Donnybrook-Balingup Infrastructure Projects, WA

A small South West council with an agriculture-led business base and a current project program centred on road safety and corridor works.

Economic base

Donnybrook-Balingup’s economic profile is rural and service-based rather than metropolitan or industrial. In 2021, agriculture, forestry and fishing accounted for 13.55% of employed residents, the largest industry share, followed by health care and social assistance at 11.21%, mining at 10.35%, construction at 9.08%, retail at 7.71% and education and training at 7.28%. The council had 6,698 residents in 2025 after annual growth of 1.4%, and the labour market was tight in 2026 Q1 with a labour force of 3,502, 100 unemployed people and a 2.9% unemployment rate. These settings point to a small regional economy with a broad mix of resident jobs but a strong primary-industry base.

The business base reinforces that character. As at June 2025 there were 759 registered businesses and 224 employing businesses, including 318 agriculture businesses and 63 employing agriculture businesses. Construction was the next large business cohort with 100 registered and 31 employing businesses, followed by professional services with 51 registered, rental and real estate with 47, other services with 35, retail with 33 and accommodation and food services with 30. Household and service indicators also suggest a settled older community: median age was 49, median household income was $1,332 a week, there was one hospital, one centre-based childcare service with 36 places and one residential aged care home with 44 places. That mix aligns with a local economy that depends on farm activity, local trades and essential services.

Current project program

The current named project program is concentrated in transport. Donnybrook-Balingup has three named projects in the evidence, all classified as transport. Two are active and under construction: the Mumballup Curve realignment on Donnybrook Kojonup Road, and works on the South Western Highway section between Donnybrook Kojonup Road and Vasse Highway. This is a narrow project schedule by sector, with no named active projects in utilities, health, education or civic facilities. The pattern matters because it points to road condition, safety and corridor performance as the main current infrastructure focus in the council.

Completed work should be separated from current construction. The only named completed project is Regional Road Safety Upgrades, recorded with a stated value of $175m and a completed date of 2025-01-01. That printed value sits on the completed list rather than the active works, and it should not be read as current construction spending within the council. Outside the named transport works, non-residential building approvals were $2.1m in the latest 12 months to June 2026, or 0.98× the council’s own three-year average, indicating modest approved non-residential activity rather than a large concurrent building program.

Economic connections

The clearest supported connection between the economy and the project program is road access. With agriculture the largest employer share, 318 agriculture businesses on the register, and another 25 transport and warehousing businesses, road upgrades align with the day-to-day movement of produce, farm inputs, service vehicles and local freight. Construction on Donnybrook Kojonup Road and the South Western Highway section could improve safety and reliability on routes used by farm operators, contractors, retailers and households. In a council where transport projects are the only named active works, access is the most direct mechanism evidenced here.

Those same corridor works also align with the council’s mixed service economy, but the evidence does not support broader claims about new industrial capacity or expanded social infrastructure. Health care and social assistance accounts for 11.21% of employed residents, education 7.28%, accommodation and food services 5.16%, and there is only one hospital, one childcare service and one aged care home recorded in the area. Better road conditions may support access to these services and to visitor-serving businesses, yet there are no named current projects in health, education, water, power or industrial land. The practical reading is that current infrastructure activity is about safer movement through and within the council, not a step-change in utility or community facility capacity.

Outlook

Near-term conditions appear steady rather than expansionary. Population rose by 90 people in 2025, including net internal migration of 46 and net overseas migration of 29, while the labour market remained firm at 2.9% unemployment. That combination supports local demand for everyday services, but it does not by itself point to a large uplift in non-residential development, especially with approvals at $2.1m over the latest year. The main near-term infrastructure watch is therefore delivery and completion of the two road jobs, because they are the only named active projects in the council.

What to watch is straightforward. First, monitor whether the Donnybrook Kojonup Road and South Western Highway works move from construction to completion, because that would close out the current transport-led program. Second, watch whether non-residential approvals lift materially above the recent $2.1m level, which would indicate a broader building cycle than is visible now. Third, keep an eye on service capacity indicators in an older community with a median age of 49 and limited local hospital, childcare and aged care stock, as these can become practical constraints on resident amenity even when labour market conditions are strong.

Key takeaways

• Donnybrook-Balingup’s economy is led by agriculture, with 13.55% of employed residents in the sector and 318 agriculture businesses, supported by health care, construction, retail and education.
• The current named infrastructure program is entirely transport-based, with two active road projects under construction and no named active utilities, health or education works.
• The strongest supported connection between projects and the local economy is safer and more reliable road access for farm, freight, service and visitor movements, not new industrial or social infrastructure capacity.

Sources

• Agriculture, forestry and fishing — ABS Census 2021
• Registered businesses, Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing — ABS Counts of Australian Businesses
• Unemployment rate — Small Area Labour Markets
• Estimated resident population — ABS Regional Population
• Health care and social assistance — ABS Census 2021
• Mining — ABS Census 2021
• Construction — ABS Census 2021
• Retail trade — ABS Census 2021
• Education and training — ABS Census 2021
• Population change — ABS Regional Population
• Labour force — Small Area Labour Markets
• Unemployed persons — Small Area Labour Markets
• Registered businesses — ABS Counts of Australian Businesses
• Employing businesses — 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
• Registered businesses, Other Services — ABS Counts of Australian Businesses
• Registered businesses, Retail Trade — ABS Counts of Australian Businesses
• Registered businesses, Accommodation and Food Services — ABS Counts of Australian Businesses
• Median age — ABS Census 2021
• Median household income (weekly) — ABS Census 2021
• Open public and private hospitals — AIHW MyHospitals
• Approved centre-based childcare services — ACECQA national register
• Approved childcare places — ACECQA national register
• Residential aged care homes — AIHW GEN aged care
• Residential aged care places — AIHW GEN aged care
• Regional Road Safety Upgrades — Infrastructure Australia
• M013 Donnybrook Kojonup Rd [ 028-40 to 029-60 SLK ] Mumballup Curve - Curve Realignment — Main Roads Western Australia
• T6- South Western Highway (Donnybrook Kojonup Road to Vasse Hwy) — Main Roads Western Australia
• Non-residential building approvals, latest 12 months — ABS Building Approvals
• Non-residential building approvals versus this council's own three-year average, weighted by the value of those approvals — ABS Building Approvals
• Registered businesses, Transport, Postal and Warehousing — ABS Counts of Australian Businesses
• Accommodation and food services — ABS Census 2021
• Population change — ABS Regional Population
• Net internal migration — ABS Regional Population
• Net overseas migration — ABS Regional Population