French Island flood map & planning overlays
French Island keeps 32 heritage places, median age 51.
Free map preview, then PDF reports from $9 - about the price of an iced latte on a public holiday.
A planning-constraint profile of French Island
(French-Elizabeth-Sandstone Islands (Uninc), VIC) - 170.38 km², mapped from live council and
state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 24 October 2026.
Constraint readout
170.38 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to French Island'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 French Island
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
typical observed square 0 a day
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.
French Island at a glance
How French Island is zoned
Selling in French Island? The zoning and planning overlays on this page are the controls a Section 32 vendor statement discloses.
Across its 170.38 km², French Island is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 9% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 100% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 32 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Public Conservation and Resource Zone (PCRZ). The median lot measures about 534 m² across 951 parcels.
Who lives in French Island
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the French Island suburb boundary itself, not a wider region.
Socio-economic standing
ABS SEIFA 2021 ranks every Australian suburb. Decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth of the country, decile 10 the least.
Score 998, and decile 5 within Victoria. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of French Island's 141 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of French Island, the wider ABS statistical area containing French Island. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than French Island itself.
90 in 2001 to 133 in 2025, up 48%.
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.
French Island data sources and coverage
“Not mapped” means we hold no source layer for this suburb - never an all-clear.
| Dataset | Coverage | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| Flood mapping | Mapped | Vicmap Planning and Victorian Government spatial services |
| Bushfire-prone mapping | Mapped | Vicmap Planning and Victorian Government spatial services |
| Zoning | Mapped | Vicmap Planning and Victorian Government spatial services |
| Heritage and environment | Mapped where published | Vicmap Planning and Victorian Government spatial services |
| Aircraft noise contours (ANEF) | Not held | Vicmap Planning and Victorian Government spatial services, Defence |
| Observed flight paths | Observed | adsb.lol, under the Open Database License |
| Demographics | Available | Australian 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 French Island 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 79% of French Island. 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 French Island lot.
French Island planning - frequently asked
Is French Island flood-prone?
About 9% of French Island falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 9%.
Is French Island bushfire-prone?
Around 100% of French Island is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a French-Elizabeth-Sandstone Islands (Uninc) average of 100%.
Is French Island under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 79% of French Island, and over about 94% 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 4 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 French Island?
The dominant planning zone in French Island is Public Conservation and Resource Zone (PCRZ), though the suburb also includes Farming Zone (FZ) and Rural Conservation Zone (RCZ).
Does French Island have heritage-listed places?
French Island has 32 heritage-listed places on record.
What is the typical lot size in French Island?
Across 951 surveyed parcels in French Island, the median lot size is about 534 m². There are also 7 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
What is the population of French Island?
At the 2021 Census French Island had 141 usual residents, with a median age of 51 and an average household size of 2.3 people. The wider French Island statistical area, which contains French Island, went from 90 people in 2001 to 133 in 2025, up 48%.
Is French Island an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), French Island scores 998 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 French Island?
Median household income in French Island was $1,015 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,015 for the typical suburb in French-Elizabeth-Sandstone Islands (Uninc). Median rent was $346 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,800 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elizabeth Island | 7.4 km | 9% | 100% |
| Tenby Point Bass Coast |
10.3 km | <1% | 100% |
| Coronet Bay Bass Coast |
10.6 km | 2% | 79% |
| Corinella Bass Coast |
11.3 km | 16% | 93% |
| Queensferry Bass Coast |
12.4 km | 100% | 100% |
| Jam Jerrup Bass Coast |
13.9 km | 53% | 100% |
| Pioneer Bay Bass Coast |
14.4 km | 28% | 100% |
| Grantville Bass Coast |
14.5 km | 14% | 100% |
| Warneet Casey |
14.7 km | 68% | 97% |
| Adams Estate Bass Coast |
14.9 km | Not mapped | 100% |
See all French-Elizabeth-Sandstone Islands (Uninc) suburb profiles →