Balickera flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Balickera
(Port Stephens, NSW) - 27.45 km², mapped from live council and
state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 3 October 2026.
Suburb-wide figures; the free map shows which overlays touch your lot.
Constraint readout
27.45 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Balickera's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top. Amber hatching is the published aircraft noise (ANEF) contour. 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 Balickera
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.
Inside an aircraft noise contour
3% of the suburb's land sits inside a published ANEF or airport-environs contour. Contours vary street by street, so whether a particular lot is inside one needs a property-level check.
Highest contour present
Under AS 2021, land between ANEF 25 and 30 is generally unacceptable for new houses; 20 to 25 is conditionally acceptable with noise attenuation. The contour is a forecast, not a measurement at any one house.
Contours held
- Defence Airfields ANEF
Observed overflight - sampled 4 Sep to 2 Oct 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.
Balickera at a glance
How Balickera is zoned
Buying in Balickera? 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 27.45 km², Balickera is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 22% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 99% is flagged bushfire-prone. There is 1 heritage-listed site on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Forestry. The median lot measures about 234,256 m² across 44 parcels.
Who lives in Balickera
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Balickera 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 998, and decile 5 within New South Wales. The national average is 1000.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Seaham - Woodville, the wider ABS statistical area containing Balickera. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Balickera itself.
4,443 in 2001 to 5,899 in 2025, up 33%.
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.
Balickera 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) | Inside a held contour | 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 3 October 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 Balickera 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.
Aircraft have been seen below 3,000 ft over about 7% of Balickera. 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 Balickera lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Balickera planning - frequently asked
Is Balickera flood-prone?
About 22% of Balickera falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 45%.
Is Balickera bushfire-prone?
Around 99% of Balickera is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Port Stephens average of 82%.
Is Balickera affected by aircraft noise?
About 3% of Balickera sits inside a published aircraft noise contour, and the highest contour present is ANEF 25 - under AS 2021, land above ANEF 25 is generally considered unacceptable for new houses, and 20-25 conditionally acceptable with noise attenuation. ANEF contours are forecasts published per airport and used to control noise-sensitive development; they are not a measurement at any one house, and a property can sit under a flight path and outside every contour.
Is Balickera under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 7% of Balickera, and over about 21% at any altitude up to 10,000 ft, in the period sampled (4 Sep 2026 to 2 Oct 2026). The lowest measured aircraft was at 2,000 ft, with an average of 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 Balickera?
The dominant planning zone in Balickera is Forestry, though the suburb also includes National Parks and Nature Reserves and Rural Landscape.
Does Balickera have heritage-listed places?
Balickera has 1 heritage-listed place on record.
What is the typical lot size in Balickera?
Across 44 surveyed parcels in Balickera, the median lot size is about 234,256 m².
Does Balickera have a train station?
There is no train station inside Balickera itself. The suburb is served by 4 bus stops.
Is Balickera an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Balickera scores 998 and sits in decile 6 of 10 nationally and decile 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Twelve Mile Creek | 5.2 km | 34% | 100% |
| Eagleton | 6.0 km | 32% | 100% |
| East Seaham | 6.2 km | 41% | 99% |
| Ferodale | 6.9 km | 50% | 74% |
| Kings Hill | 7.8 km | 13% | 99% |
| Clarence Town Dungog |
8.7 km | Not mapped | 99% |
| Seaham | 11.2 km | 48% | 97% |
| Glen Oak | 11.7 km | 18% | 100% |
| Medowie | 11.7 km | 39% | 79% |
| Nelsons Plains | 12.4 km | 71% | 98% |