[1] It is the second largest administrative centre, behind Bacchus Marsh, in the Shire of Moorabool local government area.

Ballan is a small country regional town but also not too far from Melbourne City which takes a one-hour drive.

Ballan Town is located in between Melbourne - Ballarat Western Freeway and had a major train stop in between these two cities.

During the Victorian Gold Rush, it became an important staging point for coaches travelling to the Ballarat goldfields.

The Wadawurrung and Wurundjeri peoples of the Kulin Nations are the traditional owners of the land that is today's Ballan.

[4] In April 1838, Robert William von Stieglitz [de] (1816–1876) took up a pastoral run situated on the Werribee River's right riverbank.

[10] On 15 November 2003, a Sprinter train travelling to Ballarat was derailed between Ballan and Gordon, injuring 61 people when it hit a stationary vehicle on a country railway crossing.

[11] Ballan has a oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb), with very mild, relatively dry summers and cool, slightly wetter winters.

The Western Freeway bypasses the town, but is located nearby and connects Ballan to Melbourne in the east and Ballarat to the west.

Ballan railway station is serviced by regular fast regional Ballarat V/Line rail service VLocity approximately hourly with a 1 hour journey to the state's regional railway hub Southern Cross station in Melbourne - or 20 minute journey to Ballarat.

VLine coaches also regularly stop in Ballan en route from Ballarat to Melbourne, and Ballarat Airport shuttle buses run from the Ballan Police Station Bus Stop to Melbourne Airport.