Porepunkah
At a median age of 46, Porepunkah skews 6 years older than the national average, making it one of the more mature communities in the Alpine Valley region. Separate houses account for 94.6% of all dwellings, the stock is almost entirely detached, and 45% of residents own outright without a mortgage. The vacancy rate of 12.2% is notably high compared to most regional Victorian suburbs, signalling a meaningful proportion of holiday or investment properties in the mix.
Local council: Alpine
Population
1,024
Median Age
46.0
Household IncomeiMedian weekly household income (ABS Census)
$1,576/wk
DAs (12 months)iDevelopment Applications lodged in the past year
5
Median House
$875K
October to December 2025
Only a handful of houses sold here in this period, so this median can jump sharply from one quarter to the next for reasons that have nothing to do with the market. Treat it as a rough guide, not a settled price.
Monthly mortgage repayments average $1,633, and the mortgage-to-income ratio of 23.9% stays below the 30% stress threshold, making repayments manageable relative to local incomes at the 51.5th household income percentile nationally. The stock is overwhelmingly detached: 94.6% separate houses, with 3-bedroom homes the most common at 50.8% and 4-plus bedroom homes at 36.6%.
For Buyers
Monthly mortgage repayments average $1,633, and the mortgage-to-income ratio of 23.9% stays below the 30% stress threshold, making repayments manageable relative to local incomes at the 51.5th household income percentile nationally. The stock is overwhelmingly detached: 94.6% separate houses, with 3-bedroom homes the most common at 50.8% and 4-plus bedroom homes at 36.6%.
For Investors
The rental market is relatively thin, with just 19.2% of residents renting and weekly rent at $383, modest compared to many regional VIC benchmarks. Vacancy at 12.2% is high, likely reflecting the holiday and lifestyle property segment that inflates short-term supply during off-peak periods. Only 5 development applications were lodged in the past 12 months, all subdivision-related with no new dwelling count recorded, confirming this is a slow-supply environment.
Development Activity
Total DAs
16
Last 12 Months
5
YoY ChangeiYear-over-year change in DA lodgements
+400.0%
Avg DA CostiAverage estimated cost per DA in the past year
N/A
Monthly DA Lodgements
DA Categories
Schools in Porepunkah
Open-register school locations for education access. This is not a school-quality ranking.
Porepunkah Primary School
Demographics
The median age of 46 is 6 years higher than the national average, reflecting the semi-retirement and lifestyle-migration profile common to Alpine Valley communities. Just 11.5% of residents were born overseas, which is 10.1 percentage points below the national figure, producing an Anglo-leaning community: English (445), Irish (142) and Scottish (113) are the leading ancestries. University qualifications at 27.2% run 2.9 points below national, and average household size of 2.5 matches the national figure exactly. Couples with children represent 41% of families (328 out of 800 total families), and 34.5% are couples without children, suggesting a mix of established families and empty-nesters.
Age Distribution
Bedrooms
Dwelling Structure
94.6%
Houses
3.8%
Townhouse
0.0%
Apartment
Tenure
Tenure is unusually ownership-heavy: 45% of residents own outright, 35.8% carry a mortgage and only 19.2% rent. Outright ownership at 45% is high by national standards and consistent with the older median age of 46, where long-time holders have paid down debt. Separate houses dominate at 94.6%, semi-detached at 3.8%, and apartments are negligible. Three-bedroom homes account for 50.8% of stock and 4-plus bedrooms for 36.6%, so larger family homes are the norm.
Mortgage / mo
$1,633
Rent / wkiABS Census 2021 median across all dwelling types. Current market rents are typically higher.
$383
Census 2021
HH Size
2.5
Personal Income / wk
$787
Vacancy Ratei% of dwellings unoccupied on Census night (ABS 2021)
12.2%
Unoccupied
52
Rent / IncomeiMedian rent as % of household income. Over 30% = housing stress
24.3%
Mortgage / IncomeiMedian mortgage as % of household income. Over 30% = housing stress
23.9%
Community Profile
Ancestry
Household Composition
40.5%
Couples with children
47.1%
Couples, no children
10.7%
Single parent
289
Total families
Economy & Employment
Construction leads the local industry mix at 15.4% (59 workers), followed by Healthcare at 13.0% (50) and Hospitality at 11.2% (43), with Education at 8.9% and Public Administration at 7.8%. This distribution reflects the Alpine tourism economy, where trade and service jobs support a resident base partly dependent on visitor spending. By occupation, Managers (99) and Professionals (86) top the count, consistent with the lifestyle-migration of semi-retired and remotely employed professionals. The unemployment rate is low at 2.2%, with a participation rate of 59.6%, and the full-time employment rate is 57.4%. Volunteering runs at 24.4%, high compared to urban norms, which is typical of smaller regional communities where civic engagement is stronger.
Unemployment
2.0%
Labour Force
552
Unemployed
11
Source: ABS Census 2021
Socio-Economic Indexes (SEIFA)iABS index ranking suburbs from 1 (most disadvantaged) to 10 (most advantaged)
Full-time
52.3%
Part-time
38.8%
Participation
65.2%
Employed
541
Full-time and part-time are shares of the employed. Source: ABS Census 2021
Occupations
Top Industries
University
27.2%
Postgraduate
5.5%
Born Overseas
11.5%
Dwellings
373
Transport to Work
Car dependence is near-total in Porepunkah: 85.6% of workers drive, 6.8% walk or cycle, and only 0.8% use public transport, which is well below the national average and expected given the rural Alpine Valley setting. Total recorded crime is 20 incidents, producing a rate of 19.5 per 1,000 residents, with crimes against the person accounting for 9 and property offences 6. No schools are recorded inside the suburb boundary in this dataset, so families rely on institutions in neighbouring towns such as Bright. Mortgage stress is absent at a 23.9% mortgage-to-income ratio, and rent-to-income at 24.3% keeps tenants below the 30% stress threshold as well. The 3.9% of residents requiring daily assistance is low relative to the older median age of 46.
Drive
71.7%
Public Transport
0.6%
Walk / Cycle
5.7%
Work from Home
16.2%
Growth Outlook
No population forecast data is available in the brief, but the price history provides useful context for growth trajectory. Residential mobility is low: 76.8% of residents stayed at the same address in the 5 years before the Census, well above typical urban rates, meaning turnover is driven primarily by external buyers rather than internal churn. The 5 subdivision approvals in the past 12 months suggest modest but measured land activity rather than a supply surge.
Population trend: Alpine council area
Porepunkah sits in the Alpine council area. These are the council area's residents, not Porepunkah's.
Residents 2025
13,236
Growth, 5 yr average
+0.3%/yr
2020 to 2025
Growth, last year
+0.9%
2024 to 2025
ABS Estimated Resident Population by LGA, 30 June each year; council area, not this suburb
Safety & Crime
Total Offences
20
Year ending June 2024
Rate per 1,000 People
19.5
Offence Categories
Source: Crime Statistics Agency Victoria / SA Police
National Ranking iPercentile rank among ~15,000 AU suburbs. 90% = higher than 90% of suburbs
How Porepunkah compares to ~15,000 Australian suburbs
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Porepunkah a good suburb to live in?
Porepunkah suits lifestyle and semi-retirement buyers. Mortgage repayments average $1,633 per month with a mortgage-to-income ratio of 23.9%, below the stress threshold. Car ownership is essential as 85.6% of residents drive to work, and the nearest schools are in neighbouring towns. Crime is low at 19.5 incidents per 1,000 residents.
What schools are in Porepunkah?
No schools are recorded inside the Porepunkah boundary in this dataset. With a population of 1,024 across 68.49 square kilometres, families rely on schools in nearby Bright and surrounding Alpine Valley towns. University qualifications among residents sit at 27.2%, slightly below the national average.
Is Porepunkah safe?
Porepunkah recorded 20 total crimes in the latest period, a rate of 19.5 per 1,000 residents. The leading category was crimes against the person with 9 incidents, followed by property and deception offences with 6. These figures are low in absolute terms given the population of 1,024, consistent with a low-crime rural community.
Is Porepunkah good for property investment?
Only 19.2% of residents rent, weekly rent is $383, and the vacancy rate is a high 12.2%, reflecting the holiday property element.
How is Porepunkah's population changing?
The current population is 1,024 across 68.49 square kilometres, giving a low density of 15 residents per square kilometre. Residential stability is high: 76.8% of residents stayed at the same address in the 5 years before Census. The suburb has an older profile with a median age of 46, which is 6 years above the national average, indicating aging in place rather than significant demographic turnover.
How to read these comparisons
Phrases like "above the national average" reference the unweighted median across Australian suburbs with more than 1,000 residents, not population-weighted national figures. Suburb-level medians are more useful for ranking suburbs against each other; ABS census headlines are population-weighted (so dominated by Sydney and Melbourne) and can read very differently.
Current baseline (refreshed 2026-05-10): median age 40, university-educated 30.1%, born overseas 21.6%, average household size 2.5 people.
Data sources: ABS 2021 Census (demographics, income, tenure), Valuer-General Victoria (house prices), state education open registers (school locations), state Crime Statistics agencies (offences), council DA portals (development applications).
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