Sapphiretown flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Sapphiretown
(Kangaroo Island Council, SA) - 2.04 km², mapped from live council and
state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 26 September 2026.
Suburb-wide figures; the free map shows which overlays touch your lot.
Constraint readout
2.04 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Sapphiretown'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 Sapphiretown
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 26 Sep 2026
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.
Sapphiretown at a glance
How Sapphiretown is zoned
Selling in Sapphiretown? 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 2.04 km², Sapphiretown is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 60% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 47% is flagged bushfire-prone. The dominant land-use zone is Coastal Waters and Offshore Islands. The median lot measures about 2,022 m² across 79 parcels.
Who lives in Sapphiretown
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Sapphiretown 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 975, and decile 5 within South Australia. The national average is 1000.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Kangaroo Island, the wider ABS statistical area containing Sapphiretown. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Sapphiretown itself.
4,227 in 2001 to 5,212 in 2025, up 23%.
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.
Sapphiretown 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 26 September 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 Sapphiretown 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 2% of Sapphiretown. 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 Sapphiretown lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Sapphiretown planning - frequently asked
Is Sapphiretown flood-prone?
About 60% of Sapphiretown falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 7%.
Is Sapphiretown bushfire-prone?
Around 47% of Sapphiretown is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Kangaroo Island Council average of 96%.
Is Sapphiretown under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 2% of Sapphiretown, and over about 3% at any altitude up to 10,000 ft, in the period sampled (4 Sep 2026 to 26 Sep 2026). The lowest measured aircraft was at 2,000 ft, with an average of 4,500 ft. 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 Sapphiretown?
The dominant planning zone in Sapphiretown is Coastal Waters and Offshore Islands, though the suburb also includes Rural Living and Rural Shack Settlement.
Does Sapphiretown have heritage-listed places?
No heritage-listed places are on record within Sapphiretown.
What is the typical lot size in Sapphiretown?
Across 79 surveyed parcels in Sapphiretown, the median lot size is about 2,022 m².
Is Sapphiretown an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Sapphiretown scores 975 and sits in decile 5 of 10 nationally and decile 5 within South Australia (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Island Beach | 1.5 km | 20% | 85% |
| American River | 1.5 km | 30% | 71% |
| Ballast Head | 3.9 km | 2% | 99% |
| Muston | 4.8 km | 4% | 96% |
| Pelican Lagoon | 5.1 km | 10% | 94% |
| Brown Beach | 5.9 km | 20% | 87% |
| Baudin Beach | 7.3 km | 22% | 83% |
| Dudley West | 7.9 km | 0% | 100% |
| American Beach | 9.1 km | 14% | 93% |
| Nepean Bay | 11.2 km | 16% | 90% |