Areas / Macedon Ranges / Cobaw

Cobaw zoning & planning overlays

Cobaw rents for $568, 2nd in Macedon Ranges, and is young at 39.

A planning-constraint profile of Cobaw (Macedon Ranges, VIC) - 11.82 km², mapped from live council and state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained on the overlays we could measure - no flood mapping covers this suburb, so this is not a suburb-wide verdict.
Profile updated 24 October 2026.

Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Cobaw's boundary, with the bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top. Magenta is where aircraft were observed in the sampled period, brightest below 3,000 ft. No flood layer is drawn because we hold no flood mapping for this area.

Nearby suburbs, nearest first

Aircraft noise and flight paths over Cobaw

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
47%
of the suburb, at or below 10,000 ft
Below 3,000 ft
4%
of the suburb's area
Lowest measured
2,500 ft
averaging 5,000 ft
How often
not established
aircraft were seen, but not often enough to put a rate on

Night movements: observed, lowest 2,500 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.

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.

Cobaw at a glance

Parcels 48 Median lot 214,570 m² Mapped easements 61

How Cobaw is zoned

Rural Conservation Zone (RCZ2) 93%
Rural Conservation Zone (RCZ1) 6%
Transport Zone (TRZ3) 1%
Public Conservation and Resource Zone (PCRZ) 0%

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

Across its 11.82 km², Cobaw is highly constrained by the planning overlays we hold. We hold no flood mapping covering this suburb, so no flood figure is shown - that is a gap in our data, not an all-clear. Of what is mapped, 100% is flagged bushfire-prone. There is 1 heritage-listed site on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Rural Conservation Zone (RCZ2). The median lot measures about 214,570 m² across 48 parcels.

Who lives in Cobaw

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

Population
104
usual residents, 2021
Median age
39
years
Median household income
$2,083
per week, Macedon Ranges suburb typical $2,090
Median rent
$568
per week, Macedon Ranges suburb typical $350
Median mortgage
$2,300
per month
Household size
2.8
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 1056, and decile 9 within Victoria. The national average is 1000.

Relative disadvantage (IRSD) Decile 10
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Age profile

Share of Cobaw's 104 residents in each ABS age band.

0-4 10.6%
5-14 11.5%
15-19 9.6%
20-24 3.8%
25-34 9.6%
35-44 7.7%
45-54 16.3%
55-64 18.3%
65-74 8.7%
75-84 3.8%
85+ 0.0%

Population trend, 2001 to 2025

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

7,425 in 2001 to 11,567 in 2025, up 56%.

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.

Cobaw data sources and coverage

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

DatasetCoveragePublisher
Flood mappingNot mappedVicmap 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 Cobaw 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 4% of Cobaw. 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 Cobaw lot.

Cobaw planning - frequently asked

Is Cobaw flood-prone?

We don't yet hold flood mapping covering Cobaw, so this page can't say how much of the suburb is flood-affected - that is a gap in our data, not an indication that the suburb is free of flood risk. Macedon Ranges is the authority to check for flood mapping in this area.

Is Cobaw bushfire-prone?

Around 100% of Cobaw is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Macedon Ranges average of 99%.

Is Cobaw under a flight path?

Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 4% of Cobaw, and over about 47% 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 2,500 ft, with an average of 5,000 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 Cobaw?

The dominant planning zone in Cobaw is Rural Conservation Zone (RCZ2), though the suburb also includes Rural Conservation Zone (RCZ1) and Transport Zone (TRZ3).

Does Cobaw have heritage-listed places?

Cobaw has 1 heritage-listed place on record.

What is the typical lot size in Cobaw?

Across 48 surveyed parcels in Cobaw, the median lot size is about 214,570 m². There are also 61 registered easements mapped in the suburb.

What is the population of Cobaw?

At the 2021 Census Cobaw had 104 usual residents, with a median age of 39 and an average household size of 2.8 people. The wider Romsey statistical area, which contains Cobaw, went from 7,425 people in 2001 to 11,567 in 2025, up 56%.

Is Cobaw an advantaged suburb?

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Cobaw scores 1056 and sits in decile 9 of 10 nationally and decile 9 within Victoria (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).

What is the median household income in Cobaw?

Median household income in Cobaw was $2,083 a week at the 2021 Census, against $2,090 for the typical suburb in Macedon Ranges. Median rent was $568 a week and the median mortgage repayment $2,300 a month.

Compare nearby suburbs

Nearby suburbDistanceFlood mappedBushfire-prone
Newham 4.4 km 2% 100%
Rochford 6.1 km Not mapped 100%
Lancefield 7.0 km <1% 99%
Pastoria 7.4 km 6% 100%
Benloch 7.7 km <1% 100%
Pipers Creek 8.2 km 4% 100%
Pastoria East 9.5 km 8% 100%
Hesket 10.3 km 3% 100%
Cadello 10.6 km 9% 100%
Woodend North 11.8 km 24% 100%

See all Macedon Ranges suburb profiles →