Your council's planning maps, in plain English.
Councils and state governments publish zoning, flood, bushfire and heritage maps for every property in Australia. ZoneScout brings them together for any address and tells you what they mean for your block.
Most of what a homeowner needs to know is already public. It's just hard to find. I wanted people to start the conversation with a planner already knowing the basics.
Lots on the zoning map
States and territories in one search
Building topics, written up for each state
To search, explore the map and read the rules
How it started
When I went looking for my first property development, the first thing I wanted to know about every block was its zoning. What could I build there? Were there flood or bushfire overlays? The answers were all public, but they were spread across council maps, state portals and planning documents written for planners.
So I built a tool for myself. I typed in an address, it read the government maps, and it told me in plain English what the zone allowed and which overlays applied.
It made such a difference that I wanted everyone looking at property to have it. ZoneScout is that tool, grown to cover every state and territory, and free for anyone to use. I still build and run everything behind it, from each state's planning services to the lot map.
Ryan NixonFounder
Where the answers come from
Every answer comes straight from the council or state government that publishes it. Where something isn't mapped for your block, the result tells you what and why.
Zoning search
Asks each state's own planning service about the address you type, at the moment you search, so you see what the government has on record today.
Search an addressZoning map
A map of more than 13 million lots, refreshed every week from the same government data. The map shows the date its data was taken, so you always know how current it is.
Open the mapBuilding rules
Granny flats, decks, sheds, fences, dual occupancy and subdivision, written up for each state from the legislation. Every page links its sources and shows when we last checked them.
Read the rulesHow it's paid for
The search, the map and the rules are free for everyone, and they'll stay that way. A free account adds saved properties, alerts and the map tools.
If you ask to talk to a planner, we pass your details to the independent town planner we work with, who may pay us a referral fee. That's how the site pays its way. The introduction is free for you, and your details go to the planner only when you ask. The privacy policy has the detail.
Questions, or something we got wrong?
Email hello@zonescout.au. Government maps change without notice, so corrections are always welcome.
General guidance only. ZoneScout reads published government planning data and summarises published standards. It isn't professional planning advice and doesn't cover everything that applies to an individual property. Planning rules and maps change without notice, so check with your council or the state planning portal before you make a decision or start work.