Areas / Colac Otway / Separation Creek

Separation Creek flood map & planning overlays

Separation Creek lots average 761 m², 4th-smallest of 71.

A planning-constraint profile of Separation Creek (Colac Otway, VIC) - 42.81 km², mapped from live council and state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 24 October 2026.

Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Separation Creek'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 Separation Creek

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
8%
of the suburb, at or below 10,000 ft
Below 3,000 ft
2%
of the suburb's area
Lowest measured
500 ft
averaging 3,500 ft
How often
not established
aircraft were seen, but not often enough to put a rate on

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.

Separation Creek at a glance

Parcels 178 Median lot 761 m² Mapped easements 67

How Separation Creek is zoned

Public Conservation and Resource Zone (PCRZ) 99%
Rural Conservation Zone (RCZ) 1%
Transport Zone (TRZ2) 0%
Township Zone (TZ) 0%

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

Across its 42.81 km², Separation Creek is highly constrained by planning overlays. Flood mapping covers the suburb and none of it falls within a mapped flood overlay, and 100% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 4 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Public Conservation and Resource Zone (PCRZ). The median lot measures about 761 m² across 178 parcels.

Who lives in Separation Creek

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

Population
28
usual residents, 2021

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 9
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Score 1050, and decile 9 within Victoria. The national average is 1000.

Relative disadvantage (IRSD) Decile 9
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Population trend, 2001 to 2025

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

3,452 in 2001 to 3,974 in 2025, up 15%.

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.

Separation Creek 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 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 Separation Creek 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 →

Aircraft have been seen below 3,000 ft over about 2% of Separation Creek. 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 Separation Creek lot.

Separation Creek planning - frequently asked

Is Separation Creek flood-prone?

Flood mapping covers Separation Creek and less than 1% of the suburb falls within a mapped flood overlay (the council-wide suburb average is 12%).

Is Separation Creek bushfire-prone?

Around 100% of Separation Creek is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Colac Otway average of 97%.

Is Separation Creek under a flight path?

Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 2% of Separation Creek, and over about 8% at any altitude up to 10,000 ft, in the period sampled (4 Sep 2026 to 24 Oct 2026). The lowest measured aircraft was at 500 ft, with an average of 3,500 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 Separation Creek?

The dominant planning zone in Separation Creek is Public Conservation and Resource Zone (PCRZ), though the suburb also includes Rural Conservation Zone (RCZ) and Transport Zone (TRZ2).

Does Separation Creek have heritage-listed places?

Separation Creek has 4 heritage-listed places on record.

What is the typical lot size in Separation Creek?

Across 178 surveyed parcels in Separation Creek, the median lot size is about 761 m². There are also 67 registered easements mapped in the suburb.

Is Separation Creek an advantaged suburb?

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Separation Creek scores 1050 and sits in decile 9 of 10 nationally and decile 9 within Victoria (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).

Compare nearby suburbs

Nearby suburbDistanceFlood mappedBushfire-prone
Wye River 4.8 km <1% 100%
Lorne
Surf Coast
8.8 km <1% 100%
Kennett River 9.1 km <1% 100%
Grey River 10.4 km <1% 100%
Wongarra 11.8 km <1% 100%
Benwerrin
Surf Coast
12.0 km Not mapped 100%
Mount Sabine 13.0 km Not mapped 100%
Sugarloaf 13.3 km 1% 100%
Barwon Downs 14.0 km 4% 100%
Barramunga 15.5 km 1% 100%

See all Colac Otway suburb profiles →