Long-time Mundijong resident Sandy Jones says as the population grows, people need places to live and therefore, development of the area is inevitable.
“I’m a bit sad because I’ve been here for ages and I’ve raised all three of my boys here,” she said.
“We’ve had a good life. Mundijong’s been good to us.
“But I think we have to develop because we need to make space for new families.”
Mrs Jones said her family lived in Byford before they moved to Mundijong in 2000.
“At the time, to be honest, everyone considered that moving to Mundijong was a bit of a downward step because there was pretty much nothing here,” she said.
“But it was a great move for us anyway.”
Twenty-five years later, Mrs Jones said the number of facilities in the area wasn’t growing in line with the population increase.
“The downside now is, whenever you have to leave your house, you have to leave the suburb,” she said.
“It hasn’t been a misery, just a slight inconvenience.”
The Mundijong population grew to 7165 in 2021, from 1232 in 2016 and 1429 in 2011, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) census data.
Housing demand significantly outpaced supply, Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC) said in its 2025 report.
“While WA delivered over 20,000 housing completions in 2024, the highest in seven years, this remains 4000 dwellings short of the implied Housing Accord target,” BCEC said.
Mundijong had the capacity to boost housing, according to a 2024 report from the Urban Development Institute of Australia WA (UDIA).
However, UDIA said Mundijong needed to develop critical infrastructure to unlock the potential for more homes.
The Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale held a workshop on Wednesday, November 5 and will be holding another on Saturday, November 8 about the future development of the Mundijong town centre.
The workshops would address six topics: land use planning and zoning, transport and road connections, community facilities and open spaces, environmental considerations, infrastructure and servicing as well as urban design and character.
The shire said the feedback from the two workshops would inform the draft precinct structure plan, which would be advertised for public comment next year.
Earlier this year, Mundijong IGA owner Nick DiGiuseppe told the Examiner investment in infrastructure services often left the existing town centre behind.
“You end up sacrificing the guy that was supporting the community for decades before the others all push in,” Mr DiGiuseppe said.
“It’s just not in the spirit of how we do things here.”
Mrs Jones said some Mundijong residents were concerned about development because the suburb could lose its country feel.
“It means the people who are moving in feel like it’s us and them,” she said.
“That’s not right. We should be welcoming and go, ‘this is good for our community’.
“But without facilities here, the extra people are a bit of an intrusion because without extra facilities, it stretches everything to breaking point.
“But if we can get the facilities that we need and consider the new people and the people who’ve been here for years, I reckon we can make it great.”
