Areas / Mount Alexander / Newstead

Newstead flood map & planning overlays

The VIC Newstead holds 88 heritage places, median age 51.

A planning-constraint profile of Newstead (Mount Alexander, VIC) - 46.76 km², mapped from live council and state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 25 October 2026.

Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Newstead'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 Newstead

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
48%
of the suburb, at or below 10,000 ft
Below 3,000 ft
0%
of the suburb's area
Lowest measured
4,000 ft
averaging 5,000 ft
Busiest square
~1 a day
±30% · 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.

Newstead at a glance

Parcels 1,121 Median lot 2,834 m² Mapped easements 268 Bus stops 4

How Newstead is zoned

Farming Zone (FZ1) 64%
Public Conservation and Resource Zone (PCRZ) 25%
Township Zone (TZ1) 6%
Public Use Zone (PUZ1) 3%
Transport Zone (TRZ2) 2%
Transport Zone (TRZ1) 0%

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

Across its 46.76 km², Newstead is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 16% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 100% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 88 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Farming Zone (FZ1). The median lot measures about 2,834 m² across 1,121 parcels.

Who lives in Newstead

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

Population
820
usual residents, 2021
Median age
51
years
Median household income
$1,105
per week, Mount Alexander suburb typical $1,402
Median rent
$300
per week, Mount Alexander suburb typical $300
Median mortgage
$1,300
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 4
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Score 964, and decile 3 within Victoria. The national average is 1000.

Relative disadvantage (IRSD) Decile 4
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Age profile

Share of Newstead's 820 residents in each ABS age band.

0-4 5.3%
5-14 10.9%
15-19 4.6%
20-24 3.2%
25-34 8.2%
35-44 9.9%
45-54 12.8%
55-64 16.1%
65-74 18.7%
75-84 8.2%
85+ 1.9%

Population trend, 2001 to 2025

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

7,724 in 2001 to 9,675 in 2025, up 25%.

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.

Newstead 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 25 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 Newstead 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 →

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 Newstead lot.

Newstead planning - frequently asked

Is Newstead flood-prone?

About 16% of Newstead falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 8%.

Is Newstead bushfire-prone?

Around 100% of Newstead is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Mount Alexander average of 100%.

Is Newstead under a flight path?

Aircraft were observed over about 48% of Newstead in the period sampled, but only above 3,000 ft - the lowest measured was 4,000 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 Newstead?

The dominant planning zone in Newstead is Farming Zone (FZ1), though the suburb also includes Public Conservation and Resource Zone (PCRZ) and Township Zone (TZ1).

Does Newstead have heritage-listed places?

Newstead has 88 heritage-listed places on record.

What is the typical lot size in Newstead?

Across 1,121 surveyed parcels in Newstead, the median lot size is about 2,834 m². There are also 268 registered easements mapped in the suburb.

Does Newstead have a train station?

There is no train station inside Newstead itself. The suburb is served by 4 bus stops.

What is the population of Newstead?

At the 2021 Census Newstead had 820 usual residents, with a median age of 51 and an average household size of 2.2 people. The wider Castlemaine Surrounds statistical area, which contains Newstead, went from 7,724 people in 2001 to 9,675 in 2025, up 25%.

Is Newstead an advantaged suburb?

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Newstead scores 964 and sits in decile 4 of 10 nationally and decile 3 within Victoria (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).

What is the median household income in Newstead?

Median household income in Newstead was $1,105 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,402 for the typical suburb in Mount Alexander. Median rent was $300 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,300 a month.

Compare nearby suburbs

Nearby suburbDistanceFlood mappedBushfire-prone
Green Gully 4.4 km 15% 100%
Welshmans Reef 4.8 km 12% 100%
Strangways 5.3 km 23% 100%
Joyces Creek
Central Goldfields
5.8 km 24% 100%
Sandon 6.7 km Not mapped 100%
Muckleford South 6.8 km 11% 100%
Strathlea 8.2 km 14% 100%
Clydesdale
Hepburn
8.4 km 17% 100%
Gower 9.5 km Not mapped 100%
Yapeen 10.3 km 7% 100%

See all Mount Alexander suburb profiles →