Durham Lead, Ballarat: 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 Durham Lead: too few sales. Median rent: $412 a week (ABS Census 2021, older than the price figures). Postcode 3352.
What stands out: A bushfire overlay covers 71% of the suburb's land (Vicmap Planning).
Page updated
- Zoning: mostly Farming zone (FZ), 43% of the land
- Planning change: no rezoning or new overlays recorded since 2017
- School zones: parts of Durham Lead are zoned for Buninyong Primary School and Lal Lal Primary School (+1 more) (primary); Mount Clear College (secondary)
- Getting there: nearest train station about 16.1 km from the suburb centre
- Median rent
- $412/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 2% LowBushfire 71% Very highHeritage 0% Very low
- share of suburb land area
- 1 suburb-specific overlay to check
- Vicmap Planning
- Getting around
- 16.1 km to nearest station
- 3 zoned primary, 1 secondary schools
- PTV timetable data · Victorian Department of Education school zones
Durham Lead is a small community with a median age of 44, more socio-economically advantaged than most areas on the ABS's SEIFA index. Housing here is overwhelmingly standalone houses. 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 Durham Lead in a flood, bushfire or heritage area?
Durham Lead has relatively light heritage-overlay coverage (about 0%), though it can still apply to individual parcels. A Bushfire Management Overlay affects about 71% of the area.
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.
Share of the suburb. Source: Vicmap Planning · Verify this address
Worth checking in Durham Lead
Bushfire Management Overlay
A Bushfire Management Overlay affects ~71% of Durham Lead. If it applies, it drives bushfire construction requirements (BAL rating) and cost.
Zoning mix and building controls
Land use across the suburb (planning zones)
- Zoning
- Rural / Green
- mostly Farming Zone (FZ) · 43% of the suburb
Planning overlays that can affect building, renovating or removing vegetation somewhere in Durham Lead — confirm whether any apply to the specific address.
- Design & Development Overlay — height, setback or design rules on new building
- Vegetation Protection Overlay — a permit is needed to remove or lop protected trees
- Significant Landscape Overlay — controls to protect the area’s landscape character
- Environmental Significance Overlay — environmental values that constrain development
Planning changes in Durham Lead: none recorded since 2017
No zone changes or new planning overlays have been recorded on land in Durham Lead 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 Durham Lead?
Durham Lead has too few recorded sales for a reliable median. Typical rent is $412/wk (Census 2021).
Show recorded crime and amenity-density comparisons
Which school zones cover Durham Lead?
Parts of Durham Lead fall within 3 primary and 1 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 | |||
| Buninyong Primary School | 39% | — | |
| Buninyong Primary School (Scotsburn Primary School) | 38% | — | |
| Napoleons Primary School | 22% | — | |
| Secondary school zones | |||
| Mount Clear College | 100% | — | |
How well connected is Durham Lead?
no train, tram or bus stops sit inside the suburb (PTV timetable data).
- Getting around
- 0 train · 0 tram · 0 bus
- nearest train station ~16.1 km · counts are stop points, not stations (a station is often several)
- Train frequency
- every 15 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
- ~20 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
- 0
- green space nearby
- Childcare
- 0
- centres nearby
- GP & medical centres
- 0
- nearby
Who lives in Durham Lead?
— 408 residents · median age 44 · 95% own their home · SEIFA 7/10
- Population
- 408
- usual residents (Census 2021)
- Owner-occupied
- 95%
- 95% own, private rental not reliably reported for areas this small, 0% social, 5% other or not stated
- Median age
- 44 yrs
- of residents
- Personal income
- $754/wk
- median, per week
- Household income
- $1,916/wk
- median, per week
- Avg household size
- 2.8 people
- people per home · 81% family households
- Monthly mortgage
- $1,850/mo
- median repayment
- Taxpayer income
- $53,836/yr
- median taxable income, per year (ATO)
- Population growth
- no data
- Recorded crime
- 131 per 1,000 residents
- a year, across all of Ballarat council, not just Durham Lead · higher than most VIC councils
In Durham Lead itself: 7 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 (Ballarat council's mix, latest year):
- Property and deception offences57%
- Justice procedures offences19%
- Crimes against the person15%
- Public order and security offences5%
- Drug offences4%
- Other offences0%
Recorded offences by year, Durham Lead (up 75% since 2019):
| Year | Offences |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 4 |
| 2020 | 5 |
| 2021 | 10 |
| 2022 | 9 |
| 2023 | 9 |
| 2024 | 9 |
| 2025 | 5 |
| 2026 | 7 |
- Median household incomeup 16%
- Median personal incomeup 20%
- Median ageolder by 1 year
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
- 7/10
- More advantaged than most
- Economic resources
- 8/10
- income, housing costs & wealth
- Education & occupation
- 6/10
- qualifications & skilled jobs
The homes here
Mix of dwelling types across the suburb (Census 2021)
Who owns and rents here (Census 2021)
More detail on building height and bedroom mix (Census 2021)
Bedroom mix (share of all occupied dwellings):
- 2 bedrooms: 6%
- 3 bedrooms: 45%
- 4 or more bedrooms: 45%
Not sure whether a house, townhouse or apartment suits you? Decide what to buy →
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 Durham Lead
The 6 closest suburbs with a Delora page, by distance between suburb centres.
What should I check before buying in Durham Lead?
Overlay and pipeline checks specific to Durham Lead 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 Durham Lead 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 Durham Lead?
Questions about Durham Lead
What postcode is Durham Lead?
Durham Lead is in postcode 3352, in the Ballarat council area, Victoria.
What is the population of Durham Lead?
Durham Lead had 408 usual residents at the 2021 Census (ABS), with a median age of 44.
Is Durham Lead in a flood zone?
About 2% of Durham Lead's land is under a flood-related planning overlay (LSIO, SBO or floodway), and about 71% 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 Durham Lead?
For Durham Lead, pay particular attention to any heritage overlay (none mapped at suburb level — check the specific parcel), any flood-related overlay (about 2% 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 Durham Lead have heritage overlays?
No heritage overlay coverage was mapped for Durham Lead 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 Durham Lead zoned?
Most of Durham Lead (43% of the land) is in the Farming (FZ), then RLZ (17%) and RCZ2 (17%) (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 Durham Lead?
Parts of Durham Lead are in the government school zones for primary: Buninyong Primary School, Lal Lal Primary School, Napoleons Primary School; secondary: Mount Clear 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 Durham Lead
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.
Thinking of buying in Durham Lead?
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