Boat Harbour flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Boat Harbour
(Port Stephens, NSW) - 2.23 km², mapped from live council and
state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 2 October 2026.
Suburb-wide figures; the free map shows which overlays touch your lot.
Constraint readout
2.23 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Boat Harbour'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 Boat Harbour
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
typical observed square 1 a day
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.
Boat Harbour at a glance
How Boat Harbour is zoned
Buying in Boat Harbour? 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 2.23 km², Boat Harbour is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 13% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 78% is flagged bushfire-prone. The dominant land-use zone is National Parks and Nature Reserves. The median lot measures about 642 m² across 516 parcels.
Who lives in Boat Harbour
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Boat Harbour 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 1030, and decile 7 within New South Wales. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Boat Harbour's 993 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Anna Bay, the wider ABS statistical area containing Boat Harbour. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Boat Harbour itself.
4,975 in 2001 to 6,868 in 2025, up 38%.
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.
Boat Harbour 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 2 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 Boat Harbour 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 59% of Boat Harbour. 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 Boat Harbour lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Boat Harbour planning - frequently asked
Is Boat Harbour flood-prone?
About 13% of Boat Harbour falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 45%.
Is Boat Harbour bushfire-prone?
Around 78% of Boat Harbour is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Port Stephens average of 82%.
Is Boat Harbour under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 59% of Boat Harbour, and over about 70% at any altitude up to 10,000 ft, in the period sampled (4 Sep 2026 to 25 Sep 2026). The lowest measured aircraft was at 500 ft, with an average of 2,000 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 4 aircraft a day were recorded passing over one 500 m square. 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 Boat Harbour?
The dominant planning zone in Boat Harbour is National Parks and Nature Reserves, though the suburb also includes Low Density Residential and Large Lot Residential.
Does Boat Harbour have heritage-listed places?
No heritage-listed places are on record within Boat Harbour.
What is the typical lot size in Boat Harbour?
Across 516 surveyed parcels in Boat Harbour, the median lot size is about 642 m². There are also 5 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
Does Boat Harbour have a train station?
There is no train station inside Boat Harbour itself. The suburb is served by 20 bus stops.
What is the population of Boat Harbour?
At the 2021 Census Boat Harbour had 993 usual residents, with a median age of 47 and an average household size of 2.6 people. The wider Anna Bay statistical area, which contains Boat Harbour, went from 4,975 people in 2001 to 6,868 in 2025, up 38%.
Is Boat Harbour an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Boat Harbour scores 1030 and sits in decile 8 of 10 nationally and decile 7 within New South Wales (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in Boat Harbour?
Median household income in Boat Harbour was $1,741 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,421 for the typical suburb in Port Stephens. Median rent was $470 a week and the median mortgage repayment $2,167 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fishermans Bay | 1.6 km | 6% | 100% |
| One Mile | 2.3 km | 52% | 83% |
| Anna Bay | 4.0 km | 58% | 76% |
| Nelson Bay | 5.8 km | 25% | 79% |
| Fingal Bay | 5.9 km | 22% | 78% |
| Salamander Bay | 6.5 km | 52% | 75% |
| Corlette | 6.6 km | 20% | 44% |
| Taylors Beach | 6.8 km | 77% | 97% |
| Shoal Bay | 8.9 km | 27% | 84% |
| Lemon Tree Passage | 9.6 km | 34% | 69% |