CardiniaVIC · suburb profile
VIC 3978 · Cardinia
Daily life in Cardinia is likely to be quiet and community-focused, with a significant portion of the population working from home (24.1%). The suburb has a high rate of car usage for commuting, with 47.6% of residents driving to work, while public transport usage is low at 2.6%. The community feel is enhanced by the high percentage of owner-occupied homes, with 44.2% owned outright and 39.8% owned with a mortgage.
1 school · 2025 figures
Who goes to school in Cardinia
All schools · Cardinia has a single school, with 189 students.
Schools here
1
1 primary
Students, all schools
189
2025 · −35.9% since 2015
At primary schoolsStudents at schools whose type is “Primary”. It excludes children in primary years at a Prep-to-12 college — they are counted in the tile beside this one. This number answers “are the primary schools here filling or emptying?”
−31.0%
189 students · five years
Children in primary yearsChildren in Years 1–6 at any school, including Prep-to-12 colleges. This answers “are there still young families here?” — a different question from the tile on the left, which is why the two can move in opposite directions.
Prep and ungraded students are counted separately again; see the chart below.
−31.6%
160 · Years 1–6, anywhere
11 years · two ways to read them
Enrolments, 2015–2025
The same students, counted two ways — by the kind of school they attend, and by the year they are in. They answer different questions and can point in different directions. Both views are in the page; the buttons only change which is visible.
Enrolments in Cardinia have fallen 35.9% over 10 years.
- Primary schools
Show data table
| Year | Primary schools |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 295 |
| 2016 | 312 |
| 2017 | 311 |
| 2018 | 305 |
| 2019 | 284 |
| 2020 | 274 |
| 2021 | 249 |
| 2022 | 247 |
| 2023 | 210 |
| 2024 | 191 |
| 2025 | 189 |
Which schools in Cardinia are filling and which are emptying. A school that covers Prep to Year 12 is counted once, in its own line — its primary-age students are not in the primary schools line.
- Years 1–6
- Prep & ungradedTwo groups that sit outside the numbered year levels: Prep — the first year of school, which the national data does not number — and ungraded students at specialist schools, who are not placed in a year level at all.
A suburb with a specialist school will have a large line here.
Show data table
| Year | Years 1–6 | Prep & ungraded | All students |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 249 | 46 | 295 |
| 2016 | 262 | 50 | 312 |
| 2017 | 266 | 45 | 311 |
| 2018 | 257 | 48 | 305 |
| 2019 | 239 | 45 | 284 |
| 2020 | 234 | 40 | 274 |
| 2021 | 210 | 39 | 249 |
| 2022 | 208 | 39 | 247 |
| 2023 | 175 | 35 | 210 |
| 2024 | 163 | 28 | 191 |
| 2025 | 160 | 29 | 189 |
This counts children by the year they are in, not by the kind of school they attend — so a Prep-to-12 college contributes to every line. The three add up to every student in the suburb.
2025 · ACARA
The school in Cardinia
Ordered by size, not by results — 1 government, 0 Catholic and 0 independent. Schools with more than one campus are counted once.
What these columns mean
- Type
- Prep-to-12 is one school a child can start and finish at without changing schools. Specialist schools also appear as Prep-to-12.
- 5 yr
- Change in enrolments against five years ago, not against last year. Enrolments move slowly, so a single year is mostly noise.
| School | Sector | Type | Students | 5 yr | 10 yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardinia Primary School | Government | Primary | 189 | −31.0% | −35.9% |
Government zoning
Which catchments cover Cardinia
5 government catchments cover Cardinia — 4 secondary and 1 primary — so which one applies depends on the address, not the suburb.
| CatchmentThe area around a government school where living there guarantees your child a place. Boundaries follow streets, not suburb lines, so an address near the edge of a suburb may be zoned elsewhere. They are redrawn each year. | Level |
|---|---|
| Birranga College | Secondary |
| Clyde Secondary College | Secondary |
| Edenbrook Secondary College | Secondary |
| Koo Wee Rup Secondary College | Secondary |
| Cardinia Primary School | Primary |
The read
What living here is actually like
Cardinia is a small rural suburb with a population of 341 people, characterized by a median age of 44, which is higher than the Victorian average of 38. The gender distribution is slightly skewed towards males, with 54.5% male and 45.5% female residents. The suburb has a strong family presence, with 51.0% of households being couples with children and 37.8% being couples without children. The average household size is 2.9 people, indicating a family-oriented community.
Buyer fit
Who this suburb suits
One score per buyer type, out of 100, built from the demographic, housing and commute profile. Strongest first.
Buyer-fit score
Cardinia · 0–100
Show data table
| Buyer type | Score |
|---|---|
| Families | 80 |
| Retirees | 75 |
| Professionals | 65 |
| First home buyers | 55 |
| Investors | 50 |
Why families score highest
The signals doing the work
- High percentage of family households - 84.3%
- Above average household income - $1875 weekly
- Predominantly owner-occupied homes - 84.0%
- Average household size of 2.9 people
Against the state
How Cardinia differs from Victoria
Every bar is this suburb. The vertical tick is the Victorian figure — the gap between them is the story.
Housing & movement
What’s built here, and how people leave in the morning
Dwelling mix
Share of occupied private dwellings
Show data table
| Dwelling type | Share |
|---|---|
| Separate houses | 100% |
How people get to work
Method of travel, 2021 Census
Show data table
| Method | Share |
|---|---|
| Worked from home | 24.1% |
| Drove a car | 47.6% |
| Public transport | 2.6% |
| Walked only | 4.2% |
| Car passenger | 3.1% |
Costs 2021 Census
Census figures, collected in 2021. Rents and repayments have moved since — for what property is selling for now, see .
Top occupations
Share of the employed workforce
Key highlights
- High rate of home ownership - 84.0% of homes are owned outright or with a mortgage
- Above average household income - median weekly household income is $1875 (vs VIC $1759)
- Low unemployment rate - 5.0%, matching the Victorian average
- High percentage of English speakers - 87.4% speak only English at home
- Predominantly Australian-born population - 82.7% born in Australia
Things to be aware of
- Limited public transport options - only 2.6% use public transport
- Lower educational attainment - 9.2% hold a bachelor's degree or higher (vs VIC 29.2%)
- Higher median age - 44 years compared to VIC average of 38
- Limited cultural diversity - 82.7% born in Australia, lower overseas-born population
- Potential health concerns - 41.5% report having health conditions
Coming soon to this page
Where the richer profile lands
Schools & catchments
Zoned primary and secondary, NAPLAN bands, distances.
Transport & access
Stations, tram routes, drive time to the CBD, walkability.
Development activity
Permits approved, projects underway, zoning changes.
Want to dig into one address in Cardinia?
A suburb page gets you this far. For a specific block you get what homes of that size sell for here, the schools that address is zoned to, any subdivisions proposed within 500 m, plus lot dimensions, easements, planning overlays and true sun aspect — free, no account.
X-Ray an address →Data sources
Demographic figures from the Census of Population and Housing © Australian Bureau of Statistics, used under Creative Commons Attribution.
Cadastral and boundary data contains information © State of Victoria (Vicmap), licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Narrative summaries are AI-generated from the underlying data and may contain errors.
School details, enrolments and senior secondary results from the National Schools Data Collection © Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA).
School catchment boundaries contain information © State of Victoria (Department of Education), licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Base map © Mapbox © OpenStreetMap. Improve this map at openstreetmap.org/fixthemap.
Informational only — not financial, legal or planning advice. Verify zoning, overlays and catchments with the relevant council before relying on them. Data vintage: 2021 Census.