Areas / Latrobe / Morwell

Morwell flood map & planning overlays

Morwell: 14,389 people, 33 heritage places, joint-busiest sky in Latrobe.

A planning-constraint profile of Morwell (Latrobe, VIC) - 44.81 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 Morwell'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 Morwell

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
98%
of the suburb, at or below 10,000 ft
Below 3,000 ft
90%
of the suburb's area
Lowest measured
500 ft
averaging 1,500 ft · ground movements recorded: on or beside an aerodrome
Busiest square
~45 a day
45 a day below 3,000 ft · ±5%
typical observed square 1 a day

Night movements: observed, lowest 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.

Morwell at a glance

Parcels 9,637 Median lot 666 m² Mapped easements 3,611 Train Morwell Station Bus stops 106

How Morwell is zoned

Special Use Zone (SUZ1) 29%
Farming Zone (FZ1) 20%
Industrial 1 Zone (IN1Z) 10%
Neighbourhood Residential Zone (NRZ4) 10%
General Residential Zone (GRZ3) 6%
Transport Zone (TRZ2) 5%

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

Across its 44.81 km², Morwell is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 14% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 78% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 33 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Special Use Zone (SUZ1). The median lot measures about 666 m² across 9,637 parcels.

Who lives in Morwell

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

Population
14,389
usual residents, 2021
Median age
43
years
Median household income
$942
per week, Latrobe suburb typical $1,732
Median rent
$215
per week, Latrobe suburb typical $237
Median mortgage
$953
per month
Household size
2.2
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 1
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Score 820, and decile 1 within Victoria. The national average is 1000.

Relative disadvantage (IRSD) Decile 1
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Age profile

Share of Morwell's 14,389 residents in each ABS age band.

0-4 5.7%
5-14 11.7%
15-19 5.3%
20-24 6.0%
25-34 12.3%
35-44 10.4%
45-54 12.2%
55-64 13.6%
65-74 12.1%
75-84 7.3%
85+ 3.3%

Population trend, 2001 to 2025

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

14,345 in 2001 to 14,487 in 2025, up 1%.

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.

Morwell 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 Morwell 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 90% of Morwell. 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 Morwell lot.

Morwell planning - frequently asked

Is Morwell flood-prone?

About 14% of Morwell falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 12%.

Is Morwell bushfire-prone?

Around 78% of Morwell is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Latrobe average of 96%.

Is Morwell affected by aircraft noise?

About 4% of Morwell 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 Morwell under a flight path?

Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 90% of Morwell, and over about 98% 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 1,500 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 45 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 Morwell?

The dominant planning zone in Morwell is Special Use Zone (SUZ1), though the suburb also includes Farming Zone (FZ1) and Industrial 1 Zone (IN1Z).

Does Morwell have heritage-listed places?

Morwell has 33 heritage-listed places on record.

What is the typical lot size in Morwell?

Across 9,637 surveyed parcels in Morwell, the median lot size is about 666 m². There are also 3,611 registered easements mapped in the suburb.

Does Morwell have a train station?

Yes - Morwell has 1 train station: Morwell Station. It is also served by 106 bus stops.

What is the population of Morwell?

At the 2021 Census Morwell had 14,389 usual residents, with a median age of 43 and an average household size of 2.2 people. The wider Morwell statistical area, which contains Morwell, went from 14,345 people in 2001 to 14,487 in 2025, up 1%.

Is Morwell an advantaged suburb?

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Morwell scores 820 and sits in decile 1 of 10 nationally and decile 1 within Victoria (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).

What is the median household income in Morwell?

Median household income in Morwell was $942 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,732 for the typical suburb in Latrobe. Median rent was $215 a week and the median mortgage repayment $953 a month.

Compare nearby suburbs

Nearby suburbDistanceFlood mappedBushfire-prone
Maryvale 5.7 km 26% 100%
Hazelwood 7.1 km 19% 90%
Yallourn 7.3 km 8% 99%
Hazelwood North 7.5 km 3% 100%
Hernes Oak 8.9 km 6% 100%
Churchill 9.3 km 1% 88%
Driffield 10.2 km 6% 100%
Traralgon 10.2 km 22% 73%
Hazelwood South 10.6 km Not mapped 100%
Tyers 11.7 km 21% 100%

See all Latrobe suburb profiles →