Areas / South Gippsland / Leongatha

Leongatha flood map & planning overlays

Leongatha, 5,869 people strong, is the biggest town in South Gippsland.

A planning-constraint profile of Leongatha (South Gippsland, VIC) - 42.57 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 Leongatha's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top. Amber hatching is the published aircraft noise (ANEF) contour. 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 Leongatha

The ANEF contour is a published planning forecast and observed overflight is what a sampled tracking feed recorded - neither describes any individual property.

Inside an aircraft noise contour

4%

4% of the suburb's land sits inside a published ANEF or airport-environs contour. Contours vary street by street, so whether a particular lot is inside one needs a property-level check.

Contours held

  • Victorian Airport Environs Overlay

Observed overflight - sampled 4 Sep to 24 Oct 2026

Under observed aircraft
64%
of the suburb, at or below 10,000 ft
Below 3,000 ft
48%
of the suburb's area
Lowest measured
500 ft
averaging 3,000 ft
Busiest square
~1 a day
1 a day below 3,000 ft · ±20% · area average
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.

Leongatha at a glance

Parcels 4,073 Median lot 802 m² Mapped easements 1,306 Bus stops 9

How Leongatha is zoned

Farming Zone (FZ) 78%
General Residential Zone (GRZ1) 10%
Industrial 1 Zone (IN1Z) 2%
Public Conservation and Resource Zone (PCRZ) 2%
Public Park and Recreation Zone (PPRZ) 2%
Low Density Residential Zone (LDRZ) 2%

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

Across its 42.57 km², Leongatha is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 16% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 88% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 19 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Farming Zone (FZ). The median lot measures about 802 m² across 4,073 parcels.

Who lives in Leongatha

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

Population
5,869
usual residents, 2021
Median age
45
years
Median household income
$1,183
per week, South Gippsland suburb typical $1,540
Median rent
$270
per week, South Gippsland suburb typical $255
Median mortgage
$1,430
per month
Household size
2.3
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 936, and decile 2 within Victoria. The national average is 1000.

Relative disadvantage (IRSD) Decile 3
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Age profile

Share of Leongatha's 5,869 residents in each ABS age band.

0-4 5.1%
5-14 13.2%
15-19 6.0%
20-24 4.0%
25-34 9.5%
35-44 11.6%
45-54 10.2%
55-64 12.9%
65-74 14.4%
75-84 9.5%
85+ 3.7%

Population trend, 2001 to 2025

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

9,791 in 2001 to 11,699 in 2025, up 19%.

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.

Leongatha 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)Inside a held contourVicmap 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 Leongatha 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 48% of Leongatha. 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 Leongatha lot.

Leongatha planning - frequently asked

Is Leongatha flood-prone?

About 16% of Leongatha falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 12%.

Is Leongatha bushfire-prone?

Around 88% of Leongatha is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a South Gippsland average of 99%.

Is Leongatha affected by aircraft noise?

About 4% of Leongatha sits inside a published aircraft noise contour. ANEF contours are forecasts published per airport and used to control noise-sensitive development; they are not a measurement at any one house, and a property can sit under a flight path and outside every contour.

Is Leongatha under a flight path?

Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 48% of Leongatha, and over about 64% 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 1 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 Leongatha?

The dominant planning zone in Leongatha is Farming Zone (FZ), though the suburb also includes General Residential Zone (GRZ1) and Industrial 1 Zone (IN1Z).

Does Leongatha have heritage-listed places?

Leongatha has 19 heritage-listed places on record.

What is the typical lot size in Leongatha?

Across 4,073 surveyed parcels in Leongatha, the median lot size is about 802 m². There are also 1,306 registered easements mapped in the suburb.

Does Leongatha have a train station?

There is no train station inside Leongatha itself. The suburb is served by 9 bus stops.

What is the population of Leongatha?

At the 2021 Census Leongatha had 5,869 usual residents, with a median age of 45 and an average household size of 2.3 people. The wider Leongatha statistical area, which contains Leongatha, went from 9,791 people in 2001 to 11,699 in 2025, up 19%.

Is Leongatha an advantaged suburb?

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Leongatha scores 936 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 Leongatha?

Median household income in Leongatha was $1,183 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,540 for the typical suburb in South Gippsland. Median rent was $270 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,430 a month.

Compare nearby suburbs

Nearby suburbDistanceFlood mappedBushfire-prone
Ruby 4.2 km <1% 100%
Kardella South 6.0 km Not mapped 100%
Leongatha North 6.4 km 14% 100%
Korumburra South 6.9 km 21% 100%
Fairbank 7.6 km 1% 100%
Kardella 7.8 km 1% 100%
Koorooman 7.9 km 11% 100%
Nerrena 8.1 km 4% 100%
Mount Eccles South 8.2 km 41% 100%
Koonwarra 9.7 km 5% 100%

See all South Gippsland suburb profiles →