A beautiful city on Victoria’s Great Ocean Road, Warrnambool is a major tourist hub and a regional healthcare centre
| Local Government Area (LGA) | City of Warrnambool |
| Neighbouring Local Government Areas | Moyne |
| LGA Population, 2019 | 35,181 |
| Estimate Population, 2036 | 39,931 |
| Population Growth between 2014-2019 | 0.85%, an increase of 290 per annum |
| Forecast Population Growth | 0.77% per annum from 2016 to 2036 |
| Output | $1.78 billion Gross Regional Product |
Warrnambool is situated on the Surf Coast of Victoria, 260km southwest of Melbourne, and is the eighth-largest city in regional Victoria in terms of population. The city is the region’s main service centre for retail, business services, health and education.
Located along the Great Ocean Road, Warrnambool is also a major tourist hub.
Part of the Great South Coast region, Warrnambool’s diverse housing stock, services and amenity features attract a range of new residents: young people to inner urban centre, young families to new developments, mature families to the more rural areas and older people to established areas.
New greenfield opportunities to the north-east and north of the city, as well as in Dennington, provide opportunities for large-scale residential development in Warrnambool over the next 5 to 20 years.
Culture and Lifestyle
As one of the main towns on the Great Ocean Road, life in Warrnambool revolves around the ocean and pristine beaches. Fishing, surfing and boating are all popular activities.
Warrnambool Art Gallery offers a diverse collection of artworks ranging from the romanticised colonial landscapes, to contemporary Australian printmaking. The recently redeveloped Lighthouse Theatre in Warrnambool’s cultural precinct hosts a variety of large contemporary productions each year and also offers intimate spaces for grassroots theatre.
Employment, Industry and Infrastructure
Warrnambool has approximately 2,830 businesses and a workforce of around 18,100 people. It is a major centre for food manufacturing with an emphasis in dairy products, sheep and beef processing. The Warrnambool region, which is renowned for its clean green environment, produces 25 per cent of Australia’s milk and 30 per cent of Victoria’s beef and lamb.
Health Care and Social Assistance is the primary employment industry in Warrnambool, followed by Retail Trade, Education and Training and Accommodation and Food Services. In the five-year period 2014-2019, there was strong employment growth in Health Care and Social Assistance, Construction, Professional, Scientific and Technical Services, Other Services and Retail Trade.
In terms of Gross Value Added activity, Health Care and Social Assistance is the largest performing sector in Warrnambool, generating $285 million in 2019. Manufacturing, Education and Training and Retail Trade are also key industry sectors.
| Major Businesses | Industry |
|---|---|
| Warrnambool Cheese & Butter Factory (Saputo) Fonterra Murray-Goulburn (Koroit)* | Dairy product manufacturing |
| The Midfield Group | Meat and meat product manufacturing |
| Sun Pharma* | Pharmaceutical manufacturing |
| Ryans Group | Road freight transport and warehousing |
| Sinclair Wilson | Financial services |
| South West Healthcare St John of God Hospital | Health care and social assistance |
| Deakin University South West TAFE | Tertiary education |
| Wannon Water | Water and Waste Services |
*While these companies are not located within Warrnambool, the city provides considerable inputs to these companies (such as labour) |
The RDV information portal page has more detailed data and statistics on the Warrnambool region and regional Victoria more broadly.
