Birdwood flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Birdwood
(Adelaide Hills Council, SA) - 50.4 km², mapped from live council and
state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 3 October 2026.
Suburb-wide figures; the free map shows which overlays touch your lot.
Constraint readout
50.4 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Birdwood's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top. Magenta is where aircraft were observed in the sampled period, brightest below 3,000 ft.
Nearby suburbs, nearest first
Aircraft noise and flight paths over Birdwood
Two different things, kept apart on purpose. The ANEF contour is the planning instrument - a forecast published per airport that planning schemes use to control noise-sensitive development. Observed overflight is what a sampled aircraft-tracking feed actually recorded over the suburb - where aircraft flew, how low and how often.
Observed overflight - sampled 4 Sep to 3 Oct 2026
typical observed square 1 a day
Night movements: observed, lowest 4,000 ft - night is sampled as often as day, but night traffic is light, so this is a floor and no rate can be put on it.
Traffic is sampled rather than watched continuously, so every figure is a floor: aircraft not captured between samples are not represented. Rates are per 500 m square - the busiest square in the suburb, not a count of flights over the suburb - and a square is only rated where enough traffic was seen to measure it. Altitudes are above mean sea level. Flight paths change with runway use, weather, season and airspace design. This is a record of observed traffic; it is not a noise contour and not a planning control.
Birdwood at a glance
How Birdwood is zoned
Selling in Birdwood? The zone and overlays on this page are the Planning and Design Code controls a Form 1 vendor's statement has to disclose.
Across its 50.4 km², Birdwood is highly constrained by planning overlays. Flood mapping covers the suburb and none of it falls within a mapped flood overlay, and 100% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 13 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Productive Rural Landscape. The median lot measures about 2,054 m² across 720 parcels.
Who lives in Birdwood
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Birdwood suburb boundary itself, not a wider region.
Socio-economic standing
ABS SEIFA 2021 ranks every Australian suburb. Decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth of the country, decile 10 the least.
Score 1008, and decile 7 within South Australia. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Birdwood's 1,376 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Adelaide Hills, the wider ABS statistical area containing Birdwood. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Birdwood itself.
6,763 in 2001 to 7,256 in 2025, up 7%.
Source: ABS Census 2021 and SEIFA 2021 (Suburbs and Localities), Regional Population (SA2), CC BY 4.0. Small counts are randomly adjusted by the ABS.
Birdwood data sources and coverage
“Not mapped” means we hold no source layer for this suburb - never an all-clear.
| Dataset | Coverage | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| Flood mapping | Mapped | the South Australian Planning and Design Code and Location SA spatial data |
| Bushfire-prone mapping | Mapped | the South Australian Planning and Design Code and Location SA spatial data |
| Zoning | Mapped | the South Australian Planning and Design Code and Location SA spatial data |
| Heritage and environment | Mapped where published | the South Australian Planning and Design Code and Location SA spatial data |
| Aircraft noise contours (ANEF) | Not held | the South Australian Planning and Design Code and Location SA spatial data, Defence |
| Observed flight paths | Observed | adsb.lol, under the Open Database License |
| Demographics | Available | Australian Bureau of Statistics (2021 Census and SEIFA) |
Profile last materially updated 3 October 2026. See the methodology and full source list. Source data changes over time and critical decisions should be checked with the responsible authority.
Check a specific Birdwood address
See exactly which overlays touch a single property - the interactive map is free. Need it on paper? A full planning PDF is just $9.
Aircraft have been seen below 3,000 ft over about 29% of Birdwood. The report's Aircraft Overflight page narrows that to the address itself: how many aircraft a day, how low, and at what heights.
Building or pricing a slab? The $119 geotechnical desktop report covers geology, soils, bores and an indicative AS 2870 site class for a Birdwood lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Birdwood planning - frequently asked
Is Birdwood flood-prone?
Flood mapping covers Birdwood and less than 1% of the suburb falls within a mapped flood overlay (the council-wide suburb average is 1%).
Is Birdwood bushfire-prone?
Around 100% of Birdwood is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Adelaide Hills Council average of 100%.
Is Birdwood under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 29% of Birdwood, and over about 66% at any altitude up to 10,000 ft, in the period sampled (4 Sep 2026 to 3 Oct 2026). The lowest measured aircraft was at 2,000 ft, with an average of 4,500 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 28 aircraft a day were recorded passing over one 500 m square. Traffic is sampled rather than watched continuously and flight paths change with runway use, weather and season; the ANEF contour is the planning instrument.
What is the zoning in Birdwood?
The dominant planning zone in Birdwood is Productive Rural Landscape, though the suburb also includes Rural and Township.
Does Birdwood have heritage-listed places?
Birdwood has 13 heritage-listed places on record.
What is the typical lot size in Birdwood?
Across 720 surveyed parcels in Birdwood, the median lot size is about 2,054 m².
Does Birdwood have a train station?
There is no train station inside Birdwood itself. The suburb is served by 4 bus stops.
What is the population of Birdwood?
At the 2021 Census Birdwood had 1,376 usual residents, with a median age of 43 and an average household size of 2.7 people. The wider Adelaide Hills statistical area, which contains Birdwood, went from 6,763 people in 2001 to 7,256 in 2025, up 7%.
Is Birdwood an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Birdwood scores 1008 and sits in decile 7 of 10 nationally and decile 7 within South Australia (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in Birdwood?
Median household income in Birdwood was $1,754 a week at the 2021 Census, against $2,089 for the typical suburb in Adelaide Hills Council. Median rent was $320 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,602 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cromer The Barossa Council |
6.2 km | 0% | 100% |
| Forreston | 6.8 km | 0% | 100% |
| Mount Torrens | 7.0 km | 0% | 100% |
| Gumeracha | 8.9 km | 1% | 100% |
| Kenton Valley | 8.9 km | 0% | 100% |
| Tungkillo Mid Murray Council |
9.8 km | 0% | 100% |
| Mount Pleasant The Barossa Council |
9.9 km | <1% | 100% |
| Mount Crawford The Barossa Council |
10.6 km | 0% | 100% |
| Charleston | 11.1 km | 1% | 100% |
| Chain Of Ponds | 12.5 km | 0% | 100% |