Surf Coast Shire is between 75 and 125 kilometres south west of the Melbourne GPO, and between 12 and 60 kilometres south west of Geelong. The Shire has grown rapidly, with Torquay/Jan Juc averaging around 5% annual increase in resident population. It is a popular tourist and surfing area with strong connections to Geelong. These service industries make a substantial contribution to the local economy, and the popular Great Ocean Road attracts many visitors. Other important industries include agriculture, tourism, electricity supply, building construction.

	2012-13	2011-12	2010-11	2009-10
Expenditure ($)	53.629m	56.643m	47.248m	45.540m
Revenue ($)	58.653m	60.362m	54.354m	48.768m
- Charges ($)	37.761m	35.684m	33.678m	30.392m
- VGC Grants ($)	3.423m	3.296m	3.089m	2.759m