Catherine Hill Bay zoning & planning overlays

A planning-constraint profile of Catherine Hill Bay (Lake Macquarie, NSW) - 8.71 km², mapped from live council and state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained on the overlays we could measure - no flood mapping covers this suburb, so this is not a suburb-wide verdict.
Profile updated 3 October 2026.

Suburb-wide figures; the free map shows which overlays touch your lot.

Planning schematicCatherine Hill Bay

Constraint readout

8.71 km² - this suburb is highly constrained on the overlays we could measure - no flood mapping covers this suburb, so this is not a suburb-wide verdict.

Flood overlay Not mapped

No flood mapping held for this area - not an all-clear

Bushfire-prone 94%

1.4× council avg (65%) · #11 of 94 mapped council suburbs

Environmental72%

2.1× council avg (35%) · #11 of 94 in council

Heritage sites 36 Aircraft seen below 3,000 ft 16% Mostly National Parks and Nature Reserves Bushfire 11th most affected of 94 →

Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Catherine Hill Bay's boundary, with the bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top. Magenta is where aircraft were observed in the sampled period, brightest below 3,000 ft. No flood layer is drawn because we hold no flood mapping for this area.

Nearby suburbs, nearest first

Aircraft noise and flight paths over Catherine Hill Bay

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 2 Oct 2026

Under observed aircraft

52%

of the suburb, at or below 10,000 ft

Below 3,000 ft

16%

of the suburb's area

Lowest measured

1,000 ft

averaging 4,000 ft

How often

not established

aircraft were seen, but not often enough to put a rate on

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.

Catherine Hill Bay at a glance

Parcels 693 Median lot 700 m² Mapped easements 1 Bus stops 35

How Catherine Hill Bay is zoned

National Parks and Nature Reserves 64%

Deferred Matter 20%

Environmental Conservation 8%

Low Density Residential 4%

Infrastructure 3%

Public Recreation 1%

Buying in Catherine Hill Bay? 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 8.71 km², Catherine Hill Bay is highly constrained by the planning overlays we hold. We hold no flood mapping covering this suburb, so no flood figure is shown - that is a gap in our data, not an all-clear. Of what is mapped, 94% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 36 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is National Parks and Nature Reserves. The median lot measures about 700 m² across 693 parcels.

Who lives in Catherine Hill Bay

Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Catherine Hill Bay suburb boundary itself, not a wider region.

Population

943

usual residents, 2021

Median age

years

Median household income

$2,628

per week, Lake Macquarie suburb typical $1,636

Median rent

$420

per week, Lake Macquarie suburb typical $390

Median mortgage

$2,741

per month

Household size

2.9

people, average

Socio-economic standing

ABS SEIFA 2021 ranks every Australian suburb. Decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth of the country, decile 10 the least.

Advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD) Decile 10

most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Score 1095, and decile 10 within New South Wales. The national average is 1000.

Relative disadvantage (IRSD) Decile 10

most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Age profile

Share of Catherine Hill Bay's 943 residents in each ABS age band.

0-4 8.7%

5-14 15.7%

15-19 4.8%

20-24 5.3%

25-34 10.2%

35-44 15.2%

45-54 13.7%

55-64 15.4%

65-74 8.2%

75-84 2.5%

85+ 0.4%

Population trend, 2001 to 2025

Estimated resident population of Swansea - Caves Beach, the wider ABS statistical area containing Catherine Hill Bay. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Catherine Hill Bay itself.

11,100 in 2001 to 13,147 in 2025, up 18%.

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.

Catherine Hill Bay data sources and coverage

“Not mapped” means we hold no source layer for this suburb - never an all-clear.

Dataset	Coverage	Publisher
Flood mapping	Not 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 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 Catherine Hill Bay 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 16% of Catherine Hill Bay. 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 Catherine Hill Bay lot.

See what's in the $9 report →

Catherine Hill Bay planning - frequently asked

Is Catherine Hill Bay flood-prone?

We don't yet hold flood mapping covering Catherine Hill Bay, so this page can't say how much of the suburb is flood-affected - that is a gap in our data, not an indication that the suburb is free of flood risk. Lake Macquarie is the authority to check for flood mapping in this area.

Is Catherine Hill Bay bushfire-prone?

Around 94% of Catherine Hill Bay is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Lake Macquarie average of 65%.

Is Catherine Hill Bay under a flight path?

Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 16% of Catherine Hill Bay, and over about 52% 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 1,000 ft, with an average of 4,000 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 Catherine Hill Bay?

The dominant planning zone in Catherine Hill Bay is National Parks and Nature Reserves, though the suburb also includes Deferred Matter and Environmental Conservation.

Does Catherine Hill Bay have heritage-listed places?

Catherine Hill Bay has 36 heritage-listed places on record.

What is the typical lot size in Catherine Hill Bay?

Across 693 surveyed parcels in Catherine Hill Bay, the median lot size is about 700 m². There are also 1 registered easements mapped in the suburb.

Does Catherine Hill Bay have a train station?

There is no train station inside Catherine Hill Bay itself. The suburb is served by 35 bus stops.

What is the population of Catherine Hill Bay?

At the 2021 Census Catherine Hill Bay had 943 usual residents, with a median age of 37 and an average household size of 2.9 people. The wider Swansea - Caves Beach statistical area, which contains Catherine Hill Bay, went from 11,100 people in 2001 to 13,147 in 2025, up 18%.

Is Catherine Hill Bay an advantaged suburb?

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Catherine Hill Bay scores 1095 and sits in decile 10 of 10 nationally and decile 10 within New South Wales (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).

What is the median household income in Catherine Hill Bay?

Median household income in Catherine Hill Bay was $2,628 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,636 for the typical suburb in Lake Macquarie. Median rent was $420 a week and the median mortgage repayment $2,741 a month.

Compare nearby suburbs

Nearby suburb	Distance	Flood mapped	Bushfire-prone
Nords Wharf	1.6 km	4%	88%
Moonee	2.2 km	Not mapped	94%
Cams Wharf	2.9 km	<1%	90%
Crangan Bay	3.0 km	7%	100%
Murrays Beach	3.8 km	0%	91%
Gwandalan Central Coast	3.9 km	14%	60%
Frazer Park Central Coast	4.0 km	Not mapped	98%
Pinny Beach	4.0 km	Not mapped	100%
Chain Valley Bay Central Coast	4.6 km	21%	90%
Caves Beach	5.0 km	Not mapped	50%

See all Lake Macquarie suburb profiles →