Areas / Yarra / Fairfield

Fairfield flood map & planning overlays

The VIC Fairfield: 19% flood, 53.9% significant landscape, 39 bus stops, joint top.

A planning-constraint profile of Fairfield (Yarra, VIC) - 3.49 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 Fairfield'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 Fairfield

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
100%
of the suburb, at or below 10,000 ft
Below 3,000 ft
93%
of the suburb's area
Lowest measured
500 ft
averaging 3,000 ft · ground movements recorded: on or beside an aerodrome
Busiest square
~9 a day
1 a day below 3,000 ft · ±8% · area average
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.

Fairfield at a glance

Parcels 4,826 Median lot 613 m² Mapped easements 541 Train Fairfield Station Bus stops 39

How Fairfield is zoned

Public Park and Recreation Zone (PPRZ) 43%
General Residential Zone (GRZ2) 19%
General Residential Zone (GRZ1) 11%
Transport Zone (TRZ2) 7%
Industrial 3 Zone (IN3Z) 6%
Neighbourhood Residential Zone (NRZ2) 4%

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

Across its 3.49 km², Fairfield is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 19% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay. There are 37 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Public Park and Recreation Zone (PPRZ). The median lot measures about 613 m² across 4,826 parcels.

Who lives in Fairfield

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

Population
6,535
usual residents, 2021
Median age
37
years
Median household income
$1,967
per week, Yarra suburb typical $2,231
Median rent
$369
per week, Yarra suburb typical $446
Median mortgage
$2,167
per month
Household size
2.2
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 10
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Score 1102, and decile 10 within Victoria. The national average is 1000.

Relative disadvantage (IRSD) Decile 9
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Age profile

Share of Fairfield's 6,535 residents in each ABS age band.

0-4 5.2%
5-14 10.2%
15-19 4.3%
20-24 5.8%
25-34 18.8%
35-44 17.0%
45-54 13.9%
55-64 11.5%
65-74 7.6%
75-84 4.0%
85+ 1.8%

Population trend, 2001 to 2025

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

7,673 in 2001 to 11,419 in 2025, up 49%.

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.

Fairfield 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 Fairfield 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 93% of Fairfield. 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 Fairfield lot.

Fairfield planning - frequently asked

Is Fairfield flood-prone?

About 19% of Fairfield falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 14%.

Is Fairfield bushfire-prone?

Bushfire mapping covers Fairfield and little to none of it is mapped as bushfire-prone.

Is Fairfield under a flight path?

Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 93% of Fairfield, and over about 100% 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 3,000 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 9 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 Fairfield?

The dominant planning zone in Fairfield is Public Park and Recreation Zone (PPRZ), though the suburb also includes General Residential Zone (GRZ2) and General Residential Zone (GRZ1).

Does Fairfield have heritage-listed places?

Fairfield has 37 heritage-listed places on record.

What is the typical lot size in Fairfield?

Across 4,826 surveyed parcels in Fairfield, the median lot size is about 613 m². There are also 541 registered easements mapped in the suburb.

Does Fairfield have a train station?

Yes - Fairfield has 1 train station: Fairfield Station. It is also served by 39 bus stops.

What is the population of Fairfield?

At the 2021 Census Fairfield had 6,535 usual residents, with a median age of 37 and an average household size of 2.2 people. The wider Clifton Hill - Alphington statistical area, which contains Fairfield, went from 7,673 people in 2001 to 11,419 in 2025, up 49%.

Is Fairfield an advantaged suburb?

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Fairfield scores 1102 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 Fairfield?

Median household income in Fairfield was $1,967 a week at the 2021 Census, against $2,231 for the typical suburb in Yarra. Median rent was $369 a week and the median mortgage repayment $2,167 a month.

Compare nearby suburbs

Nearby suburbDistanceFlood mappedBushfire-prone
Clifton Hill 1.3 km 4% 0%
Northcote
Darebin
1.7 km 10% 0%
Alphington
Darebin
1.7 km 28% 0%
Fitzroy North 2.3 km 6% 0%
Abbotsford 2.4 km 18% 0%
Collingwood 2.8 km 15% 0%
Thornbury
Darebin
3.0 km 6% 0%
Ivanhoe
Banyule
3.1 km 20% 0%
Kew
Boroondara
3.2 km 10% 0%
Fitzroy 3.4 km 10% 0%

See all Yarra suburb profiles →