The Colac Otway Shire is one of the most picturesque municipalities in Victoria, covering a diverse area from volcanic lakes, craters and plains in the north, through the hinterland forests of the Otway Ranges to the Great Ocean Road coastline.

Colac is the key industrial, commercial and service centre for the Shire and surrounding region with a population of 12,000.

Apollo Bay is the other major urban centre with a permanent population of 1,000 that swells to over 15,000 during the summer season.