Melbourne is the capital of Victoria and Australia’s second-largest city. It sits on the south-east edge of our continent on the shores of one of the world’s largest bays, Port Phillip Bay.
The Melbourne municipality has a residential population of almost 90,000 and covers 37.6km2. It is the anchor of the much larger Melbourne metropolitan region, which has a population of 3.9 million people and spreads more than 40km to the south, 30km to the east and 20km to the north.
City workers and visitors swell the municipality’s population to around 770,000 during the day and on weekend evenings more than 300,000 people visit the city.
Melbourne is the gateway to Victoria, the seat of the Victorian Government and a major city in the global economy. It has a strong export focus and is a leader in education, retail and major events.
The municipality has changed dramatically in the past decade with over 100 new commercial and residential buildings added, including extensive development in its waterfront suburbs, Docklands and Southbank.
Melbourne offers the best of many worlds with magnificent tree-lined boulevards, a mix of classic and modern architecture and a unique blend of Asian and European style. Melbourne is consistently rated as one of the world's most liveable cities by the Economic Intelligence Unit’s liveability ranking.
Melbourne, the people
The Melbourne municipality has a diverse residential population of almost 90,000 people.
Just under half its residents were born overseas or have at least one parent born overseas. A third speak a language other than English at home, with Mandarin the most common.
The city also has the youngest population of the wider Melbourne metropolitan area, with a median age of 28 years and almost 30 per cent of residents aged between 25 and 34 years. More than 18,000 of our residents are international students.
Melbourne facts and figures
The City of Melbourne’s extensive research program has a large collection of statistics, maps, area profiles and other information about Melbourne. See www.melbourne.vic.gov.au for more details.
Some highlights about the Melbourne municipality include:
• a median house price of $790,500 (March 2009)
• 145,000 café and restaurant seats for diners
• more than 1 million international visitors a year
• 568 hectares of parkland for recreation
• almost 340km of roads.
Melbourne stakeholders
Our stakeholders include anyone with an interest in what we do and the services and programs we provide. They include our:
• local community: residents, ratepayers, businesses, workers, students, visitors, unions, the media, community groups and associations, and the education sector
• working partners: other government bodies and agencies, our suppliers and consultants, neighbouring communities and the business community
• global partners: other capital cities worldwide, investors, event organisers and others.
We work with stakeholders in many ways, from formal consultations on significant policies, programs and services to specific-issue advisory groups and our daily interactions with city users through our services and facilities.
Melbourne City Council welcomes attendance and participation at council and committee meetings. Members of the public can make submissions to the council or a committee on matters listed on an agenda. A register of public submissions made under S223 of the Local Government Act 1989 (Vic) is available for viewing at the City of Melbourne’s offices.
Records of meetings, details on how to participate in council or committee meetings and dates and times of meetings are available on the City of Melbourne website.
