Orbost flood map & planning overlays
Orbost is East Gippsland's 4th-biggest town, 2,264 people.
Free map preview, then PDF reports from $9 - about the price of an iced latte on a public holiday.
A planning-constraint profile of Orbost
(East Gippsland, VIC) - 208.58 km², mapped from live council and
state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 24 October 2026.
Constraint readout
208.58 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Orbost's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top.
Nearby suburbs, nearest first
Orbost at a glance
How Orbost is zoned
Selling in Orbost? The zoning and planning overlays on this page are the controls a Section 32 vendor statement discloses.
Across its 208.58 km², Orbost is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 18% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 99% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 3 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Public Conservation and Resource Zone (PCRZ). The median lot measures about 1,039 m² across 1,941 parcels.
Who lives in Orbost
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Orbost 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 861, and decile 1 within Victoria. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Orbost's 2,264 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Orbost, the wider ABS statistical area containing Orbost. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Orbost itself.
7,047 in 2001 to 6,727 in 2025, down 5%.
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.
Orbost 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 | Not watched | 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 Orbost 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 →Building or pricing a slab? The $119 geotechnical desktop report covers geology, soils, bores and the indicative soil reactivity range to expect for a Orbost lot.
Orbost planning - frequently asked
Is Orbost flood-prone?
About 18% of Orbost falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 18%.
Is Orbost bushfire-prone?
Around 99% of Orbost is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a East Gippsland average of 94%.
What is the zoning in Orbost?
The dominant planning zone in Orbost is Public Conservation and Resource Zone (PCRZ), though the suburb also includes Farming Zone (FZ1) and Transport Zone (TRZ2).
Does Orbost have heritage-listed places?
Orbost has 3 heritage-listed places on record.
What is the typical lot size in Orbost?
Across 1,941 surveyed parcels in Orbost, the median lot size is about 1,039 m². There are also 311 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
Does Orbost have a train station?
There is no train station inside Orbost itself. The suburb is served by 1 bus stop.
What is the population of Orbost?
At the 2021 Census Orbost had 2,264 usual residents, with a median age of 53 and an average household size of 2.1 people. The wider Orbost statistical area, which contains Orbost, went from 7,047 people in 2001 to 6,727 in 2025, down 5%.
Is Orbost an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Orbost scores 861 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 Orbost?
Median household income in Orbost was $785 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,209 for the typical suburb in East Gippsland. Median rent was $190 a week and the median mortgage repayment $867 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brodribb River | 8.5 km | 23% | 98% |
| Jarrahmond | 9.0 km | 22% | 100% |
| Newmerella | 11.8 km | 18% | 98% |
| Corringle | 15.6 km | 56% | 89% |
| Simpsons Creek | 17.4 km | 8% | 100% |
| Cabbage Tree Creek | 18.1 km | 5% | 100% |
| Nurran | 18.5 km | Not mapped | 100% |
| Bete Bolong | 19.1 km | 8% | 100% |
| Bete Bolong North | 20.1 km | Not mapped | 100% |
| Waygara | 20.9 km | 6% | 100% |