and traffic offences and the like, not only violent crime) divided by the council’s residents. A broad area signal, not a figure for this exact street.
All figures are suburb-level indicators, not property-specific — always confirm the exact address on the Section 32. Sources: ABS Census 2021, Valuer-General Victoria, DFFH Rental Report, Crime Statistics Agency Victoria, Vicmap Planning, Victorian Government UDP, Victorian Department of Education (schools & zones, via data.vic, CC BY 4.0), OpenStreetMap.
Suburbs near Skenes Creek
The 6 closest suburbs with a Delora page, by distance between suburb centres.
What should I check before buying in Skenes Creek?
Overlay and pipeline checks specific to Skenes Creek are in the Planning and risk tab. Two checks apply to every purchase.
Easements & covenants
Check Section 3 for easements (e.g. drainage/sewer along a boundary — you usually can’t build over them) and restrictive covenants (single-dwelling, materials, height) that limit your plans.
Owners corporation (if applicable)
Apartments and many townhouses in Skenes Creek are in an owners corporation. If so, the statement must include its certificate — review annual fees, any special levies, the maintenance fund and insurance.
Already under contract in Skenes Creek?
Questions about Skenes Creek
What postcode is Skenes Creek?
Skenes Creek is in postcode 3233, in the Colac Otway council area, Victoria.
What is the population of Skenes Creek?
Skenes Creek had 249 usual residents at the 2021 Census (ABS), with a median age of 55.
Is Skenes Creek in a flood zone?
About 3% of Skenes Creek's land is under a flood-related planning overlay (LSIO, SBO or floodway), and about 100% is under the Bushfire Management Overlay (Vicmap Planning). These are suburb-wide shares: whether an overlay applies to one property depends on the address, so check it on VicPlan and in the Section 32.
Show all 4 more questions
What should I check in a Section 32 for Skenes Creek?
For Skenes Creek, pay particular attention to heritage overlays (about 1% of the suburb is affected), any flood-related overlay (about 3% of the land), easements and restrictive covenants on the title, and — for apartments — the owners-corporation certificate with its fees and any special levies.
Does Skenes Creek have heritage overlays?
Heritage overlays cover a small share of Skenes Creek (about 1%) — not common, but still worth a quick check: confirm in the Section 32's planning section whether a Heritage Overlay applies to this specific parcel, since it restricts demolition and external changes.
How is Skenes Creek zoned?
Most of Skenes Creek (82% of the land) is in the RCZ (RCZ), then PCRZ (8%) and TRZ2 (5%) (Vicmap Planning). The zone and its schedule set what can be built; check the exact zone for an address on VicPlan.
Which school zones cover Skenes Creek?
Parts of Skenes Creek are in the government school zones for primary: Apollo Bay P-12 College; secondary: Apollo Bay P-12 College (Victorian Department of Education school zones). A suburb can span several zones: the exact address decides which applies, so confirm it at findmyschool.vic.gov.au.
Guides for buying in Skenes Creek
The heritage, flood and bushfire figures in Planning and risk are suburb-wide — they tell you how common an overlay is here, not whether it applies to one specific address. Confirm via VicPlan and an in-person inspection before you rely on them.
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