Areas / Baw Baw / Modella

Modella flood map & planning overlays

Modella tops Baw Baw for income ($2,218) and flood mapping (92.8%).

A planning-constraint profile of Modella (Baw Baw, VIC) - 30.08 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 Modella'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 Modella

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
78%
of the suburb, at or below 10,000 ft
Below 3,000 ft
52%
of the suburb's area
Lowest measured
500 ft
averaging 3,500 ft
Busiest square
~0 a day
0 a day below 3,000 ft · ±32% · 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.

Modella at a glance

Parcels 109 Median lot 202,354 m² Mapped easements 25

How Modella is zoned

Farming Zone (FZ) 56%
Green Wedge Zone (GWZ1) 34%
Public Use Zone (PUZ1) 6%
Special Use Zone (SUZ1) 4%
Transport Zone (TRZ2) 0%
Public Conservation and Resource Zone (PCRZ) 0%

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

Across its 30.08 km², Modella is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 93% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 100% is flagged bushfire-prone. The dominant land-use zone is Farming Zone (FZ). The median lot measures about 202,354 m² across 109 parcels.

Who lives in Modella

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

Population
169
usual residents, 2021
Median age
44
years
Median household income
$2,218
per week, Baw Baw suburb typical $1,614
Median rent
$320
per week, Baw Baw suburb typical $261
Median mortgage
$2,119
per month
Household size
2.7
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 7
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Score 1006, and decile 6 within Victoria. The national average is 1000.

Relative disadvantage (IRSD) Decile 7
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Age profile

Share of Modella's 169 residents in each ABS age band.

0-4 3.4%
5-14 14.3%
15-19 5.7%
20-24 5.7%
25-34 10.9%
35-44 12.0%
45-54 17.7%
55-64 19.4%
65-74 6.3%
75-84 4.6%
85+ 0.0%

Population trend, 2001 to 2025

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

9,882 in 2001 to 22,118 in 2025, up 124%.

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.

Modella 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 Modella 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 52% of Modella. 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 Modella lot.

Modella planning - frequently asked

Is Modella flood-prone?

About 93% of Modella falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 11%.

Is Modella bushfire-prone?

Around 100% of Modella is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Baw Baw average of 99%.

Is Modella under a flight path?

Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 52% of Modella, and over about 78% 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 3,500 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 0 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 Modella?

The dominant planning zone in Modella is Farming Zone (FZ), though the suburb also includes Green Wedge Zone (GWZ1) and Public Use Zone (PUZ1).

Does Modella have heritage-listed places?

No heritage-listed places are on record within Modella.

What is the typical lot size in Modella?

Across 109 surveyed parcels in Modella, the median lot size is about 202,354 m². There are also 25 registered easements mapped in the suburb.

What is the population of Modella?

At the 2021 Census Modella had 169 usual residents, with a median age of 44 and an average household size of 2.7 people. The wider Drouin statistical area, which contains Modella, went from 9,882 people in 2001 to 22,118 in 2025, up 124%.

Is Modella an advantaged suburb?

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Modella scores 1006 and sits in decile 7 of 10 nationally and decile 6 within Victoria (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).

What is the median household income in Modella?

Median household income in Modella was $2,218 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,614 for the typical suburb in Baw Baw. Median rent was $320 a week and the median mortgage repayment $2,119 a month.

Compare nearby suburbs

Nearby suburbDistanceFlood mappedBushfire-prone
Iona
Cardinia
3.9 km 100% 100%
Ripplebrook 4.5 km 4% 100%
Catani
Cardinia
6.7 km 100% 100%
Vervale
Cardinia
6.9 km 100% 100%
Longwarry 7.0 km 42% 98%
Heath Hill
Cardinia
7.1 km 15% 100%
Yannathan
Cardinia
8.2 km 83% 100%
Bunyip
Cardinia
8.3 km 58% 94%
Athlone 9.3 km 23% 100%
Drouin South 9.3 km 4% 100%

See all Baw Baw suburb profiles →