Areas / Whitehorse / Forest Hill

Forest Hill flood map & planning overlays

The VIC Forest Hill: 10,780 residents, 585 m² GRZ1 lots, median 42.

A planning-constraint profile of Forest Hill (Whitehorse, VIC) - 4.07 km², mapped from live council and state overlay data. This suburb is relatively unconstrained.
Profile updated 24 October 2026.

Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Forest Hill'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 Forest Hill

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
97%
of the suburb's area
Lowest measured
500 ft
averaging 4,500 ft
Busiest square
~13 a day
2 a day below 3,000 ft · ±20%
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.

Forest Hill at a glance

Parcels 5,176 Median lot 585 m² Mapped easements 2,281 Bus stops 51 Tram stops 1

How Forest Hill is zoned

General Residential Zone (GRZ1) 53%
Neighbourhood Residential Zone (NRZ3) 20%
Public Park and Recreation Zone (PPRZ) 8%
Commercial 1 Zone (C1Z) 6%
Transport Zone (TRZ2) 5%
Neighbourhood Residential Zone (NRZ1) 3%

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

Across its 4.07 km², Forest Hill is relatively unconstrained by planning overlays. About 2% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay. There are 5 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is General Residential Zone (GRZ1). The median lot measures about 585 m² across 5,176 parcels.

Who lives in Forest Hill

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

Population
10,780
usual residents, 2021
Median age
42
years
Median household income
$1,658
per week, Whitehorse suburb typical $1,941
Median rent
$396
per week, Whitehorse suburb typical $425
Median mortgage
$2,123
per month
Household size
2.5
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 8
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Score 1036, and decile 8 within Victoria. The national average is 1000.

Relative disadvantage (IRSD) Decile 6
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Age profile

Share of Forest Hill's 10,780 residents in each ABS age band.

0-4 5.1%
5-14 11.2%
15-19 5.4%
20-24 5.7%
25-34 11.3%
35-44 14.1%
45-54 13.5%
55-64 11.8%
65-74 9.8%
75-84 7.9%
85+ 4.2%

Population trend, 2001 to 2025

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

9,976 in 2001 to 11,256 in 2025, up 13%.

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.

Forest Hill 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 Forest Hill 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 97% of Forest Hill. 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 Forest Hill lot.

Forest Hill planning - frequently asked

Is Forest Hill flood-prone?

About 2% of Forest Hill falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 4%.

Is Forest Hill bushfire-prone?

Bushfire mapping covers Forest Hill and little to none of it is mapped as bushfire-prone (the Whitehorse average is 3%).

Is Forest Hill under a flight path?

Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 97% of Forest Hill, 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 4,500 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 13 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 Forest Hill?

The dominant planning zone in Forest Hill is General Residential Zone (GRZ1), though the suburb also includes Neighbourhood Residential Zone (NRZ3) and Public Park and Recreation Zone (PPRZ).

Does Forest Hill have heritage-listed places?

Forest Hill has 5 heritage-listed places on record.

What is the typical lot size in Forest Hill?

Across 5,176 surveyed parcels in Forest Hill, the median lot size is about 585 m². There are also 2,281 registered easements mapped in the suburb.

Does Forest Hill have a train station?

There is no train station inside Forest Hill itself. The suburb is served by 51 bus stops and 1 tram stop.

What is the population of Forest Hill?

At the 2021 Census Forest Hill had 10,780 usual residents, with a median age of 42 and an average household size of 2.5 people. The wider Forest Hill statistical area, which contains Forest Hill, went from 9,976 people in 2001 to 11,256 in 2025, up 13%.

Is Forest Hill an advantaged suburb?

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Forest Hill scores 1036 and sits in decile 8 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 Forest Hill?

Median household income in Forest Hill was $1,658 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,941 for the typical suburb in Whitehorse. Median rent was $396 a week and the median mortgage repayment $2,123 a month.

Compare nearby suburbs

Nearby suburbDistanceFlood mappedBushfire-prone
Vermont South 2.1 km 15% 15%
Blackburn South 2.1 km 3% 0%
Burwood East 2.5 km 1% 0%
Vermont 2.5 km 4% 11%
Nunawading 2.8 km 1% <1%
Blackburn 2.9 km 7% 7%
Mitcham 3.8 km 1% 15%
Box Hill South 4.2 km 8% <1%
Blackburn North 4.3 km Not mapped 0%
Glen Waverley
Monash
4.5 km 9% 7%

See all Whitehorse suburb profiles →