Nillumbik Shire

Overall Score

59 out of 100

#8 of 31 metro councils in VIC

#14 in Victoria

Score Breakdown

What This Means For You

Among metropolitan councils, Nillumbik Shire performs strongest in Community Services (scoring 78 out of 100 against peers), with room to improve in Sustainability (currently 35 out of 100).

What Makes This Place Unique

Melbourne's green wedge — Eltham's mudbrick culture meets genuine semi-rural living

Nillumbik covers Eltham, Diamond Creek, Hurstbridge, and the rural areas stretching north. It's Melbourne's most deliberately green municipality — the green wedge zoning preserves large tracts of bushland, and the community actively resists suburban-style development. Eltham has a famous counterculture heritage rooted in artists and mudbrick homes.

Known For

• Strongest green wedge protections of any Melbourne council
• Eltham's mudbrick architecture movement and artists' colony heritage
• Montsalvat — Australia's oldest artists' colony, a stunning European-style property
• Diamond Creek trail and extensive bushland walking networks

Living Here

Nillumbik is for people who want to live in the bush while working in the city. The trade-off is real: limited public transport beyond Eltham, higher bushfire risk in outer areas, and very limited commercial development. But for nature lovers, it's unmatched in metropolitan Melbourne.

Hidden Gem

Eltham Copper Butterfly Reserve — a tiny patch of remnant bushland that's home to one of Australia's rarest butterflies, protected by a fiercely devoted local community.