Three kinds of Oakleigh house, three kinds of job
Interwar houses. By the 1920s the Oakleigh area was substantially built up, and housing was spreading to Hughesdale and Huntingdale. A house that age has had its wiring changed more than once. The usual job is a switchboard upgrade, then testing to see which circuits need replacing.
Post-war timber homes. Monash's heritage history says that until the mid 1950s as many as 40% of new houses were built by owner builders, often in timber, and many in Oakleigh and Clayton went up gradually as materials arrived. Additions made over many years are worth an inspection, especially before a renovation. The Asbestos Hub says homes built or renovated before 1990 likely contain asbestos, so ask about the switchboard backing.
Flats. A quarter of homes are flats or apartments. Shared main boards, meter panels and car parks mean the owners corporation is part of any upgrade or EV charger plan.
Oakleigh at a glance
Homes and tenure
At the 2021 Census, 61.9% of Oakleigh's occupied homes were separate houses, 25.7% were flats or apartments and 12.3% were semi-detached or townhouses. 34.5% were rented, 31.4% owned outright and 31.3% owned with a mortgage.
A railway town first
The railway to Gippsland, begun in 1877, started from Oakleigh, two decades after the township's first allotments were sold.
United Energy supply
United Energy runs Oakleigh and Oakleigh East zone substations. In the February 2024 storm, which cut power to about 180,000 of its customers, it sent emergency vehicles to support customers in Oakleigh and Mulgrave. Faults: 13 20 99.
City of Monash
Oakleigh is in the City of Monash, postcode 3166, about 14 km south-east of the CBD.
If we owned an older Oakleigh house
We'd get an electrical inspection before planning anything else, and ask for a written report that separates the urgent from the someday. In a house that's been added to by several owners, that report is the map you'll use for the next ten years.
Want a specialist to sort it?
Tell us the job and your postcode. We match the licence-checked local electrician who does this kind of work, and they call you. No ring-around, and your number goes to them alone.