Malvern flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Malvern
(City of Unley, SA) - 1.08 km², mapped from live council and
state overlay data. This suburb is moderately constrained.
Profile updated 3 October 2026.
Suburb-wide figures; the free map shows which overlays touch your lot.
Constraint readout
1.08 km² - this suburb is moderately constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Malvern'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 Malvern
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: not established - night is sampled as often as day, but too few night flights have been seen here to conclude either way.
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.
Malvern at a glance
How Malvern is zoned
Selling in Malvern? 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 1.08 km², Malvern is moderately constrained by planning overlays. About 20% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay. There are 39 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Established Neighbourhood. The median lot measures about 660 m² across 1,299 parcels.
Who lives in Malvern
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Malvern 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 1129, and decile 10 within South Australia. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Malvern's 2,713 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Unley - Parkside, the wider ABS statistical area containing Malvern. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Malvern itself.
19,493 in 2001 to 22,225 in 2025, up 14%.
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.
Malvern 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 Malvern 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 8% of Malvern. 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 Malvern lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Malvern planning - frequently asked
Is Malvern flood-prone?
About 20% of Malvern falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 20%.
Is Malvern bushfire-prone?
Bushfire mapping covers Malvern and little to none of it is mapped as bushfire-prone.
Is Malvern under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 8% of Malvern, and over about 73% 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 4,000 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 1 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 Malvern?
The dominant planning zone in Malvern is Established Neighbourhood, though the suburb also includes Urban Corridor (Main Street) and General Neighbourhood.
Does Malvern have heritage-listed places?
Malvern has 39 heritage-listed places on record.
What is the typical lot size in Malvern?
Across 1,299 surveyed parcels in Malvern, the median lot size is about 660 m².
Does Malvern have a train station?
There is no train station inside Malvern itself. The suburb is served by 16 bus stops.
What is the population of Malvern?
At the 2021 Census Malvern had 2,713 usual residents, with a median age of 46 and an average household size of 2.6 people. The wider Unley - Parkside statistical area, which contains Malvern, went from 19,493 people in 2001 to 22,225 in 2025, up 14%.
Is Malvern an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Malvern scores 1129 and sits in decile 10 of 10 nationally and decile 10 within South Australia (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in Malvern?
Median household income in Malvern was $2,655 a week at the 2021 Census, against $2,008 for the typical suburb in City of Unley. Median rent was $380 a week and the median mortgage repayment $2,800 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hyde Park | 0.9 km | 22% | 0% |
| Highgate | 0.9 km | 0% | 0% |
| Unley Park | 1.1 km | 29% | 0% |
| Kingswood City of Mitcham |
1.4 km | <1% | 0% |
| Unley | 1.4 km | 39% | 0% |
| Parkside | 1.4 km | 5% | 0% |
| Netherby City of Mitcham |
1.5 km | <1% | 5% |
| Hawthorn City of Mitcham |
1.5 km | 24% | 0% |
| Fullarton | 1.6 km | 10% | 0% |
| Kings Park | 1.9 km | <1% | 0% |