Upper Sturt flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Upper Sturt
(Adelaide Hills Council, SA) - 7.71 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
7.71 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Upper Sturt'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 Upper Sturt
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 7,500 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.
Upper Sturt at a glance
How Upper Sturt is zoned
Selling in Upper Sturt? 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 7.71 km², Upper Sturt 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 2,201 m² across 456 parcels.
Who lives in Upper Sturt
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Upper Sturt 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 1081, and decile 10 within South Australia. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Upper Sturt's 1,005 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Aldgate - Stirling, the wider ABS statistical area containing Upper Sturt. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Upper Sturt itself.
17,972 in 2001 to 19,039 in 2025, up 6%.
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.
Upper Sturt 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 Upper Sturt 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 25% of Upper Sturt. 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 Upper Sturt lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Upper Sturt planning - frequently asked
Is Upper Sturt flood-prone?
Flood mapping covers Upper Sturt and none of the suburb falls within a mapped flood overlay (the council-wide suburb average is 1%).
Is Upper Sturt bushfire-prone?
Around 100% of Upper Sturt is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Adelaide Hills Council average of 100%.
Is Upper Sturt under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 25% of Upper Sturt, and over about 55% 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 1,000 ft, with an average of 4,500 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 Upper Sturt?
The dominant planning zone in Upper Sturt is Productive Rural Landscape, though the suburb also includes Hills Face and Rural Neighbourhood.
Does Upper Sturt have heritage-listed places?
Upper Sturt has 13 heritage-listed places on record.
What is the typical lot size in Upper Sturt?
Across 456 surveyed parcels in Upper Sturt, the median lot size is about 2,201 m².
Does Upper Sturt have a train station?
There is no train station inside Upper Sturt itself. The suburb is served by 17 bus stops.
What is the population of Upper Sturt?
At the 2021 Census Upper Sturt had 1,005 usual residents, with a median age of 41 and an average household size of 2.7 people. The wider Aldgate - Stirling statistical area, which contains Upper Sturt, went from 17,972 people in 2001 to 19,039 in 2025, up 6%.
Is Upper Sturt an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Upper Sturt scores 1081 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 Upper Sturt?
Median household income in Upper Sturt was $2,229 a week at the 2021 Census, against $2,089 for the typical suburb in Adelaide Hills Council. Median rent was $345 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,800 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heathfield | 2.3 km | 0% | 100% |
| Ironbank | 2.5 km | 0% | 100% |
| Crafers West | 3.3 km | 0% | 100% |
| Stirling | 3.5 km | <1% | 100% |
| Longwood | 3.6 km | 0% | 100% |
| Belair City of Mitcham |
3.7 km | 1% | 100% |
| Aldgate | 4.0 km | 2% | 100% |
| Scott Creek | 4.1 km | 0% | 100% |
| Crafers | 4.7 km | 0% | 100% |
| Coromandel East City of Onkaparinga |
4.8 km | <1% | 100% |