Illawong, NSW 2234

Leafy riverside suburb in southern Sydney, 27 km south of the Sydney CBD, in the Sutherland Shire in the area commonly called Menai. The name is an Aboriginal word meaning 'between two waters' — Illawong sits between the southern shore of the Georges River and the northern shore of the Woronora River. At the 2021 census it had 7,427 residents, with most dwellings large separate houses: 74.2% had 4 or more bedrooms. Illawong consists mainly of residential homes, a nursing home, two primary schools, a high school and a small shopping centre, and buyers' agents profile it as a stable, family-oriented suburb of large houses on generous blocks with limited new supply (andreamonti, Aug 2026).

At a Glance

Transport

Illawong has no railway station; it is served by buses only. U-Go Mobility runs regular bus services linking Illawong to surrounding centres such as Menai, Sutherland and Bankstown, with major roads including Fowler Road, Moreton Road and Old Illawarra Road. On the Alfords Point Road corridor, bus services to Padstow railway station provide connection with Sydney CBD train services during the peak periods — the bridge link across the Georges River to the Lugarno/Padstow side puts the T8 line's Padstow station within reach for peak commuters.

Schools

Illawong Public School — NSW government primary school in the suburb, a member of the Engadine PSSA cluster (Good Schools Guide; Engadine PSSA). Tharawal Public School — NSW government co-educational primary (K–6) in Illawong 2234, with 352 students enrolled in 2023 ; note the correct name is 'Tharawal Public School', not 'Primary'. Menai High School — the major public co-educational high school servicing the Menai area including Illawong; the school campus sits just west in the adjoining suburb of Menai.

Shopping & Amenities

Illawong Village shopping centre — the suburb's small village retail centre sitting between Fowler Road and Hobart Place, rebuilt in 2007; it features a supermarket, a large liquor store and specialty shops including butcher, chemist, gift shops and several cafes and restaurants. The Menai/Illawong Rural Fire Service (RFS) station is located at the Old Illawarra Road roundabout intersection with Fowler Road, and the Menai Illawong Uniting Church sits near the shopping centre.

Parks & Outdoors

The Georges River frontage is Illawong's defining outdoor asset: the suburb's northern edge meets the river at places such as Wearne Bay, where the 1st Wearne Bay Sea Scouts — with all five youth sections — meet in a former ferry master's house on the waterfront. Illawong sits between the Georges and Woronora Rivers, and the Illawong Nature Reserve lies 'between two waters': the reserve sits between a system of two wetlands which, combined with heavily vegetated ridgelines, provide habitat particularly suited to the long-necked turtle. The suburb is considered bushfire-prone — the area was ravaged in the 1994 eastern seaboard fires — so bushland edges around the river reserves and Old Illawarra Road are a feature of the locality.

Property Market

The median house price in Illawong was around ~$2.0M (Aug 2026): PropRadar $2,020,000 (median, +7.3% over the past year); AreaSearch $2.01m; SuburbCheck $2.00M (2026); buyer's agent data $1,958,735 as of 1 Aug 2026 (+6.4% over 12 months) — typical sale range (25th–75th percentile of 65 settled sales) $1,790,000–$2,325,000 (mid-2026). See our full Sydney property price map for how the suburb compares across the city. Medians cluster tightly around $1.95M–$2.02M across trackers as of Aug 2026 — consistent with a big-house suburb on ~740 m² blocks (92.4% of dwellings are houses) where 65 settled house sales occurred in 12 months (andreamonti). House values rose ~6.4–7.3% over the year to mid-2026 depending on the tracker (andreamonti +6.4%; PropRadar +7.3%; SuburbCheck's $2.00M 2026 figure shows +17.3% over a longer window). The market is moderately thin — sale counts are modest and unit activity is very light (10 sales/12m) — and supply is constrained: only 8 house building approvals in 18 months (~0.2% of dwellings) and development applications down 4% year-on-year, which supports values (andreamonti). The suburb was hit hard by the 1994 bushfires and remains bushfire-prone, a factor for buyers on the bush/river edges.

New Developments

Development activity in Illawong is minimal — it is a mature, built-out suburb of large family houses: only 8 house building approvals were lodged in the 18 months to mid-2026 (~0.2% of existing dwellings) and development applications fell 4% versus the prior 12 months (andreamonti, Aug 2026). The main infrastructure project touching the suburb is the Transport for NSW Alfords Point Road upgrade (Brushwood Drive to Georges River), whose planning documents map existing peak bus services to Padstow station along the corridor. Illawong Village itself was rebuilt in 2007, the last notable retail redevelopment in the suburb.

Jobs & Local Economy

Illawong is an essentially residential suburb with no major employment precinct of its own: its workforce is concentrated in construction (~11.8%), education and training (~11.5%), healthcare and social assistance (~11.4%) and professional, scientific and technical services (~9.4%), with most working residents commuting out of the suburb (andreamonti suburb profile, Aug 2026). Local employment is anchored by the suburb's schools and Illawong Village retail centre, and Sutherland — the Shire's main commercial and civic centre, a short bus ride away — is the principal nearby jobs hub for Illawong residents.

Nearby Suburbs

Menai, Alfords Point, Bonnet Bay, Como, Bangor, Lugarno

Sources & method

Researched 4 September 2026 from named public sources — census and government records, transport authorities, council and planning documents — plus published sales data. Where sources disagree on a figure, the guide says so rather than picking one.

Sources cited in this guide:

• NSW Government

Corrections are welcome — if something here is out of date or wrong, tell us and we will fix it.

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