Areas / Benalla / Samaria

Samaria zoning & planning overlays

Samaria's 24 ha farms are 100% bushfire, locals 54 at the median.

A planning-constraint profile of Samaria (Benalla, VIC) - 39.09 km², mapped from live council and state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained on the overlays we could measure - no flood mapping covers this suburb, so this is not a suburb-wide verdict.
Profile updated 24 October 2026.

Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Samaria's boundary, with the bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top. Magenta is where aircraft were observed in the sampled period, brightest below 3,000 ft. No flood layer is drawn because we hold no flood mapping for this area.

Nearby suburbs, nearest first

Aircraft noise and flight paths over Samaria

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
10%
of the suburb, at or below 10,000 ft
Below 3,000 ft
0%
of the suburb's area
Lowest measured
5,000 ft
averaging 7,000 ft
How often
not established
aircraft were seen, but not often enough to put a rate on

Night movements: observed, lowest 5,000 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.

Samaria at a glance

Parcels 92 Median lot 238,326 m² Mapped easements 38

How Samaria is zoned

Farming Zone (FZ) 68%
Public Conservation and Resource Zone (PCRZ) 31%
Transport Zone (TRZ3) 0%

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

Across its 39.09 km², Samaria is highly constrained by the planning overlays we hold. We hold no flood mapping covering this suburb, so no flood figure is shown - that is a gap in our data, not an all-clear. Of what is mapped, 100% is flagged bushfire-prone. The dominant land-use zone is Farming Zone (FZ). The median lot measures about 238,326 m² across 92 parcels.

Who lives in Samaria

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

Population
57
usual residents, 2021
Median age
54
years
Median household income
$1,125
per week, Benalla suburb typical $1,407
Median rent
$163
per week, Benalla suburb typical $200
Median mortgage
$1,083
per month
Household size
2.1
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 953, and decile 3 within Victoria. The national average is 1000.

Relative disadvantage (IRSD) Decile 4
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Age profile

Share of Samaria's 57 residents in each ABS age band.

0-4 0.0%
5-14 5.5%
15-19 0.0%
20-24 0.0%
25-34 10.9%
35-44 9.1%
45-54 16.4%
55-64 16.4%
65-74 27.3%
75-84 14.5%
85+ 0.0%

Population trend, 2001 to 2025

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

3,632 in 2001 to 3,809 in 2025, up 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.

Samaria data sources and coverage

“Not mapped” means we hold no source layer for this suburb - never an all-clear.

DatasetCoveragePublisher
Flood mappingNot mappedVicmap 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 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 Samaria 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 Samaria lot.

Samaria planning - frequently asked

Is Samaria flood-prone?

We don't yet hold flood mapping covering Samaria, so this page can't say how much of the suburb is flood-affected - that is a gap in our data, not an indication that the suburb is free of flood risk. Benalla is the authority to check for flood mapping in this area.

Is Samaria bushfire-prone?

Around 100% of Samaria is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Benalla average of 100%.

Is Samaria under a flight path?

Aircraft were observed over about 10% of Samaria in the period sampled, but only above 3,000 ft - the lowest measured was 5,000 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 Samaria?

The dominant planning zone in Samaria is Farming Zone (FZ), though the suburb also includes Public Conservation and Resource Zone (PCRZ) and Transport Zone (TRZ3).

Does Samaria have heritage-listed places?

No heritage-listed places are on record within Samaria.

What is the typical lot size in Samaria?

Across 92 surveyed parcels in Samaria, the median lot size is about 238,326 m². There are also 38 registered easements mapped in the suburb.

What is the population of Samaria?

At the 2021 Census Samaria had 57 usual residents, with a median age of 54 and an average household size of 2.1 people. The wider Benalla Surrounds statistical area, which contains Samaria, went from 3,632 people in 2001 to 3,809 in 2025, up 5%.

Is Samaria an advantaged suburb?

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Samaria scores 953 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 Samaria?

Median household income in Samaria was $1,125 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,407 for the typical suburb in Benalla. Median rent was $163 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,083 a month.

Compare nearby suburbs

Nearby suburbDistanceFlood mappedBushfire-prone
Lima South 6.2 km 2% 100%
Moorngag 8.3 km Not mapped 100%
Tatong 9.2 km 2% 100%
Lima East 9.8 km Not mapped 100%
Bridge Creek
Mansfield
10.8 km <1% 100%
Swanpool 11.8 km 14% 100%
Archerton 12.6 km Not mapped 100%
Lima 13.1 km Not mapped 100%
Barjarg
Mansfield
13.8 km 9% 98%
Molyullah 16.0 km Not mapped 100%

See all Benalla suburb profiles →