Johnsonville, East Gippsland: 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 Johnsonville: too few sales. Median rent: $325 a week (ABS Census 2021, older than the price figures). Postcode 3902.
What stands out: Part of Johnsonville is under an Environmental Audit Overlay (potentially contaminated land); a flood-related overlay covers 13% of the suburb's land (Vicmap Planning).
Page updated
- Zoning: mostly Farming zone (FZ1), 85% of the land
- Planning change: no rezoning or new overlays recorded since 2017
- School zones: parts of Johnsonville are zoned for Metung Primary School and Nicholson Primary School (+2 more) (primary); Bairnsdale Secondary College and Lakes Entrance Secondary College (secondary)
- Getting there: nearest train station about 15.9 km from the suburb centre
- Median rent
- $325/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 13% ModerateBushfire 4% LowHeritage 0% Very low
- share of suburb land area
- 3 suburb-specific overlays to check
- Vicmap Planning
- Getting around
- 15.9 km to nearest station
- 4 zoned primary, 2 secondary schools
- PTV timetable data · Victorian Department of Education school zones
Johnsonville is a small community with a median age of 58, around the state average on the ABS's SEIFA index of socio-economic advantage. Housing is a mix of dwelling types, houses making up the largest share. 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 Johnsonville in a flood, bushfire or heritage area?
Johnsonville has relatively light heritage-overlay coverage (about 0%), though it can still apply to individual parcels. It also carries meaningful flood-overlay coverage (about 13% of the suburb). A Bushfire Management Overlay affects about 4% 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 Johnsonville
Potentially contaminated land (EAO)
An Environmental Audit Overlay applies to part of Johnsonville — usually former industrial or commercial land. A satisfactory environmental audit can be required before it’s used for a home; confirm whether the property sits within it.
Flood / inundation overlay risk
Roughly 13% of Johnsonville carries a flood-related overlay. Confirm the land isn’t in a Land Subject to Inundation Overlay (LSIO) or Special Building Overlay (SBO) — both affect insurance, build height and what you can construct.
Bushfire Management Overlay
A Bushfire Management Overlay affects ~4% of Johnsonville. 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 – Schedule 1 (FZ1) · 85% of the suburb
Planning overlays that can affect building, renovating or removing vegetation somewhere in Johnsonville — 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 Johnsonville: none recorded since 2017
No zone changes or new planning overlays have been recorded on land in Johnsonville 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 Johnsonville?
Johnsonville has too few recorded sales for a reliable median. Typical rent is $325/wk (Census 2021).
Show recorded crime and amenity-density comparisons
Which school zones cover Johnsonville?
Parts of Johnsonville fall within 4 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 | |||
| Swan Reach Primary School | 93% | — | |
| Nicholson Primary School | 6% | — | |
| Secondary school zones | |||
| Lakes Entrance Secondary College | 84% | — | |
| Bairnsdale Secondary College | 16% | — | |
How well connected is Johnsonville?
0 train, 0 tram and 3 bus stop points sit inside the suburb (PTV timetable data).
- Getting around
- 0 train · 0 tram · 3 bus
- nearest train station ~15.9 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 12 min
- at the nearest stop, weekday AM peak
- Schools
- 0
- primary & secondary
- Nearest Centrelink
- ~82 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 Johnsonville?
— 326 residents · median age 58 · 99% own their home · SEIFA 4/10
- Population
- 326
- usual residents (Census 2021)
- Owner-occupied
- 99%
- 99% own, 0% private rent, 0% social
- Median age
- 58 yrs
- of residents
- Personal income
- $517/wk
- median, per week
- Household income
- $1,007/wk
- median, per week
- Avg household size
- 2.1 people
- people per home · 13% live alone
- Monthly mortgage
- $1,296/mo
- median repayment
- Taxpayer income
- $44,870/yr
- median taxable income, per year (ATO)
- Population growth
- no data
- Recorded crime
- 138 per 1,000 residents
- a year, across all of East Gippsland council, not just Johnsonville · higher than most VIC councils
In Johnsonville itself: 17 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 (East Gippsland council's mix, latest year):
- Property and deception offences34%
- Justice procedures offences29%
- Crimes against the person22%
- Public order and security offences8%
- Drug offences7%
- Other offences1%
Recorded offences by year, Johnsonville (flat since 2019):
| Year | Offences |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 17 |
| 2020 | 10 |
| 2021 | 19 |
| 2022 | 12 |
| 2023 | 6 |
| 2024 | 10 |
| 2025 | 17 |
| 2026 | 17 |
- Median household incomeup 7%
- Median personal incomeup 11%
- Median weekly rentup 34%
- 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
- 4/10
- Around the Victorian average
- Economic resources
- 4/10
- income, housing costs & wealth
- Education & occupation
- 1/10
- 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):
- Studio or 1 bedroom: 6%
- 2 bedrooms: 26%
- 3 bedrooms: 44%
- 4 or more bedrooms: 25%
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 Johnsonville
The 6 closest suburbs with a Delora page, by distance between suburb centres.
What should I check before buying in Johnsonville?
Overlay and pipeline checks specific to Johnsonville 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 Johnsonville 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 Johnsonville?
Questions about Johnsonville
What postcode is Johnsonville?
Johnsonville is in postcode 3902, in the East Gippsland council area, Victoria.
What is the population of Johnsonville?
Johnsonville had 326 usual residents at the 2021 Census (ABS), with a median age of 58.
Is Johnsonville in a flood zone?
About 13% of Johnsonville's land is under a flood-related planning overlay (LSIO, SBO or floodway), and about 4% 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 Johnsonville?
For Johnsonville, pay particular attention to any heritage overlay (none mapped at suburb level — check the specific parcel), any flood-related overlay (about 13% 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 Johnsonville have heritage overlays?
No heritage overlay coverage was mapped for Johnsonville 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 Johnsonville zoned?
Most of Johnsonville (85% of the land) is in the Farming (FZ1), then LDRZ (6%) and PCRZ (4%) (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 Johnsonville?
Parts of Johnsonville are in the government school zones for primary: Metung Primary School, Nicholson Primary School, Swan Reach Primary School, Tambo Upper Primary School; secondary: Bairnsdale Secondary College, Lakes Entrance Secondary 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 Johnsonville
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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