Areas / South Gippsland / Foster

Foster flood map & planning overlays

Foster houses 2,044 people, median 59, 2nd-oldest in South Gippsland.

Free map preview, then PDF reports from $9 - about the price of an iced latte on a public holiday.

A planning-constraint profile of Foster (South Gippsland, VIC) - 116.28 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 Foster'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 Foster

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
23%
of the suburb, at or below 10,000 ft
Below 3,000 ft
8%
of the suburb's area
Lowest measured
2,000 ft
averaging 3,500 ft
How often
not established
aircraft were seen, but not often enough to put a rate on

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.

Foster at a glance

Parcels 1,854 Median lot 1,477 m² Mapped easements 666 Bus stops 1

How Foster is zoned

Farming Zone (FZ) 85%
Rural Activity Zone (RAZ) 6%
Public Conservation and Resource Zone (PCRZ) 3%
Rural Living Zone (RLZ1) 2%
Public Park and Recreation Zone (PPRZ) 1%
General Residential Zone (GRZ1) 1%

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

Across its 116.28 km², Foster is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 7% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 99% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 10 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Farming Zone (FZ). The median lot measures about 1,477 m² across 1,854 parcels.

Who lives in Foster

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

Population
2,044
usual residents, 2021
Median age
59
years
Median household income
$975
per week, South Gippsland suburb typical $1,540
Median rent
$240
per week, South Gippsland suburb typical $255
Median mortgage
$1,348
per month
Household size
2.0
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 3
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Score 943, and decile 2 within Victoria. The national average is 1000.

Relative disadvantage (IRSD) Decile 3
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Age profile

Share of Foster's 2,044 residents in each ABS age band.

0-4 2.9%
5-14 8.9%
15-19 4.3%
20-24 3.0%
25-34 6.1%
35-44 7.6%
45-54 10.3%
55-64 17.1%
65-74 19.9%
75-84 13.4%
85+ 6.5%

Population trend, 2001 to 2025

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

8,272 in 2001 to 9,631 in 2025, up 16%.

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.

Foster 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 Foster 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 8% of Foster. 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 Foster lot.

Foster planning - frequently asked

Is Foster flood-prone?

About 7% of Foster falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 12%.

Is Foster bushfire-prone?

Around 99% of Foster is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a South Gippsland average of 99%.

Is Foster under a flight path?

Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 8% of Foster, and over about 23% 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 2,000 ft, with an average of 3,500 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 Foster?

The dominant planning zone in Foster is Farming Zone (FZ), though the suburb also includes Rural Activity Zone (RAZ) and Public Conservation and Resource Zone (PCRZ).

Does Foster have heritage-listed places?

Foster has 10 heritage-listed places on record.

What is the typical lot size in Foster?

Across 1,854 surveyed parcels in Foster, the median lot size is about 1,477 m². There are also 666 registered easements mapped in the suburb.

Does Foster have a train station?

There is no train station inside Foster itself. The suburb is served by 1 bus stop.

What is the population of Foster?

At the 2021 Census Foster had 2,044 usual residents, with a median age of 59 and an average household size of 2.0 people. The wider Foster statistical area, which contains Foster, went from 8,272 people in 2001 to 9,631 in 2025, up 16%.

Is Foster an advantaged suburb?

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Foster scores 943 and sits in decile 3 of 10 nationally and decile 2 within Victoria (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).

What is the median household income in Foster?

Median household income in Foster was $975 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,540 for the typical suburb in South Gippsland. Median rent was $240 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,348 a month.

Compare nearby suburbs

Nearby suburbDistanceFlood mappedBushfire-prone
Port Franklin 5.3 km 66% 100%
Bennison 5.4 km 17% 100%
Foster North 7.7 km <1% 100%
Toora 8.8 km 20% 100%
Wonga 9.2 km 1% 100%
Woorarra West 9.2 km Not mapped 100%
Mount Best 12.6 km 1% 100%
Fish Creek 13.1 km 1% 100%
Boolarong 13.1 km Not mapped 100%
Dollar 13.3 km Not mapped 100%

See all South Gippsland suburb profiles →