Penfield flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Penfield
(City of Playford, SA) - 10.28 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
10.28 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Penfield's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top. Amber hatching is the published aircraft noise (ANEF) contour. 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 Penfield
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.
Inside an aircraft noise contour
25% of the suburb's land sits inside a published ANEF or airport-environs contour. Contours vary street by street, so whether a particular lot is inside one needs a property-level check.
Highest contour present
Under AS 2021, land at ANEF 30 and above is generally unacceptable for new houses and most noise-sensitive uses. The contour is a forecast, not a measurement at any one house.
Contours held
- Defence Airfields ANEF
- SA Planning and Design Code aircraft noise
Observed overflight - sampled 4 Sep to 3 Oct 2026
typical observed square 3 a day
Night movements: observed, lowest 500 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.
Penfield at a glance
How Penfield is zoned
Selling in Penfield? 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 10.28 km², Penfield is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 26% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 100% is flagged bushfire-prone. There is 1 heritage-listed site on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Rural Horticulture. The median lot measures about 40,647 m² across 146 parcels.
Who lives in Penfield
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Penfield 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 909, and decile 2 within South Australia. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Penfield's 422 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Virginia - Waterloo Corner, the wider ABS statistical area containing Penfield. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Penfield itself.
3,155 in 2001 to 8,799 in 2025, up 179%.
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.
Penfield 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) | Inside a held contour | 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 Penfield 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 70% of Penfield. 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 Penfield lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Penfield planning - frequently asked
Is Penfield flood-prone?
About 26% of Penfield falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 26%.
Is Penfield bushfire-prone?
Around 100% of Penfield is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a City of Playford average of 49%.
Is Penfield affected by aircraft noise?
About 25% of Penfield sits inside a published aircraft noise contour, and the highest contour present is ANEF 40 - under AS 2021, land above ANEF 25 is generally considered unacceptable for new houses, and 20-25 conditionally acceptable with noise attenuation. ANEF contours are forecasts published per airport and used to control noise-sensitive development; they are not a measurement at any one house, and a property can sit under a flight path and outside every contour.
Is Penfield under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 70% of Penfield, and over about 91% 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 500 ft, with an average of 1,500 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 22 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 Penfield?
The dominant planning zone in Penfield is Rural Horticulture, though the suburb also includes Strategic Employment and Commonwealth Facilities.
Does Penfield have heritage-listed places?
Penfield has 1 heritage-listed place on record.
What is the typical lot size in Penfield?
Across 146 surveyed parcels in Penfield, the median lot size is about 40,647 m². There are also 21 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
Does Penfield have a train station?
There is no train station inside Penfield itself. The suburb is served by 7 bus stops.
What is the population of Penfield?
At the 2021 Census Penfield had 422 usual residents, with a median age of 70 and an average household size of 1.8 people. The wider Virginia - Waterloo Corner statistical area, which contains Penfield, went from 3,155 people in 2001 to 8,799 in 2025, up 179%.
Is Penfield an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Penfield scores 909 and sits in decile 2 of 10 nationally and decile 2 within South Australia (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in Penfield?
Median household income in Penfield was $653 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,542 for the typical suburb in City of Playford. Median rent was $180 a week and the median mortgage repayment $898 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eyre | 1.7 km | 28% | 48% |
| Edinburgh North | 2.2 km | 30% | 22% |
| Macdonald Park | 3.0 km | 44% | 100% |
| Edinburgh City of Salisbury |
3.0 km | 27% | 14% |
| Davoren Park | 3.0 km | 18% | 0% |
| Andrews Farm | 3.1 km | 25% | 30% |
| Elizabeth North | 3.8 km | 26% | 0% |
| Penfield Gardens | 3.9 km | 43% | 100% |
| Elizabeth | 4.0 km | 51% | 0% |
| Direk City of Salisbury |
4.1 km | 24% | 28% |