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Interface CouncilsThe Interface Councils of Melbourne are comprised of the ten municipalities that form an arc around metropolitan Melbourne and incorporate both the green wedge and the urban growth boundary. They bridge the gap between metrpolitan Melbourne and rural Victoria, sharing characteristics of both urban and rural communities.The Interface Councils include the Growth Councils of Melton, Mitchell, Wyndham, Whittlesea, Cardinia, Casey and Hume - some of which contain the largest and fastest growing suburbs in Australia. At the same time, some of the most environmentally sensitive areas are also located at the Interface.

Municipalities such as Nillumbik, Yarra Ranges, Mornington Peninsula, and Cardinia contain important water catchments for metropolitan Melbourne, significant agricultural land and forest areas necessary to offset the carbon footprints of the City.

The purpose of this document is to highlight the particular challenges being managed now by Yarra Ranges Council and to make a case for increased government investment into specific infrastructure and service provision challenges and priorities.

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Yarra RangesLocationYarra Ranges is located on Melbourne’s interface, 35 kilometres east of the CBD and has both urban and rural areas. It is Melbourne’s largest municipality geographically, covering 2,470 square kilometers, 25% of metropolitan Melbourne’s area.

Yarra Ranges includes 56 suburbs and townships. The urban areas include: Lilydale, Chirnside Park, Mooroolbark and Kilsyth; the Hills townships include Olinda, Mount Dandenong, Sassafras, Monbulk, Sherbrooke and Belgrave; and our outlying rural towns include Healesville, Yarra Junction, Yarra Glen and Warburton.

Most of the recent population growth in Yarra Ranges has occurred in the urban area of Lilydale and Chirnside Park. Dual occupancies and medium density dwelling types are increasing in the urban areas.

Our People• Above average level of couples with

children (64%).

• Above average level of primary school children aged 5-19 years (21%).

• Above average level of adults aged 45-64.

• Low level of cultural diversity, with only 7% of residents from a non-English speaking background.

• Very high proportion of new arrivals who are refugees (despite low overall numbers).

• One of the Eastern Metropolitan Region’s (EMR) highest concentrations of Indigenous residents, centered in Healesville (around 1,000 persons).

YarraRanges Shire

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Population ChangeIn 2012, the estimated resident population of Yarra Ranges was 149,031. Key forecast changes include:

• Population is forecast to increase by 24,222 persons (14% growth) between 2011 and 2036, with the main growth in population numbers amongst persons aged 65 plus.

• The main growth will be in the urban areas of Lilydale, Chirnside Park, Mooroolbark and Kilsyth.

• Growth in households is expected to come from the conversion of larger house blocks to multi-unit developments, as well as the construction of new dwellings.

Significant development opportunities have been identified in the designated activity centres of Lilydale, Chirnside Park, Kilsyth and Mooroolbark - specific large development sites include the Sibelco

Quarry in Lilydale and Cloverlea Estate in Chirnside Park.

Between 2011 and 2036, there will be a shift away from ‘traditional’ household types in Yarra Ranges, including:• A 42% increase in the number of lone person households.• A 33% increase in the number of households with couples without dependents.• A 22% increase in the number of one parent families.• A 13% increase in the number of group households.• A 12% increase in the number of other household types.

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Fragile Families• 1,881 births in Yarra Ranges in 2012.

• An above average fertility rate, particularly in the outer eastern towns.

• A low level of children attending the 3.5 year maternal and child health key age and stage visit in 2012, at 55% compared to 64% across Victoria. This ranks us 9th-lowest.

• A low level of kindergarten participation in 2012, at 93% compared to 98% across Victoria.

• Pockets with a high level of children who are developmentally vulnerable on the Australian Early Development Index: Warburton, McMahons Creek, Woori Yallock, Hoddles Creek, and Kilsyth.

• A high level of parents was concerned with their children’s behaviour, at 14.3% in 2012 compared to 12.9% for Victoria, ranking us 51st.

• A very high level of children had high levels of family stress, at 15% of children in 2012 compared to 11% across Victoria. This ranks us 7th-highest across Victoria, and the highest amongst the metropolitan LGAs.

• A high level of children in Years 5 and 6 were bullied, at 16.2% in 2013 compared to 14.9% for Victoria, ranking us 51st.

• A growing rate of child protection substantiations, whilst the Victorian rate has been falling.

• 1,093 family violence incidents reported in 2012/13. The proportion of family violence incidents where children and young people were involved1 was above average in 2011/12, at 39.8 compared to 36.3 for Victoria; but the rate has beheading down over the past four years, whilst the Victorian rate has been stable.

• A high level of families where both parents are working, at 51% compared to 47% across Victoria, but both family incomes and household incomes are still below average.

• Fifty percent of residents leave the municipality to get to work; 17.5% of residents have a long commute to work (more than 2 hours per day), compared to 11.6% for Victoria.

• An above average level of residents who lack time for friends/family.

Financial Stressors• Pockets of high disadvantage: McMahons Creek (bottom 3% of Victorian suburbs), Millgrove (bottom

5% of suburbs), Powelltown (also in the bottom 5%) and Warburton (bottom 11%). The areas covering Yarra Junction, Wesburn and Healesville also have above average levels of disadvantage.

• High levels of households in Yarra Ranges were in mortgage stress in 2011.

• Two postcode areas highly affected by mortgage delinquency are Lilydale and Wandin.

• The level of affordable dwellings has dropped from 61% of dwellings affordable to persons on benefits in 2002, to 14% in 2012.

• High unemployment in the outer east of Yarra Ranges.

• Above average food insecurity, with the prices of a healthy food basket higher in our outer eastern townships.

1As other parties, not directly.

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Poor Health Outcomes• An above average level of smokers.

• Highest long-term risk of alcohol related harm amongst metropolitan LGAs and 4th highest state-wide risk; a high level of persons at short term risk of alcohol related harm; above average spending on alcohol in licensed premises; and a high number of alcohol related ambulance attendances in Healesville.

• High notifications for infectious diseases such as whooping cough and a high rate of hospital admissions for infectious diseases, particularly amongst children and teenagers.

• Low immunisation rates for some areas and age group. In 2012/13, Yarra Ranges’ one year old immunisation rate was 90.7%, compared to 91.7% across Victoria, ranking us 65th.

• A high incidence of cancer, due to a well above average male cancer rate. The main causes of cancer in Yarra Ranges (across both genders) were prostate, bowel, breast, melanoma and lung.

• A very high rate of hospital admissions for injuries, particularly amongst 15-24 year olds.

• The second-highest rate of deaths from traffic accidents in metropolitan Melbourne.

• A very high level of hospital admissions for dental health, combined with a low level of dental health services available.

• One of the highest rates of mental health clients in the EMR.

• One of the highest levels of residents reporting high or very high psychological distress.

• A high mental health hospital admission rate for 0-14 year olds and 65-74 year olds.

• A significantly above average level of overweight and obese residents, particularly males.

• 26% of residents do not meet the minimum guidelines for physical activity.

• Rapid growth in the incidence of diabetes in Yarra Ranges - nearly 180% over the past ten years. Some areas - Lilydale, Narre Warren East and Kilsyth – have had growth of more than 200%.

• A high level of Type 1 diabetes, ranking us 9th highest across metropolitan LGAs; a high rate of hospital admissions for diabetes amongst children aged less than 10 and teenagers aged 15-19.

• Diabetes has contributed to 8% of all deaths in Yarra Ranges over the past five years - more deaths than traffic accidents.

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Lack of Access to Services• A low level of GPs and people attending GPs.

• An above average levels of: emergency department presentations; primary health service usage; and primary care type presentations to emergency.

• Long ambulance waiting times, the third highest in metropolitan Melbourne.

• Poor access to dental health services in the municipality, combined with poor oral health.

• Below average availability of residential aged care.

• Poor access to transport – in 2010, only 58% of our population lived near public transport, compared to 83% across metropolitan Melbourne.

Local solutions – infrastructure and services

Bus stop upgrade - There is a critical need for upgrades to bus stops across the Yarra Ranges to make them compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act, safe and accessible. Of the 860 bus stops for public bus routes, more than half of all bus stops in the municipality remain well below acceptable standards. At a minimum, honour the 2010 Coalition election commitment to upgrade 20 bus stops across the municipality.

$3.8m over 4 years

Increase bus service hours of operation & frequency – Yarra Ranges has:• A lack of service coverage in the outer, non-urban areas.• Insufficient frequency of services, particularly in the outer, non-urban areas and

during off-peak periods.• Lack of weekend and evening services.• Poor bus to bus and bus to rail connectivity.• Lack of cross Shire bus routes.

Higher education for the Outer East - Council believes there is a role for the State Government to play to faciliate the retention of higher education provision for Melbourne's outer east on the former Swinburne University site in Lilydale.

Belgrave Multi-Purpose Health Hub - Multi-purpose facility that enables local community members to access a range of health services, information and meeting spaces. This facility will provide a range of integrated health services, where the community have access to the services they need, including opportunities for early intervention and health promotion, ultimately leading to greater health outcomes.

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Older Residents• Substantial increases are forecast amongst people aged 65 plus, with the number forecast to nearly

double between 2011 and 2036.

• Yarra Ranges is forecast to be in the top ten Victorian local government areas for its number of residents with dementia by 2050, with more than 6,000 residents with dementia.

• By 2036, a 42% increase in the number of lone person households is forecast. Many of these will be older residents.

Young People at Risk• The key health and wellbeing issues for young people in Yarra Ranges include mental health and

education including poor access to tertiary study. Young people have:

• Low levels of Year 12 completion or attendance at university; they are more likely to attend TAFE, and more likely to undertake an apprenticeship; they are also more likely to defer university study, particularly due to financial issues and courses not being available locally. In 2011, 83.3% of teenagers completed year 12 or the equivalent, compared to 84% across Victoria. The gap between Yarra Ranges and Victoria is widening - in 2009, Yarra Ranges rate was the same as Victoria’s, but between 2009 and 2011, the completion rate increased by more Victoria-wide than it has in Yarra Ranges.

• A high emergency department presentation rate for mental health issues amongst 15-24 year olds.

• A high rate of psychiatric hospitalisations for adolescents (ranking us 9th); and above average reporting by adolescents of very high levels of psychological distress.

• High levels of teenage drinking amongst 15-17 year olds (55%) and teenage smoking (19%). A high level of using marijuana (17%), glue sniffing or chroming (10%), or use of other illegal drugs (7%).

• A rate of hospital admissions which is increasing at twice the Victorian rate; young people in Yarra Ranges already have an above average hospital admission rate and emergency presentation rate.

• Other key health issues for young people include a high level of hospital admissions for diabetes, asthma, infectious diseases, injuries and dental health.

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ReferencesVictoria Police Family Incident Reports 2008/09-2012/13 http://www.police.vic.gov.au/content.asp?Document_ID=782

The Royal Children’s Hospital Centre for Community Child Health in Melbourne, the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute Australian Early Development Index http://maps.aedi.org.au/

Australian Bureau of Statistics Births, Australia, 2012 http://www.abs.gov.au/

Strategic Performance & Information Management Branch - Ad-Hoc Section, Centrelink Customised data on benefit recipients

Department of Education VCAMS data http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/research/Pages/vcamsindicator.aspx

Victorian Auditor-General’s Report Access to Ambulance Services http://www.audit.vic.gov.au/reports_and_publications/latest_reports/2010-11/20100610_ambulance.aspx

Victorian Population Health Survey (VPHS), 2011-12, Department of Health. Data presented are preliminary data. Estimates may change slightly in the final version of the VPHS 2011-12 report.

ID Consulting, ID Profile, http://profile.id.com.au/yarra-ranges/

Department of Health, Range of health and social indicators, http://www.health.vic.gov.au/modelling/planning/lga.htm

Australian Bureau of Statistics, Population by Age and Sex, Regions of Australia, 2011 (cat. no. 3235.0), http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/3235.02011?OpenDocument

Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2011, http://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/censushome.nsf/home/data?opendocument&navpos=200

ID Consulting, Population forecasts, http://www.id.com.au

VicHealth, VicHealth Indicators Survey 2011, http://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/indicators

Diabetes Victoria, Data on diabetes prevalence and incidence, http://www.diabetesepidemic.org.au/

National Diabetes Services Scheme, Australian Diabetes Map, http://www.ndss.com.au/australian-diabetes-map/map/

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 3303.0 - Causes of Death, Australia, 2010 - customised data, www.abs.gov.au

Department of Health, Custom VAED and VEMD data, http://www.health.vic.gov.au/hosdata/

Department of Health, Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions, http://www.health.vic.gov.au/healthstatus/admin/acsc/index.htm

Victorian Cancer Registry, Cancer Registry data, http://vcrdata.cancervic.org.au:8082/ccv/#regional

Department of Health/Turning Point, Trends in Alcohol and Drug Related Ambulance Attendances in Melbourne 2010-11, http://docs.health.vic.gov.au/docs/doc/Trends-in-Alcohol-and-Drug-Related-Ambulance-Attendances-in-Melbourne-2010-11

Department of Health, Eastern Metropolitan Region integrated oral health plan 2011-14 Department of Health 2012, http://docs.health.vic.gov.au/docs/doc/Eastern-Metropolitan-Region-Integrated-Oral-Health-Plan-2011-14

Eastern Melbourne Medicare Local, Data from Dental Health Services Victoria (DHSV) Data Analysis Unit, 2012

Eastern Health, Eastern Health Draft Clinical Services Plan, http://www.easternhealth.org.au/eh2022/eh2022draftplan.aspx

GPV, GPV Statistics Packages, http://www.gpv.org.au/Resources.asp

Primary Health Care Research and Information Service, GP data, www.phcris.org.au

Department of Health, Infectious disease notifications, http://ideas.health.vic.gov.au/surveillance/tabulated-summaries.asp

Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, Adolescent Community Profile, Early Childhood Community Profile, Aboriginal Early Childhood Community Profile, http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/research/Pages/reportdatacommunity.aspx

Department of Health, Notifications of infectious diseases, http://ideas.health.vic.gov.au/surveillance/tabulated-summaries.asp#Regional

ACIR data from Yarra Ranges Council, Immunisation data

Department of Employment, Education and Workplace Relations, Small Area Labour Markets (SALM) Data, http://www.deewr.gov.au/Employment/LMI/Pages/SALM.aspx

Department of Human Services, Department of Human Services Rental Report, http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/about-the-department/documents-and-resources/research,-data-and-statistics/current-rental-report

Fitch Ratings, Australian Mortgage Delinquency by Postcode, 30 September 2011 Special Report Fitch Ratings

Access Economics, Dementia forecasts by LGA, http://www.fightdementia.org.au/common/files/VIC/Dementia_Statistics_Victoria_DoH_regions.pdf

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