The Largest Shopping Centres In Australia

Australia's largest shopping centres are super-regional destinations that double as dining and entertainment hubs. Chadstone in Melbourne sits at the top with over 237,000 square metres of gross leasable area. Westfield Fountain Gate and Westfield Chermside follow, each pushing past 175,000 square metres after recent expansions. Australia has more than 1,600 shopping centres exceeding 1,000 square metres, but only a handful operate at super-regional scale. The list below ranks the country's biggest by gross leasable area, the standard industry metric for floor space available to tenants.

1. Chadstone Shopping Centre

Chadstone Shopping Centre opened on 3 October 1960 in Malvern East, around 17 kilometres south-east of the Melbourne central business district in Victoria. The complex now spans 237,441 square metres of gross leasable area and is jointly owned by Vicinity Centres and the Gandel Group. Around 530 stores fill the centre, anchored by David Jones, Myer, Kmart, Target, Aldi, Coles, Woolworths, and Hoyts Cinemas. Chadstone was Australia's first self-contained regional shopping centre when it opened, drawing shoppers away from traditional city-centre retail strips.

A major A$685 million redevelopment completed in July 2025 added the Social Quarter entertainment precinct, the Market Pavilion fresh-food hub, and a nine-storey commercial office building. The centre attracts more than 24 million annual visitors and supports an adjoining 250-room Hotel Chadstone Melbourne that opened in 2019. Parking covers nearly 11,000 spaces across multi-level structures, and the trade area population exceeds 2.4 million residents across Melbourne's south-eastern suburbs.

2. Westfield Fountain Gate

Westfield Fountain Gate sits in Narre Warren, around 45 kilometres south-east of Melbourne in Victoria. The centre opened on 11 March 1980 on the site of a smaller shopping complex that first traded from November 1970. Scentre Group owns and manages the complex, which spans 177,755 square metres across two main levels and includes 6,493 parking spaces.

Around 420 retailers occupy the centre, with anchors including Myer, Kmart, Target, Big W, Coles, Woolworths, and Aldi. The trade area serves more than 647,000 residents, and the centre attracted approximately 15.6 million visitors in 2024. Westfield Fountain Gate gained pop-culture status as the home shopping centre for the characters in the Australian comedy series Kath & Kim, with several scenes filmed on-site.

3. Westfield Chermside

Westfield Chermside opened on 30 May 1957 as the Chermside Drive-In Shopping Centre, becoming the first major post-war shopping centre to open in the Southern Hemisphere. The site spans 175,553 square metres in Chermside, around 10 kilometres north of the Brisbane central business district in Queensland. Scentre Group bought the centre from its original developers in 1996 for around $127 million and has since invested in major expansions.

The most recent redevelopment, completed in 2017 at a cost of $355 million, added a two-level fashion gallery, a dining and entertainment precinct, and the 16-screen cinema complex. The centre now hosts roughly 486 stores across four levels and 7,200 parking spaces, anchored by David Jones, Myer, Big W, Kmart, Target, Woolworths, Coles, and Aldi.

4. Robina Town Centre

Robina Town Centre opened on 28 April 1996 on the Gold Coast in Queensland, and now covers 155,933 square metres of gross leasable area. The 34-hectare site is owned by the Queensland Investment Corporation, which operates the centre across five levels with parking for around 6,000 vehicles. The location adjacent to the M1 Motorway and the Robina railway station has helped position the centre as a key regional transport hub.

Over 400 retailers occupy the complex, anchored by the Gold Coast's only David Jones department store, alongside Myer, Big W, Target, Kmart, two Woolworths supermarkets, Coles, and Event Cinemas. Major redevelopments completed in 2010 and 2016 added The Kitchens fresh-food precinct and the lakeside dining promenade. Robina Town Centre received a 2012 International Council of Shopping Centres design award for its renovation and expansion work.

5. Pacific Fair

Pacific Fair opened on 23 August 1977 in Broadbeach Waters on the Queensland Gold Coast. The site was originally a parcel of swampland transformed into a themed outdoor centre featuring mock-Tudor buildings, Asian villages, and a French Quarter. A $670 million redevelopment completed in 2016 reshaped the centre into a resort-style destination spanning 150,150 square metres.

Cbus Property owns the complex through the Australian Core Retail Trust, with GPT Group handling management. Around 400 retailers operate at Pacific Fair, anchored by the Gold Coast's largest Myer department store, David Jones, Big W, Kmart, Target, Coles, and Woolworths. The centre welcomed 13.5 million visitors in 2023 and hosts Queensland's only IMAX cinema through EVENT Cinemas. Pacific Fair sits adjacent to The Star Gold Coast casino and the Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre, and connects to the light rail network via the nearby Broadbeach South station.

6. Highpoint Shopping Centre

Highpoint Shopping Centre opened on 2 September 1975 as Highpoint West, in Maribyrnong around 10 kilometres west of the Melbourne central business district in Victoria. The 50-acre site was previously a bluestone quarry, with cliff faces still visible in the lower car park areas. GPT Group owns and manages Highpoint through the GPT Wholesale Shopping Centre Fund, with current gross leasable area of 149,600 square metres.

Over 450 retailers fill the four-level complex, anchored by Myer, David Jones, Big W, Kmart, Coles, and Woolworths, with parking for more than 7,300 vehicles. The centre attracts around 15 to 17 million annual visitors and serves as the main retail hub for Melbourne's western and north-western suburbs. Highpoint sits on elevated ground overlooking the Maribyrnong River toward the Melbourne CBD skyline, which gave the centre its name.

Australia's Top Shopping Centres By Area

Australia's Retail Footprint

Victoria, Queensland, and New South Wales hold the top ten centres between them, with South Australia entering the rankings at number eleven through Westfield Marion in Adelaide. Chadstone leads by a wide margin and continues to grow with each redevelopment cycle. The rankings shift as centres expand and refurbish, but the super-regional format dominates Australian retail and shows no sign of contraction, with annual visitor counts at most top-ten centres comfortably exceeding ten million.