Back Creek flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Back Creek
(Tweed, NSW) - 7.35 km², mapped from live council and
state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 26 September 2026.
Suburb-wide figures; the free map shows which overlays touch your lot.
Constraint readout
7.35 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Back Creek's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top. Magenta is where aircraft were observed in the sampled period, brightest below 3,000 ft.
Nearby suburbs, nearest first
Aircraft noise and flight paths over Back Creek
Two different things, kept apart on purpose. The ANEF contour is the planning instrument - a forecast published per airport that planning schemes use to control noise-sensitive development. Observed overflight is what a sampled aircraft-tracking feed actually recorded over the suburb - where aircraft flew, how low and how often.
Observed overflight - sampled 4 Sep to 25 Sep 2026
Night movements: not established - night is sampled as often as day, but too few night flights have been seen here to conclude either way.
Traffic is sampled rather than watched continuously, so every figure is a floor: aircraft not captured between samples are not represented. Rates are per 500 m square - the busiest square in the suburb, not a count of flights over the suburb - and a square is only rated where enough traffic was seen to measure it. Altitudes are above mean sea level. Flight paths change with runway use, weather, season and airspace design. This is a record of observed traffic; it is not a noise contour and not a planning control.
Back Creek at a glance
How Back Creek is zoned
Buying in Back Creek? The zoning, flood and bushfire lines on the section 10.7 certificate attached to the contract are mapped controls - see our s10.7 certificate guide.
Across its 7.35 km², Back Creek is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 16% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 100% is flagged bushfire-prone. There is 1 heritage-listed site on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Rural Landscape. The median lot measures about 44,216 m² across 25 parcels.
Who lives in Back Creek
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Back Creek suburb boundary itself, not a wider region.
Socio-economic standing
ABS SEIFA 2021 ranks every Australian suburb. Decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth of the country, decile 10 the least.
Score 949, and decile 3 within New South Wales. The national average is 1000.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Murwillumbah Surrounds, the wider ABS statistical area containing Back Creek. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Back Creek itself.
8,963 in 2001 to 10,835 in 2025, up 21%.
Source: ABS Census 2021 and SEIFA 2021 (Suburbs and Localities), Regional Population (SA2), CC BY 4.0. Small counts are randomly adjusted by the ABS.
Back Creek data sources and coverage
“Not mapped” means we hold no source layer for this suburb - never an all-clear.
| Dataset | Coverage | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| Flood mapping | Mapped | NSW Government spatial services, NSW ePlanning and published council flood studies |
| Bushfire-prone mapping | Mapped | NSW Government spatial services, NSW ePlanning and published council flood studies |
| Zoning | Mapped | NSW Government spatial services, NSW ePlanning and published council flood studies |
| Heritage and environment | Mapped where published | NSW Government spatial services, NSW ePlanning and published council flood studies |
| Aircraft noise contours (ANEF) | Not held | NSW Government spatial services, NSW ePlanning and published council flood studies, Defence |
| Observed flight paths | Observed | adsb.lol, under the Open Database License |
| Demographics | Available | Australian Bureau of Statistics (2021 Census and SEIFA) |
Profile last materially updated 26 September 2026. See the methodology and full source list. Source data changes over time and critical decisions should be checked with the responsible authority.
Check a specific Back Creek address
See exactly which overlays touch a single property - the interactive map is free. Need it on paper? A full planning PDF is just $9.
The report's Aircraft Overflight page narrows that to the address itself: how many aircraft a day, how low, and at what heights.
Building or pricing a slab? The $119 geotechnical desktop report covers geology, soils, bores and an indicative AS 2870 site class for a Back Creek lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Back Creek planning - frequently asked
Is Back Creek flood-prone?
About 16% of Back Creek falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 29%.
Is Back Creek bushfire-prone?
Around 100% of Back Creek is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Tweed average of 91%.
Is Back Creek under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed over about 22% of Back Creek in the period sampled, but only above 3,000 ft - the lowest measured was 4,500 ft. Traffic is sampled rather than watched continuously and flight paths change with runway use, weather and season; the ANEF contour is the planning instrument.
What is the zoning in Back Creek?
The dominant planning zone in Back Creek is Rural Landscape, though the suburb also includes Natural Waterways and National Parks and Nature Reserves.
Does Back Creek have heritage-listed places?
Back Creek has 1 heritage-listed place on record.
What is the typical lot size in Back Creek?
Across 25 surveyed parcels in Back Creek, the median lot size is about 44,216 m².
Is Back Creek an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Back Creek scores 949 and sits in decile 3 of 10 nationally and decile 3 within New South Wales (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brays Creek | 3.1 km | 4% | 100% |
| Pumpenbil | 3.9 km | 8% | 100% |
| Mebbin | 4.6 km | <1% | 100% |
| Tyalgum | 7.8 km | 11% | 100% |
| Byrrill Creek | 7.9 km | 8% | 100% |
| Tyalgum Creek | 8.2 km | 6% | 100% |
| Kunghur | 8.5 km | 8% | 100% |
| Cedar Creek | 9.6 km | <1% | 100% |
| Mount Burrell | 10.2 km | 4% | 100% |
| Border Ranges Kyogle |
10.7 km | 0% | 100% |