Bushfield, Warrnambool: zoning, flood risk, school zones and what to check before you buy
Valuer-General Victoria doesn't report a median house or unit price for Bushfield: too few sales. Median rent: $350 a week (ABS Census 2021, older than the price figures). Postcode 3281.
Page updated
- Zoning: mostly Farming zone (FZ1), 35% of the land
- Planning change: no rezoning or new overlays recorded since 2017
- School zones: parts of Bushfield are zoned for Grasmere Primary School and Warrnambool Primary School (+1 more) (primary); Brauer Secondary College and Warrnambool College (secondary)
- Getting there: nearest train station about 7.1 km from the suburb centre
- Median rent
- $350/wk
- Census 2021 (older)
- Census 2021 median, all rented homes
- Four years older than the price figures; not directly comparable.
- ABS Census 2021
- Planning risk
- Flood 0% Very lowBushfire 0% Very lowHeritage 0% Very low
- share of suburb land area
- Vicmap Planning
- Getting around
- 7.1 km to nearest station
- 3 zoned primary, 2 secondary schools
- PTV timetable data · Victorian Department of Education school zones
Bushfield is a small community with a median age of 43, among the most socio-economically advantaged areas in the state on the ABS's SEIFA index. The area is still light on cafés, shops and other everyday amenity. It's not served by train or tram. House sales here are too infrequent for a reliable median — see the unit and land figures below.
Ready to look at a specific property here? See the due diligence hub for what to verify before you sign.
Scope: Victoria, Australia. Suburb data here is Victorian (state valuer, rental, planning and school records); regional Victoria comparison group.
In this profile
- Planning and riskZones, overlays, flood and bushfire, and what is planned nearby, with an address check.
- Prices and rentsMedian prices and rents, how they have moved, and sales volume.
- SchoolsThe government school zones that cover the suburb.
- Living hereTransport, commute times, who lives here and the suburbs nearby.
- Before you buyThe checks every purchase needs, common questions and guides.
Is Bushfield in a flood, bushfire or heritage area?
Bushfield has relatively light heritage-overlay coverage (about 0%), though it can still apply to individual parcels.
Suburb-wide shares of the land, not a check of any one address.
Flood-related overlays can add building rules and raise insurance cost.
Share of the suburb. Source: Vicmap Planning · Verify this address
If it applies it adds bushfire construction requirements (a BAL rating) and cost.
Share of the suburb. Source: Vicmap Planning · Verify this address
In a designated bushfire prone area a minimum construction standard applies to new homes, based on the bushfire attack level (BAL). (Department of Transport and Planning (Victoria), verified 22 Oct 2026) So building or rebuilding there means working out the home’s BAL and pricing in what meeting it costs.
Share of the suburb. Source: Designated Bushfire Prone Area (DataVic) · Verify this address
Changes to the outside of a building, and demolition, need council approval. 3 named overlay areas (HO206, HO361, HO370) — oldest gazetted 2015.
Share of the suburb. Source: Vicmap Planning · Verify this address
Zoning mix and building controls
Land use across the suburb (planning zones)
- Zoning
- Rural / Green
- mostly Farming Zone – Schedule 1 (FZ1) · 35% of the suburb
Planning overlays that can affect building, renovating or removing vegetation somewhere in Bushfield — confirm whether any apply to the specific address.
- Design & Development Overlay — height, setback or design rules on new building
- Environmental Significance Overlay — environmental values that constrain development
Planning changes in Bushfield: none recorded since 2017
No zone changes or new planning overlays have been recorded on land in Bushfield since 2017 — its planning rules have stayed put over the period we track. That stability is itself worth knowing.
Source: Vicmap Planning Scheme History (2017–present). How Melbourne’s zoning actually changed over the decade →
- Suburb
Layers on this map, as a table
| Layer | Share of suburb | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Suburb boundary | The whole suburb | ABS SAL 2021 |
Overlay colours reflect how much of the suburb an overlay covers — green under ~8%, amber ~8–20%, red above 20%. Public-acquisition, contamination (EAO) and floodway overlays are listed above under "Worth checking" wherever they apply, because even a small area can include a specific property. Source: Vicmap Planning. What do these terms mean? · How to verify planning controls for an address
What do homes cost in Bushfield?
Bushfield has too few recorded sales for a reliable median. Typical rent is $350/wk (Census 2021).
Show recorded crime and amenity-density comparisons
Which school zones cover Bushfield?
Parts of Bushfield fall within 3 primary and 2 secondary government school catchments. No schools sit within the suburb boundary itself, though the catchments above extend into it from neighbouring areas.
Government schools have address-based catchment zones; Catholic and independent schools set their own enrolment processes.
| Zone | Covers | Boundary | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary school zones | |||
| Woodford Primary School | 94% | — | |
| Grasmere Primary School | 6% | — | |
| Secondary school zones | |||
| Warrnambool College | 98% | — | |
How well connected is Bushfield?
no train, tram or bus stops sit inside the suburb (PTV timetable data).
- Getting around
- 0 train · 0 tram · 0 bus
- nearest train station ~7.1 km · counts are stop points, not stations (a station is often several)
- Train frequency
- every 120 min
- at the nearest station, weekday AM peak
- Tram frequency
- every 4 min
- at the nearest stop, weekday AM peak
- Schools
- 0
- primary & secondary
- Nearest Centrelink
- ~6.9 km
- outside the suburb
Everyday amenity (OpenStreetMap)
- Cafés & amenity density
- 0 cafés
- Low café & amenity density — likely more car-dependent
- Restaurants
- 0
- places to eat nearby
- Supermarkets
- 0
- grocery stores nearby
- Pharmacies
- 0
- chemists nearby
- Parks
- 1
- green space nearby
- Childcare
- 0
- centres nearby
- GP & medical centres
- 0
- nearby
Who lives in Bushfield?
— 596 residents · median age 43 · 95% own their home · SEIFA 10/10
- Population
- 596
- usual residents (Census 2021)
- Owner-occupied
- 95%
- 95% own, 5% private rent, 0% social
- Median age
- 43 yrs
- of residents
- Personal income
- $829/wk
- median, per week
- Household income
- $2,125/wk
- median, per week
- Avg household size
- 3.0 people
- people per home · 88% family households
- Monthly mortgage
- $1,625/mo
- median repayment
- Taxpayer income
- $54,140/yr
- median taxable income, per year (ATO)
- Population growth
- no data
- Recorded crime
- 103 per 1,000 residents
- a year, across all of Warrnambool council, not just Bushfield · higher than most VIC councils
In Bushfield itself: 19 recorded offences in the year to 2026 (Crime Statistics Agency, matched by suburb name and postcode — a closer figure than the council-wide band above, though still a count, not a rate per resident).
Offence category mix (Warrnambool council's mix, latest year):
- Property and deception offences38%
- Justice procedures offences32%
- Crimes against the person21%
- Drug offences5%
- Public order and security offences4%
- Other offences0%
Recorded offences by year, Bushfield (flat since 2019):
| Year | Offences |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 19 |
| 2020 | 8 |
| 2021 | 4 |
| 2022 | 16 |
| 2023 | 4 |
| 2024 | 8 |
| 2025 | 10 |
| 2026 | 19 |
- Median household incomeup 15%
- Median personal incomeup 5%
- Median weekly rentup 15%
- Median ageolder by 2 years
How advantaged the area is
Deciles 1–10 vs all Victorian areas — 10 = most advantaged — from the ABS SEIFA index. A demographic measure, not a house-price one. These three don’t always move together — a suburb with lots of renters or students, for example, can score high on education but lower on income and housing costs.
- Overall advantage
- 10/10
- Among Victoria's most advantaged areas
- Economic resources
- 10/10
- income, housing costs & wealth
- Education & occupation
- 6/10
- qualifications & skilled jobs
Recorded crime is a council-wide rate — every offence police logged over the latest year (theft, property damage, drug and traffic offences and the like, not only violent crime) divided by the council’s residents. A broad area signal, not a figure for this exact street.
All figures are suburb-level indicators, not property-specific — always confirm the exact address on the Section 32. Sources: ABS Census 2021, Valuer-General Victoria, DFFH Rental Report, Crime Statistics Agency Victoria, Vicmap Planning, Victorian Government UDP, Victorian Department of Education (schools & zones, via data.vic, CC BY 4.0), OpenStreetMap.
Suburbs near Bushfield
The 6 closest suburbs with a Delora page, by distance between suburb centres.
What should I check before buying in Bushfield?
Overlay and pipeline checks specific to Bushfield are in the Planning and risk tab. Two checks apply to every purchase.
Easements & covenants
Check Section 3 for easements (e.g. drainage/sewer along a boundary — you usually can’t build over them) and restrictive covenants (single-dwelling, materials, height) that limit your plans.
Owners corporation (if applicable)
Apartments and many townhouses in Bushfield are in an owners corporation. If so, the statement must include its certificate — review annual fees, any special levies, the maintenance fund and insurance.
Already under contract in Bushfield?
Questions about Bushfield
What postcode is Bushfield?
Bushfield is in postcode 3281, in the Warrnambool council area, Victoria.
What is the population of Bushfield?
Bushfield had 596 usual residents at the 2021 Census (ABS), with a median age of 43.
Is Bushfield in a flood zone?
Less than 1% of Bushfield's land is under a flood-related planning overlay (LSIO, SBO or floodway), and less than 1% is under the Bushfire Management Overlay (Vicmap Planning). These are suburb-wide shares: whether an overlay applies to one property depends on the address, so check it on VicPlan and in the Section 32.
Show all 4 more questions
What should I check in a Section 32 for Bushfield?
For Bushfield, pay particular attention to any heritage overlay (none mapped at suburb level — check the specific parcel), any flood-related overlay (less than 1% of the land), easements and restrictive covenants on the title, and — for apartments — the owners-corporation certificate with its fees and any special levies.
Does Bushfield have heritage overlays?
No heritage overlay coverage was mapped for Bushfield at the suburb level. That doesn't rule out an individually heritage-listed property or a Heritage Overlay on a specific parcel — check the planning section of the Section 32 for this address.
How is Bushfield zoned?
Most of Bushfield (35% of the land) is in the Farming (FZ1), then FZ3 (29%) and FZ (18%) (Vicmap Planning). The zone and its schedule set what can be built; check the exact zone for an address on VicPlan.
Which school zones cover Bushfield?
Parts of Bushfield are in the government school zones for primary: Grasmere Primary School, Warrnambool Primary School, Woodford Primary School; secondary: Brauer Secondary College, Warrnambool College (Victorian Department of Education school zones). A suburb can span several zones: the exact address decides which applies, so confirm it at findmyschool.vic.gov.au.
Guides for buying in Bushfield
The heritage, flood and bushfire figures in Planning and risk are suburb-wide — they tell you how common an overlay is here, not whether it applies to one specific address. Confirm via VicPlan and an in-person inspection before you rely on them.
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