Pakenham flood map & planning overlays

The schematic on this page is a Pakenham flood map: the mapped flood overlays drawn over the suburb's terrain and street grid, covering about 23% of the suburb. Flood lines vary block to block, so for a specific property use the free interactive map - search any Pakenham address and it shows the flood, zoning and bushfire mapping on the exact lot boundary.

About 23% of Pakenham falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 42%. Flood overlays vary block to block, so whether a particular lot is affected needs a property-level check.

Around 69% of Pakenham is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Cardinia average of 98%. A bushfire-prone designation can trigger additional building requirements, so check the specific address.

The dominant planning zone in Pakenham is Green Wedge Zone (GWZ1), though the suburb also includes General Residential Zone (GRZ1) and Industrial 1 Zone (IN1Z). Zoning sets what you can build and do on a site, and can differ lot by lot.

Pakenham has 40 heritage-listed places on record. Heritage listing affects what you can alter or demolish, so confirm whether a specific property is listed or near a heritage place.

Across 27,059 surveyed parcels in Pakenham, the median lot size is about 512 m². There are also 11,119 registered easements mapped in the suburb - an easement can restrict where you can build, so always check the title and overlays for the specific lot.

Yes - Pakenham has 3 train stations: Cardinia Road Station, East Pakenham Station, Pakenham Station. It is also served by 165 bus stops.

At the 2021 Census Pakenham had 54,118 usual residents, with a median age of 33 and an average household size of 2.8 people. The wider Pakenham - South East statistical area, which contains Pakenham, went from 3,448 people in 2001 to 6,778 in 2025, up 97%. ABS publishes no annual population series for individual suburbs, so that trend describes the surrounding area rather than Pakenham alone.

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Pakenham scores 958 and sits in decile 4 of 10 nationally and decile 3 within Victoria - decile 1 being the most disadvantaged tenth of Australian suburbs and decile 10 the least. The national average score is 1000. SEIFA summarises income, education, occupation and housing across the whole suburb, so it describes the area, not any particular household in it.

Median household income in Pakenham was $1,664 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,976 for the typical suburb in Cardinia. Median rent was $351 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,733 a month. These are 2021 Census figures and have not been indexed to today.

A Pakenham planning report pulls every overlay - zoning, flood, bushfire, heritage, environmental and noise - that touches a single lot, on live council and state data. The interactive map preview is free; the full PDF report is $9.