Balwyn flood map & planning overlays
Balwyn keeps 671 m² lots and a median age of 43 (joint 3rd).
Free map preview, then PDF reports from $9 - about the price of an iced latte on a public holiday.
A planning-constraint profile of Balwyn
(Boroondara, VIC) - 4.38 km², mapped from live council and
state overlay data. This suburb is relatively unconstrained.
Profile updated 24 October 2026.
Constraint readout
4.38 km² - this suburb is relatively unconstrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Balwyn'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 Balwyn
The ANEF contour is a published planning forecast and observed overflight is what a sampled tracking feed recorded - neither describes any individual property.
Observed overflight - sampled 4 Sep to 24 Oct 2026
typical observed square 1 a day
Night movements: observed, lowest 1,000 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.
How this is measured
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.
Balwyn at a glance
How Balwyn is zoned
Selling in Balwyn? The zoning and planning overlays on this page are the controls a Section 32 vendor statement discloses.
Across its 4.38 km², Balwyn is relatively unconstrained by planning overlays. About 4% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay. There are 35 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Neighbourhood Residential Zone (NRZ3). The median lot measures about 671 m² across 7,741 parcels.
Who lives in Balwyn
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Balwyn 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 1105, and decile 10 within Victoria. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Balwyn's 13,495 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Balwyn, the wider ABS statistical area containing Balwyn. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Balwyn itself.
15,317 in 2001 to 16,868 in 2025, up 10%.
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.
Balwyn 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 | Vicmap Planning and Victorian Government spatial services |
| Bushfire-prone mapping | Mapped | Vicmap Planning and Victorian Government spatial services |
| Zoning | Mapped | Vicmap Planning and Victorian Government spatial services |
| Heritage and environment | Mapped where published | Vicmap Planning and Victorian Government spatial services |
| Aircraft noise contours (ANEF) | Not held | Vicmap Planning and Victorian Government spatial services, 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 24 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 Balwyn 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.
See what's in the $9 report →Aircraft have been seen below 3,000 ft over about 100% of Balwyn. 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 the indicative soil reactivity range to expect for a Balwyn lot.
Balwyn planning - frequently asked
Is Balwyn flood-prone?
About 4% of Balwyn falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 10%.
Is Balwyn bushfire-prone?
Bushfire mapping covers Balwyn and little to none of it is mapped as bushfire-prone.
Is Balwyn under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 100% of Balwyn, in the period sampled (4 Sep 2026 to 24 Oct 2026). The lowest measured aircraft was at 500 ft, with an average of 2,500 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 3 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 Balwyn?
The dominant planning zone in Balwyn is Neighbourhood Residential Zone (NRZ3), though the suburb also includes Neighbourhood Residential Zone (NRZ1) and Public Park and Recreation Zone (PPRZ).
Does Balwyn have heritage-listed places?
Balwyn has 35 heritage-listed places on record.
What is the typical lot size in Balwyn?
Across 7,741 surveyed parcels in Balwyn, the median lot size is about 671 m². There are also 1,674 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
Does Balwyn have a train station?
There is no train station inside Balwyn itself. The suburb is served by 39 bus stops and 8 tram stops.
What is the population of Balwyn?
At the 2021 Census Balwyn had 13,495 usual residents, with a median age of 43 and an average household size of 2.6 people. The wider Balwyn statistical area, which contains Balwyn, went from 15,317 people in 2001 to 16,868 in 2025, up 10%.
Is Balwyn an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Balwyn scores 1105 and sits in decile 10 of 10 nationally and decile 10 within Victoria (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in Balwyn?
Median household income in Balwyn was $1,975 a week at the 2021 Census, against $2,457 for the typical suburb in Boroondara. Median rent was $451 a week and the median mortgage repayment $3,000 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canterbury | 1.8 km | 3% | 0% |
| Deepdene | 1.9 km | <1% | 0% |
| Mont Albert Whitehorse |
2.1 km | <1% | 0% |
| Surrey Hills Whitehorse |
2.1 km | 2% | 0% |
| Balwyn North | 2.1 km | 7% | 0% |
| Mont Albert North Whitehorse |
2.2 km | 10% | 0% |
| Camberwell | 3.1 km | 3% | 0% |
| Box Hill Whitehorse |
3.6 km | 2% | 0% |
| Box Hill North Whitehorse |
3.7 km | 3% | 0% |
| Kew East | 3.7 km | 45% | 0% |