Community safety supports social interaction and economic growth. Safe environments reduce crime, improve quality of life, and promote community engagement. 

Yarra's inner-city location and renowned night-time economy draw people to the region, contributing to the vibrancy of the city, but also to safety issues, with incident rates that are higher than Victoria, but comparable to other inner-Melbourne areas with night-time economies. 

Nearly half of all residents do not feel safe in public areas at night. The areas with the lowest perception of safety are Richmond, Abbotsford, Cremorne and Burnley.

Alcohol and other drugs (AOD) have significant health, social and economic impacts in communities, and are a major risk factor for preventable disease, illness and death. 

Alcohol outlets are a part of the tourism, social and cultural fabric of the community. However, there is a very high rate of risky drinking behaviour in Yarra, with 20% of residents at a lifetime risk of alcohol-related harm. 

There is also a high level of drug-related offenses in Yarra. In Yarra, there are high rates of AOD-related social harms and AOD-related health service use.

Tobacco smoking is the leading risk factor contributing to disease burden and deaths in Australia. 

There is also evidence of negative health effects of vaping. Vaping is rapidly increasing in Australia with 20% of people aged 14 and over reporting having used e-cigarettes in 2023, up from 11% in 2019. 

This increase in the popularity of vaping coincides with an increase in tobacco smoking for the first time in more than a decade. 

The legislative landscape of vaping is changing rapidly in Australia. While Yarra has much higher rates of vaping than Metropolitan Melbourne and Victoria, there are fewer daily tobacco smokers in Yarra compared with Victoria.

Active living is important for wellbeing and helps to reduce the risk of chronic diseases. 

Creating environments that promote physical activity for the community will support people’s health and wellbeing. 

With active living, it is especially important to consider groups within the community who may have fewer opportunities to stay active. Yarra residents enjoy an active lifestyle with high proportions of people using active transport and meeting physical activity guidelines. 

However more residents in Yarra sit for at least 8 hours a day than in Metropolitan Melbourne and Victoria, likely because of the high proportion of professional occupations. There are some priority groups who are less likely to engage in physical activity.

Positive mental health can reduce the risk of developing some chronic diseases and of misusing of alcohol and other substances. 

Social inclusion and connection can greatly impact how people feel about their lives and community as a whole. 

Community connection supports positive mental health and a sense of belonging. Yarra has a comparable rate of diagnosed mental illness compared with Victoria, however, residents of Yarra seek support for mental health at a significantly higher rate. Within some priority groups in Yarra, there are more people struggling with their mental and social wellbeing.

The foundations of adult health are laid during the early childhood period (0-5 years). 

Physical, social, emotional and language/cognition development in early childhood strongly influence school success, economic participation, social citizenship and health later in life. 

4% of Yarra residents were 0-4 years of age in 2021, which represents 3,636 people. 

This is lower than the proportion of 0-4 year-olds living in Metropolitan Melbourne (5.9%) and Victoria (5.8%) in 2021. The foundational importance of the first five years of life makes it an important population group to understand. 

Access to adequate and nutritious food is a basic human right. Irregular access to safe, nutritionally adequate, culturally acceptable food from non-emergency source is known as ‘food insecurity’. 

Food insecurity impacts on physical, mental and social wellbeing. People can experience food insecurity over longer periods or temporarily. 

Yarra residents has a comparable rate of food insecurity to Metropolitan Melbourne and Victoria. Yarra residents enjoy a close proximity to healthy food outlets, which is comparable to other Victorian Metropolitan local governments.

Family, domestic and sexual violence is a major health and welfare issue in Australia. 

It occurs across all socioeconomic and demographic groups, but predominantly affects women and children. These types of violence have a serious impact on individuals, families and communities and can inflict physical injury, psychological trauma and emotional pain, effects that can be long-lasting and affect future generations. 

In Yarra, the rate of reported family incidents has remained stable over the last five years, and is comparable to the Victoria, however the rate of incidents related to alcohol consumption is Higher.

The earth is rapidly warming as a result of increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. 

This climate crisis will impact community health through factors like worsening of air quality, changes in the spread of infectious diseases, and risks to drinking water quality and the increasing prevalence of extreme temperatures. 

There are some suburbs in Yarra that are at an increased of heat vulnerability, partially because of a lack of tree coverage. Yarra’s yearly average air quality meets the National Standard for air quality, and is on par with Victoria.

To maintain good health, people need to live in healthy and safe environments. Factors like homelessness, housing stress, overcrowding, indoor air quality, and exposure to indoor extremes of temperature can impact on people’s mental and physical health. 

Evidence supports a direct association between poor-quality housing and health outcomes such as respiratory illness, cardiovascular disease and poor mental health. 

The dominant housing across Yarra is ‘medium density’, with an average of 14,109 dwellings per 1,600 metres, more than double the Victorian average of 6,396 dwellings within 1,600 metres. 

In Yarra, half of all households (51%) are renting, which is higher than Metropolitan Melbourne (29%), and can be an insecure tenure type. Furthermore, 8.1% of households rent social housing, which is higher than Metropolitan Melbourne (2.3%) and Victoria (2.5%).