Strathbogie Infrastructure Projects, VIC

Agriculture-led economy with completed transport work and a measured residential base

Economic base

Strathbogie has an agriculture-led employment base with a broad service and trade layer. Agriculture, forestry and fishing accounted for 18.5% of employed residents in 2021, followed by health care and social assistance at 12.2%, construction at 9.7%, education and training at 7.2%, retail trade at 6.6% and manufacturing at 6.2%. Transport, postal and warehousing accounted for 4.4%, while accommodation and food services accounted for 6.1%. This combination points to an economy anchored in land-based activity but supported by local services, building trades, production and movement of goods. It also means that economic activity is spread across industries with different links to land, households, public services and regional access.

The business base reinforces that character. In June 2025, Strathbogie had 1,532 registered businesses and 450 employing businesses. Agriculture, forestry and fishing accounted for 639 registered businesses, construction 216, professional, scientific and technical services 112, and rental, hiring and real estate services 102. Construction had 80 employing businesses, agriculture 112, and professional, scientific and technical services 38. These are business counts rather than workplace employment, but they indicate a substantial spread of small operators alongside firms with employees. The pattern is consistent with a local economy where household services, farm-related activity and contracting operate alongside businesses with a formal employee base.

Project program

The council's recorded project direction is completed transport work. Transport work is also shared with other councils, making access and freight movement the clearest cross-boundary infrastructure connection in the programme. This direction fits an economy in which agricultural production, inputs, workers and services move across a dispersed rural area. Transport is therefore relevant to both the productive base and the service layer, including construction, retail, health care and education. The programme's main physical connection is network access and movement between communities and adjoining areas.

Current building activity provides a separate measure of local construction demand. Non-residential building work approved to proceed totalled $13.5m in the 12 months to June 2026. Residential building work approved to proceed totalled $56.5m in the 12 months to July 2026. Together, these approvals describe a flow of work through local construction markets, with residential work forming the larger measured value in the periods reported. The completed transport direction provides the infrastructure context for that activity, while the approvals figures provide a current indication of building work approved to proceed across residential and non-residential uses.

Economic connections

Transport work aligns with the economy's need to move agricultural output, inputs, workers and services across a large rural area. The employment structure gives that mechanism weight: agriculture, forestry and fishing is the largest recorded industry, while transport, postal and warehousing accounts for 4.4% of employed residents. Completed transport work could improve network reliability and access, although the figures do not measure a resulting change in freight volumes, travel times or business output. Shared transport work also gives the connection a cross-boundary character, because movement between councils can support production and service access beyond the local government area.

Construction activity connects housing and non-residential approvals to local capability. Construction represented 9.7% of employed residents in 2021, and construction businesses included 216 registered businesses and 80 employing businesses in June 2025. Health care and social assistance represented 12.2% of employed residents, while two hospitals, 13 approved centre-based childcare services and three residential aged care homes form part of the service base. This combination supports the interpretation that building activity and public access infrastructure matter both for productive activity and for maintaining service capacity as population changes. Construction businesses can support work across homes, services and commercial premises, while transport access may assist staff and users reaching those services.

Outlook

Population reached 11,839 in 2025, an increase of 144 people or 1.2%. Net internal migration contributed 132 people and net overseas migration 31, while natural increase was -19. The pattern is consistent with population change being driven mainly by movement into the council, rather than natural increase. It places continuing attention on housing supply, transport access and the capacity of health, childcare and aged-care services to serve a dispersed population. Population movement can affect demand for local services and housing at the same time as it changes the workforce available to businesses.

The near-term outlook should be read through the relationship between population movement, approved building work and the project mix. Transport remains the completed infrastructure direction. Labour market conditions in 2026-Q1 included a labour force of 5,804 people, 242 unemployed people and an unemployment rate of 4.2%. The indicators to monitor are the pace and composition of building approvals, labour-market conditions, population sources and the direction of future infrastructure activity. Together, these measures provide a way to follow construction demand, service pressure and the extent to which the physical programme continues to connect with the agriculture-led economy.

For council and planning staff

The housing target is 86 net new dwellings a year from 2023 to 2051. Dwellings approved since July 2023 reached 238 by July 2026, equivalent to 90% of the yearly pace the target needs across July 2023 to July 2026. Population increased by 144 people, or 1.2%, in 2025; net internal migration contributed 132 people, net overseas migration 31 and natural increase was -19. These figures describe the planned housing task and the sources of recent population change. Service capacity includes 2 open public and private hospitals, including 1 public hospital, at the current period. As at 2026-09-30, there were 13 approved centre-based childcare services and 664 approved childcare places. Residential aged care capacity is also part of the service picture.

For buyers’ agents and investors

The 2021 housing profile was predominantly owner-occupied: 50.3% of occupied private dwellings were owned outright, 27.2% were owned with a mortgage and 17.4% were rented. Average household size was 2.2 people and median age was 53. These figures describe a relatively mature population living in smaller households, with ownership the dominant tenure pattern. Residential movement was material: 37.2% of residents lived at a different address five years earlier in 2021. Median weekly income was $653 for individuals and $1,188 for households. In 2026-Q1, the labour force was 5,804 people, with 242 unemployed people and an unemployment rate of 4.2%. Residential approvals comprised houses and no other dwellings in the reported period.

For builders and developers

Dwellings approved in the 12 months to July 2026 totalled 70, comprising 70 houses and 0 townhouses, apartments and other dwellings. The rate was 5.9 dwellings per 1,000 residents and approvals were 0.89× the council's own three-year average. Residential building work approved to proceed was valued at $56.5m for that period. This gives a measure of the approved residential workload and its composition. Construction accounted for 216 registered businesses and 80 employing businesses in June 2025. Construction also represented 9.7% of employed residents in the 2021 Census. Non-residential building work approved to proceed totalled $13.5m in the 12 months to June 2026. This indicates the scale and type of approved building work across residential and non-residential categories.

Key takeaways

• Strathbogie's employment base is led by agriculture, forestry and fishing, with substantial supporting roles for health care, construction, education, retail, manufacturing and transport.
• The recorded project direction is completed transport work, including transport work shared with other councils; this is the clearest infrastructure link to the agriculture-led economy.
• Population increased by 1.2% in 2025, driven mainly by net internal migration, while non-residential building approvals totalled $13.5m in the 12 months to June 2026.

Sources

• Agriculture, forestry and fishing — ABS Census 2021
• Registered businesses — ABS Counts of Australian Businesses
• Health care and social assistance — ABS Census 2021
• Construction — ABS Census 2021
• Education and training — ABS Census 2021
• Retail trade — ABS Census 2021
• Manufacturing — ABS Census 2021
• Transport, postal and warehousing — ABS Census 2021
• Accommodation and food services — ABS Census 2021
• Employing businesses — ABS Counts of Australian Businesses
• Registered businesses, Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing — ABS Counts of Australian Businesses
• Employing businesses, Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing — ABS Counts of Australian Businesses
• Registered businesses, Construction — ABS Counts of Australian Businesses
• Employing businesses, Construction — ABS Counts of Australian Businesses
• Registered businesses, Professional, Scientific and Technical Services — ABS Counts of Australian Businesses
• Registered businesses, Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services — ABS Counts of Australian Businesses
• Non-residential building approvals, latest 12 months — ABS Building Approvals
• Value of residential building work approved (new homes, alterations and additions), latest 12 months — ABS Building Approvals
• Open public and private hospitals — AIHW MyHospitals
• Approved centre-based childcare services — ACECQA national register
• Residential aged care homes — AIHW GEN aged care
• Estimated resident population — ABS Regional Population
• Unemployment rate — Small Area Labour Markets
• Population change — ABS Regional Population
• Population change — ABS Regional Population
• Natural increase — ABS Regional Population
• Net internal migration — ABS Regional Population
• Net overseas migration — ABS Regional Population
• Labour force — Small Area Labour Markets
• Unemployed persons — Small Area Labour Markets
• Target: 2,400 net new dwellings from 2023 to 2051 (86 a year) — Plan for Victoria
• Dwellings approved since July 2023 against the yearly pace the housing target needs (100% is on pace) — Plan for Victoria
• Dwellings approved since July 2023 — ABS Building Approvals
• Public hospitals — AIHW MyHospitals
• Approved childcare places — ACECQA national register
• Residential aged care places — AIHW GEN aged care
• Owned outright — ABS Census 2021
• New houses approved, latest 12 months — ABS Building Approvals
• Owned with a mortgage — ABS Census 2021
• Rented — ABS Census 2021
• Average household size — ABS Census 2021
• Median age — ABS Census 2021
• Lived at a different address 5 years ago — ABS Census 2021
• Median personal income (weekly) — ABS Census 2021
• Median household income (weekly) — ABS Census 2021
• Townhouses, apartments and other dwellings approved, latest 12 months — ABS Building Approvals
• Dwellings approved, latest 12 months — ABS Building Approvals
• Dwellings approved per 1,000 residents, latest 12 months — ABS Building Approvals
• Dwellings approved versus this council's own three-year average — ABS Building Approvals