Rawson flood map & planning overlays

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

Flood mapping covers Rawson and none of the suburb falls within a mapped flood overlay (the council-wide suburb average is 6%). Flood overlays vary block to block, so whether a particular lot is affected needs a property-level check.

Around 100% of Rawson is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Baw Baw average of 100%. A bushfire-prone designation can trigger additional building requirements, so check the specific address.

The dominant planning zone in Rawson is Public Conservation and Resource Zone (PCRZ), though the suburb also includes Rural Activity Zone (RAZ) and Low Density Residential Zone (LDRZ). Zoning sets what you can build and do on a site, and can differ lot by lot.

Rawson has 8 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 232 surveyed parcels in Rawson, the median lot size is about 840 m². There are also 157 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.

At the 2021 Census Rawson had 296 usual residents, with a median age of 46 and an average household size of 2.1 people. The wider Mount Baw Baw Region statistical area, which contains Rawson, went from 5,736 people in 2001 to 6,750 in 2025, up 18%. ABS publishes no annual population series for individual suburbs, so that trend describes the surrounding area rather than Rawson alone.

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Rawson scores 789 and sits in decile 1 of 10 nationally and decile 1 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 Rawson was $840 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,614 for the typical suburb in Baw Baw. Median rent was $210 a week and the median mortgage repayment $867 a month. These are 2021 Census figures and have not been indexed to today.

A Rawson 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.