Areas / Greater Geelong / Curlewis

Curlewis flood map & planning overlays

Curlewis skews young for Greater Geelong, median 34 (joint 3rd-lowest).

A planning-constraint profile of Curlewis (Greater Geelong, VIC) - 20.17 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 Curlewis'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 Curlewis

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
61%
of the suburb, at or below 10,000 ft
Below 3,000 ft
49%
of the suburb's area
Lowest measured
500 ft
averaging 2,500 ft
Busiest square
~3 a day
3 a day below 3,000 ft · ±30%
typical observed square 0 a day

Night movements: not established - night is sampled as often as day, but too few night flights have been seen here to conclude either way.

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.

Curlewis at a glance

Parcels 2,497 Median lot 493 m² Mapped easements 1,080 Bus stops 13

How Curlewis is zoned

Farming Zone (FZ) 74%
General Residential Zone (GRZ1) 15%
Rural Living Zone (RLZ) 4%
Special Use Zone (SUZ3) 3%
Transport Zone (TRZ2) 1%
Public Park and Recreation Zone (PPRZ) 1%

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

Across its 20.17 km², Curlewis is highly constrained by planning overlays. Flood mapping covers the suburb and none of it falls within a mapped flood overlay, and 93% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 9 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Farming Zone (FZ). The median lot measures about 493 m² across 2,497 parcels.

Who lives in Curlewis

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

Population
4,175
usual residents, 2021
Median age
34
years
Median household income
$1,830
per week, Greater Geelong suburb typical $1,670
Median rent
$405
per week, Greater Geelong suburb typical $350
Median mortgage
$1,777
per month
Household size
2.7
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 6
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Score 991, and decile 5 within Victoria. The national average is 1000.

Relative disadvantage (IRSD) Decile 6
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Age profile

Share of Curlewis's 4,175 residents in each ABS age band.

0-4 8.6%
5-14 15.2%
15-19 5.7%
20-24 4.8%
25-34 16.0%
35-44 15.1%
45-54 10.7%
55-64 10.7%
65-74 9.0%
75-84 3.5%
85+ 0.6%

Population trend, 2001 to 2025

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

10,204 in 2001 to 17,912 in 2025, up 76%.

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.

Curlewis 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 Curlewis 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 49% of Curlewis. 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 Curlewis lot.

Curlewis planning - frequently asked

Is Curlewis flood-prone?

Flood mapping covers Curlewis and less than 1% of the suburb falls within a mapped flood overlay (the council-wide suburb average is 18%).

Is Curlewis bushfire-prone?

Around 93% of Curlewis is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Greater Geelong average of 50%.

Is Curlewis under a flight path?

Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 49% of Curlewis, and over about 61% 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 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 Curlewis?

The dominant planning zone in Curlewis is Farming Zone (FZ), though the suburb also includes General Residential Zone (GRZ1) and Rural Living Zone (RLZ).

Does Curlewis have heritage-listed places?

Curlewis has 9 heritage-listed places on record.

What is the typical lot size in Curlewis?

Across 2,497 surveyed parcels in Curlewis, the median lot size is about 493 m². There are also 1,080 registered easements mapped in the suburb.

Does Curlewis have a train station?

There is no train station inside Curlewis itself. The suburb is served by 13 bus stops.

What is the population of Curlewis?

At the 2021 Census Curlewis had 4,175 usual residents, with a median age of 34 and an average household size of 2.7 people. The wider Clifton Springs statistical area, which contains Curlewis, went from 10,204 people in 2001 to 17,912 in 2025, up 76%.

Is Curlewis an advantaged suburb?

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Curlewis scores 991 and sits in decile 6 of 10 nationally and decile 5 within Victoria (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).

What is the median household income in Curlewis?

Median household income in Curlewis was $1,830 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,670 for the typical suburb in Greater Geelong. Median rent was $405 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,777 a month.

Compare nearby suburbs

Nearby suburbDistanceFlood mappedBushfire-prone
Leopold 5.0 km 8% 77%
Clifton Springs 5.4 km <1% 34%
Wallington 5.7 km 22% 86%
Drysdale 6.6 km 2% 94%
Marcus Hill 8.2 km 9% 100%
Moolap 8.2 km 54% 50%
Mannerim 8.9 km 4% 100%
Ocean Grove 8.9 km 19% 49%
Bellarine 10.1 km 1% 99%
Barwon Heads 11.0 km 45% 52%

See all Greater Geelong suburb profiles →