Welcome to the City of Monash Population Forecasts

The City of Monash is located in the established eastern suburbs of Melbourne. The municipality is predominantly residential, although there is a significant industrial belt stretching from Mount Waverley through Clayton-Notting Hill to Mulgrave and there are major commercial centres at Glen Waverley, Oakleigh, Clayton and Mount Waverley. Urban development in the City dates back to the nineteenth century, with Oakleigh being established as a township, but it was not until after the Second World War that significant urban expansion occurred. Initial development along the railway lines quickly spread across the City generally from west to east, a process that continued up until the 1980s. The primary housing market role that the City of Monash played during this period was to provide home owning opportunities for families and prospective families from the eastern suburbs of Melbourne.

The 1980s were a period of population loss in the City as a number of areas matured, with children leaving the family home, as well as comparatively little residential development to provide housing opportunities. During the 1990s, new development opportunities were taken, with the conversion of school sites and surplus government and utility land to residential purposes. There is significant pressure for residential expansion within Monash from both existing residents and from external migrants, most notably from overseas, as well as areas to the west (Stonnington and Glen Eira), although affordability issues have resulted in the loss of people to the outer east and south east. It is assumed that a number of these patterns will continue into the future, notably the large overseas flows into the City.

Note: The migration flows depicted above do not represent future or forecast migration flows.

With the residential development of the City over several decades and the large size of the municipality, areas have developed different roles within the housing market. These roles generally fall under two categories: 1. Young adults and tertiary students and; 2. Established and mature families. The first pattern tends to affect areas in the south-west of the municipality, such as Clayton, Oakleigh, Hughesdale and Chadstone, due to the proximity of Monash University and a lesser extent Holmesglen TAFE. The second pattern is noteworthy in the north and east of the City, such as Mount Waverley, Glen Waverley, Wheelers Hill and Mulgrave, where the housing stock, the amenity and attractiveness of the areas drive local migration patterns. This difference in function and role of the small areas in the City of Monash means that population outcomes differ significantly across the municipality.

There are also significant differences in the supply of residential property within the City which will also have a major influence in structuring different population and household futures over the next five to twenty years. The major source of additional dwellings and households in the City will be in the larger redevelopment sites and through infill and medium density development in existing residential areas. The larger redevelopment sites include Waverley Park (Mulgrave), the former Arnotts Factory in Ashwood-Burwood, the former Deakin University site and Monash Green development in Clayton, the Sienna Falls development in Mount Waverley and a range of sites in central Oakleigh. Higher rates of residential redevelopment are expected in Clayton-Notting Hill and Oakleigh East-Huntingdale due to demand as a result of proximity to Monash University and the fact that these areas have an ageing dwelling stock.