Areas / Surf Coast / Buckley

Buckley flood map & planning overlays

Buckley's 15 ha farms see 11.3% flood mapping, a young median of 40.

A planning-constraint profile of Buckley (Surf Coast, VIC) - 59.38 km², mapped from live council and state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 24 October 2026.

Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Buckley'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 Buckley

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

Under observed aircraft
75%
of the suburb, at or below 10,000 ft
Below 3,000 ft
57%
of the suburb's area
Lowest measured
500 ft
averaging 2,500 ft
Busiest square
~1 a day
1 a day below 3,000 ft · ±32% · area average
typical observed square 0 a day

Night movements: observed, lowest 2,000 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.

Buckley at a glance

Parcels 223 Median lot 148,075 m² Mapped easements 23

How Buckley is zoned

Farming Zone (FZ2) 69%
Farming Zone (FZ3) 21%
Public Conservation and Resource Zone (PCRZ) 7%
Rural Conservation Zone (RCZ7) 1%
Transport Zone (TRZ2) 1%
Comprehensive Development Zone (CDZ3) 0%

Selling in Buckley? The zoning and planning overlays on this page are the controls a Section 32 vendor statement discloses.

Across its 59.38 km², Buckley is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 11% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 95% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 3 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Farming Zone (FZ2). The median lot measures about 148,075 m² across 223 parcels.

Who lives in Buckley

Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Buckley suburb boundary itself, not a wider region.

Population
228
usual residents, 2021
Median age
40
years
Median household income
$2,166
per week, Surf Coast suburb typical $2,045
Median rent
$360
per week, Surf Coast suburb typical $355
Median mortgage
$2,167
per month
Household size
2.9
people, average

Socio-economic standing

ABS SEIFA 2021 ranks every Australian suburb. Decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth of the country, decile 10 the least.

Advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD) Decile 9
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Score 1044, and decile 8 within Victoria. The national average is 1000.

Relative disadvantage (IRSD) Decile 9
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Age profile

Share of Buckley's 228 residents in each ABS age band.

0-4 8.6%
5-14 9.9%
15-19 7.3%
20-24 3.4%
25-34 12.4%
35-44 12.4%
45-54 16.7%
55-64 15.9%
65-74 5.6%
75-84 5.6%
85+ 2.1%

Population trend, 2001 to 2025

Estimated resident population of Winchelsea, the wider ABS statistical area containing Buckley. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Buckley itself.

5,418 in 2001 to 7,079 in 2025, up 31%.

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.

Buckley data sources and coverage

“Not mapped” means we hold no source layer for this suburb - never an all-clear.

DatasetCoveragePublisher
Flood mappingMappedVicmap Planning and Victorian Government spatial services
Bushfire-prone mappingMappedVicmap Planning and Victorian Government spatial services
ZoningMappedVicmap Planning and Victorian Government spatial services
Heritage and environmentMapped where publishedVicmap Planning and Victorian Government spatial services
Aircraft noise contours (ANEF)Not heldVicmap Planning and Victorian Government spatial services, Defence
Observed flight pathsObservedadsb.lol, under the Open Database License
DemographicsAvailableAustralian 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 Buckley 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 57% of Buckley. 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 Buckley lot.

Buckley planning - frequently asked

Is Buckley flood-prone?

About 11% of Buckley falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 7%.

Is Buckley bushfire-prone?

Around 95% of Buckley is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Surf Coast average of 97%.

Is Buckley under a flight path?

Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 57% of Buckley, and over about 75% at any altitude up to 10,000 ft, 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 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 Buckley?

The dominant planning zone in Buckley is Farming Zone (FZ2), though the suburb also includes Farming Zone (FZ3) and Public Conservation and Resource Zone (PCRZ).

Does Buckley have heritage-listed places?

Buckley has 3 heritage-listed places on record.

What is the typical lot size in Buckley?

Across 223 surveyed parcels in Buckley, the median lot size is about 148,075 m². There are also 23 registered easements mapped in the suburb.

What is the population of Buckley?

At the 2021 Census Buckley had 228 usual residents, with a median age of 40 and an average household size of 2.9 people. The wider Winchelsea statistical area, which contains Buckley, went from 5,418 people in 2001 to 7,079 in 2025, up 31%.

Is Buckley an advantaged suburb?

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Buckley scores 1044 and sits in decile 9 of 10 nationally and decile 8 within Victoria (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).

What is the median household income in Buckley?

Median household income in Buckley was $2,166 a week at the 2021 Census, against $2,045 for the typical suburb in Surf Coast. Median rent was $360 a week and the median mortgage repayment $2,167 a month.

Compare nearby suburbs

Nearby suburbDistanceFlood mappedBushfire-prone
Modewarre 6.0 km 21% 95%
Moriac 7.7 km 14% 97%
Wurdiboluc 8.4 km 24% 82%
Gnarwarre 8.6 km 3% 100%
Mount Moriac 8.6 km 3% 100%
Gherang 10.1 km 5% 100%
Winchelsea 11.1 km 14% 96%
Paraparap 11.9 km 9% 100%
Barrabool 13.1 km 7% 100%
Murgheboluc
Golden Plains
13.9 km 12% 100%

See all Surf Coast suburb profiles →