SourceTargetCommunity Atlas
Local Government Area · Victoria

Colac Otway

22,244 residents · 57+ languages recorded at suburb level.

CALD share
11.4%
2,538 people
Growth since last census
+192.1%
vs previous census
In context
0.35× Victoria avg
0.42× national avg
Population
22,244
CALD residents
2,538
Languages spoken
57
Fastest-growing
+1033%
Narrative

Why this matters

Colac Otway is home to 22,244 residents. 11.4% of them speak a language other than English at home. That's 2,538 people whose daily linguistic reality shapes how services, communications and campaigns actually reach them.

This briefing pulls the full ABS Census 2021 picture for Colac Otway into a single shareable document: the languages spoken at home, the communities growing fastest, and the suburb-level variation that a council-wide average hides.

Languages

The twelve most-spoken

Bars show share of LGA residents · growth since last census

  1. 01
    Mandarin313 · 1.4%
    ▲381.5%
  2. 02
    Italian46 · 0.2%
    ▼25.8%
  3. 03
    Punjabi46 · 0.2%
    ▲187.5%
  4. 04
    Arabic44 · 0.2%
    ▼22.8%
  5. 05
    Samoan34 · 0.2%
    ▲1033.3%
  6. 06
    Greek34 · 0.2%
    ▼2.9%
  1. 01
    Filipino33 · 0.1%
    ▲50.0%
  2. 02
    Tagalog29 · 0.1%
    ▲222.2%
  3. 03
    Malayalam29 · 0.1%
    ▲11.5%
  4. 04
    Nepali29 · 0.1%
    ▲222.2%
  5. 05
    Thai29 · 0.1%
    ▲45.0%
  6. 06
    French28 · 0.1%
    ▲86.7%
Composition

Everyone at home

ENGLISH · 89%
OTHER
ENGLISH ONLY 88.6%  ·  OTHER LANGUAGES 11.4%
Mandarin
313 · +381.5%
Italian
46 · -25.8%
Punjabi
46 · +187.5%
Arabic
44 · -22.8%
Samoan
34 · +1033.3%
Greek
34 · -2.9%
Filipino
33 · +50.0%
Tagalog
29 · +222.2%
Malayalam
29 · +11.5%
Nepali
29 · +222.2%
Thai
29 · +45.0%
French
28 · +86.7%
Indonesian
25 · +177.8%
German
25 · +19.0%
Japanese
22 · +22.2%
SIZE = SPEAKERS  ·  TINT = GROWTH SINCE LAST CENSUS
  1. 01
    Mandarin313 · 1.4%
    ▲381.5%
  2. 02
    Italian46 · 0.2%
    ▼25.8%
  3. 03
    Punjabi46 · 0.2%
    ▲187.5%
  4. 04
    Arabic44 · 0.2%
    ▼22.8%
  5. 05
    Samoan34 · 0.2%
    ▲1033.3%
  6. 06
    Greek34 · 0.2%
    ▼2.9%
  7. 07
    Filipino33 · 0.1%
    ▲50.0%
  8. 08
    Tagalog29 · 0.1%
    ▲222.2%
  9. 09
    Malayalam29 · 0.1%
    ▲11.5%
  10. 10
    Nepali29 · 0.1%
    ▲222.2%
  11. 11
    Thai29 · 0.1%
    ▲45.0%
  12. 12
    French28 · 0.1%
    ▲86.7%
Momentum

Fastest-growing languages

Top movers since the last census

#1
Language
Samoan
+1033.3%
34 speakers · 0.2% of LGA
#2
Language
Mandarin
+381.5%
313 speakers · 1.4% of LGA
#3
Language
Tagalog
+222.2%
29 speakers · 0.1% of LGA
Sub-regions

Suburb-level data

Click a suburb to drill down to SAL-level figures

Colac East
193 RESIDENTS
24.4% CALDTop: Mandarin
Carlisle River
535 RESIDENTS
19.3% CALDTop: Italian
Apollo Bay (Vic.)
1,454 RESIDENTS
19.2% CALDTop: Greek
Forrest (Vic.)
259 RESIDENTS
18.5% CALDTop: Arabic
Colac West
141 RESIDENTS
17.0% CALD
Glenaire
192 RESIDENTS
16.7% CALDTop: Greek
Wye River
284 RESIDENTS
15.1% CALDTop: Macedonian
Colac
9,326 RESIDENTS
12.9% CALDTop: Mandarin
Skenes Creek
533 RESIDENTS
12.2% CALDTop: Indonesian
Cororooke
405 RESIDENTS
12.1% CALDTop: Vietnamese
Wool Wool
294 RESIDENTS
11.9% CALDTop: Mandarin
Barongarook West
375 RESIDENTS
10.9% CALDTop: French
Use this data

Commission a gap report for Colac Otway.

We turn census data into targeted outreach plans: which documents to translate first, which community leaders to engage, where the gaps are.