Phillip Bay is one of the smallest and quietest suburbs in the City of Randwick, tucked against the north shore of Botany Bay between La Perouse and Little Bay and about 13 km south-east of the Sydney CBD. At the 2021 census it had just 721 residents in roughly 292 dwellings, with a low-density, family feel and an unusually high share of detached homes — 80% of housing versus a 28% municipal average. The housing stock along Yarra Road mixes villas, cottages, townhouses, Tudor Revival and Federation/California bungalow homes, and it has drawn weekend visitors to its Yarra Bay beaches since the tram line arrived around 1900. Its bay-front position on Yarra Bay, with fishing, sailing and coastal walks, is the suburb's defining draw for the quiet buyers who seek it out.
At a Glance
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Region | Eastern Suburbs |
| Council (LGA) | City of Randwick |
| Postcode | 2036 |
| Distance to Sydney CBD | Phillip Bay is about 13 km south-east of the Sydney CBD by road. By bus… |
| Median house price | ~$2.4M–$2.9M across trackers in 2026: realestate.com.au put the median house price over the past year at $2,930,000; proplo.com.au reported $2,580,000 (−4.6% YoY, Jun 2026); andreamonti.com.au reported $2,372,160 (−8.9% over 12 months, Aug 2026) (mid-2026) |
| Median unit price | $1,535,500 |
| Typical rent | Houses rent for roughly $1,350–$1,580/week — realestate.com.au lists median house rent at $1,350/week (2.8% yield) and units at $1,250/week… |
Transport
Public transport is entirely bus-based — Phillip Bay has no railway station, light rail stop or ferry wharf, and its Botany Bay frontage is served by no ferry service; buses run along Anzac Parade on the suburb's western edge. Express and local Transdev John Holland services connect the area to the city and Bondi Junction: the 390X runs from La Perouse to Bondi Junction and the 394X runs express from La Perouse (Anzac Parade terminus) to the City Museum, both travelling down Anzac Parade past Phillip Bay stops, with the 392X serving nearby Little Bay.
Schools
La Perouse Public School — NSW government primary school at 14 Yarra Road in Phillip Bay (physically inside the suburb despite its name for neighbouring La Perouse; the P&C lists its address as Yarra Road, Phillip Bay NSW 2036) (NSW Department of Education; La Perouse PS P&C). The suburb itself has no high school; secondary students are served by Matraville Sports High School on Anzac Parade in immediately adjacent Chifley, which property records in Phillip Bay list as the local government high school catchment.
Shopping & Amenities
Phillip Bay has no shopping centre of its own — it is an almost entirely residential pocket, with the local community facilities clustered on Yarra Road: La Perouse Public School, the Catholic Reconciliation Church and Lighthouse Baptist Church, plus the Colebrook Memorial Aboriginal Evangelical Church on Adina Avenue. Yarra Bay Sailing Club and the heritage Yarra Bay House sit on Yarra Point overlooking the bay. Everyday shops, cafes and services are found a short walk away in the small Anzac Parade village centres of adjacent Chifley and La Perouse.
Parks & Outdoors
The suburb's defining outdoor asset is its Botany Bay frontage: Yarra Bay — a sheltered bay with beach and foreshore recreation areas at the foot of Yarra Road, popular for fishing, sailing, swimming and picnics — backed by Bicentennial Park, which holds a memorial to HMS Supply anchoring in Yarra Bay in 1788. Yarra Bay House, built 1903 as an annexe of the La Perouse cable station and transferred to the Aboriginal Land Council in 1985, sits on Yarra Point with a restored freshwater billabong encouraging local frogs and birdlife at its rear. Bumborah Point and Yarra Point headlands frame the bay, and the bayfront foreshore links on foot to the headlands and beaches of adjacent La Perouse to the south-east.
Property Market
The median house price in Phillip Bay was around ~$2.4M–$2.9M across trackers in 2026: realestate.com.au put the median house price over the past year at $2,930,000; proplo.com.au reported $2,580,000 (−4.6% YoY, Jun 2026); andreamonti.com.au reported $2,372,160 (−8.9% over 12 months, Aug 2026) (mid-2026). See our full Sydney property price map for how the suburb compares across the city. Market is very thin — with a population of 721 across roughly 292 dwellings, sales volumes are small and median estimates swing widely between trackers (roughly $2.37M–$2.93M for houses depending on sales window and method; the $2.6–3.4M band seen in agent chatter reflects premium bay-view properties such as 1555 Anzac Parade, sold $3.25M in Feb 2025). htag.com.au characterises Phillip Bay as a high-value, long-hold capital-growth market with a ~4.6% vacancy rate. 80% of dwellings are detached houses. Houses yielded 2.8% and units 4.4% over the past year.
New Developments
Development is minimal and household-scale: with 80% detached housing and a very small population, Phillip Bay sees little more than one-off demolition-and-rebuild family homes and attached dual occupancies on individual lots, with council planning records for the area dominated by dwelling-scale applications rather than any apartment pipeline. Heritage-scale works continue at Yarra Bay House (restoration with an Aboriginal Land Council billabong project).
Jobs & Local Economy
Phillip Bay is a residential commuter suburb: most working residents travel to the Sydney CBD and eastern-suburbs employment hubs by express bus or car, and local employment is limited to the school, churches and bay-front services within the suburb plus the retail strips of neighbouring Chifley and La Perouse. The freight and industrial employment zone of Port Botany lies immediately to the west across Anzac Parade, and the Randwick health and education precinct and Sydney Airport are a short drive away.
Nearby Suburbs
Matraville, Chifley, Port Botany, Little Bay, La Perouse
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:
Corrections are welcome — if something here is out of date or wrong, tell us and we will fix it.
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