WHAT is the population of the Bass Coast Shire?

It’s very important we get that number right when advocating for what this area needs in terms of sporting facilities, roads, schools, health and other services and infrastructure funding.

The official ABS figure from the 2021 Census says our population is 40,789.

The Bass Coast Shire Council has updated that figure with the ‘Estimated Resident Population (ERP)’ number released on March 27, 2025, for the 2023-24 year, to 43,557. Going up by about 1000 people a year, that figure could easily be more than 45,000 by now.

The shire’s website also says that during peak holiday periods, the population across the shire swells to more than 70,000 people, but business people on Phillip Island will tell you there can be that many people on the Island alone on busy weekends.

If you consider that 40 per cent of the private dwellings in places like Inverloch, Cape Paterson and the Waterline towns are owned by absentee ratepayers, either letting them out for short stay accommodation, or coming down periodically themselves, the population of the shire could almost double at any given time just on the basis of those using private dwellings.

So, what is the real population of Bass Coast?

At present the Bass Coast Shire Council is finalising its list of priorities for advocacy to Federal and State government and while the community needs to be given the opportunity to have input into those project priorities, effort and expenditure must also be put into developing a statistically defendable population figure for Bass Coast that’s a genuine representation of the number of people who are accessing services here.

It’s clear we are being severely under-resourced in many areas, based in part on the wrong population data but the situation at the Cowes Recreation Reserve is a standout.

Here we have one of the most successful football-netball clubs in Australia, with 15 football teams regularly using one oval, including juniors, underage teams, seniors, women’s and veterans, not including 150 Auskick kids on a Friday and casual use throughout the week.

It’s an extreme case of under-resourcing and the fact that there’s a clear connection between a lack of recreation opportunities and a rise in both the incidence of mental health and crime problems makes it an issue that needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency.

The council must put a date on when they will deliver a second sports oval for Cowes and do so immediately.

And we’d also like to hear how they plan to properly quantify the real population figure for Bass Coast and how they plan to prosecute that number directly with government and with local MPs to secure more funding for needed resources.