Located in Victoria's south west, the Colac Otway Shire is diverse, with volcanic lakes, craters and plains in the north, the hinterland forests of the Otway Ranges and the Great Ocean Road coastline. Colac City is situated beside Lake Colac, on the Princes Highway, 138 kms south west of Melbourne, 74 kms south west of Geelong, and 101 kms south of Ballarat. The Colac region supports a network of over 1200 businesses and well over 800 farms. The main industries are dairy, beef, sheep, crops, specified pastures, horticulture and organic farming; timber, manufacturing and service, construction, retail and wholesale. Tourism, centring on the Great Ocean Road and the coastline, is becoming increasingly important.

	2012-13	2011-12	2010-11	2009-10
Expenditure ($)	41.237m	37.759m	37.745m	36.533m
Revenue ($)	44.295m	43.485m	40.051m	38.504m
- Charges ($)	23.349m	21.789m	18.214m	18.742m
- VGC Grants ($)	5.726m	5.799m	5.583m	5.163m