In short
Short answer: the Melbourne Airport Environs Overlay (MAEO) is a Victorian planning overlay set out in clause 45.08 of the Victoria Planning Provisions and applied to land through each council's planning scheme. In the clause's own words, its first purpose is: “To ensure that land use and development are compatible with the operation of Melbourne Airport in accordance with the relevant airport strategy or master plan and with safe air navigation for aircraft approaching and departing the airfield”. (Department of Transport and Planning (Victoria), verified 27 Sep 2026)
An overlay sits on top of the land's zone and adds controls for one issue, whatever the zone is; a lot can carry several.
What it typically means for a buyer (Delora editorial, not legal advice): Land exposed to aircraft noise near Melbourne Airport; new housing may need noise attenuation.
Check whether the Melbourne Airport Environs Overlay applies to an address with Address Check. For a decision on a specific property, the official record is a Planning Property Report from VicPlan, and the council's schedule sets the local detail.
What the clause says
Clause 45.08 of the Victoria Planning Provisions (Melbourne Airport Environs Overlay) states its purposes as: to ensure that land use and development are compatible with the operation of Melbourne Airport in accordance with the relevant airport strategy or master plan and with safe air navigation for aircraft approaching and departing the airfield; to assist in shielding people from the impact of aircraft noise by requiring appropriate noise attenuation measures in dwellings and other noise sensitive buildings; and to provide for appropriate levels of noise attenuation depending on the level of forecasted noise exposure. (Department of Transport and Planning (Victoria), verified 27 Sep 2026)
Ask your conveyancer: What aircraft noise information applies to the property?
Shown on planning scheme maps as MAEO.
How much of Victoria this covers
From the 2899 sample suburbs Address Check's export has processed so far — a lower bound, not a statewide total, until the export runs statewide.
19,901 land parcels and 23,849 addresses in the sample so far.
Councils with the most coverage
- Hume (12433 lots)
- Brimbank (5489 lots)
- Moonee Valley (1616 lots)
- Melton (271 lots)
- Whittlesea (95 lots)
- Merri-bek (6 lots)
Suburbs with the highest share
- Jacana — 88% of addresses checked (1013)
- Keilor — 76% of addresses checked (2086)
- Dallas — 71% of addresses checked (1933)
- Broadmeadows — 56% of addresses checked (4075)
- Bulla — 56% of addresses checked (312)