Cobaki Lakes flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Cobaki Lakes
(Tweed, NSW) - 9.84 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
9.84 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Cobaki Lakes'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 Cobaki Lakes
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
4% 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 at ANEF 30 and above is generally unacceptable for new houses and most noise-sensitive uses. The contour is a forecast, not a measurement at any one house.
Contours held
- tweed_gc_airport_anef
Observed overflight - sampled 4 Sep to 2 Oct 2026
typical observed square 4 a day
Night movements: observed, lowest 1,500 ft - night is sampled as often as day, but night traffic is light, so this is a floor and no rate can be put on it.
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.
Cobaki Lakes at a glance
How Cobaki Lakes is zoned
Buying in Cobaki Lakes? 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 9.84 km², Cobaki Lakes is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 54% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 100% is flagged bushfire-prone. The dominant land-use zone is Deferred Matter. The median lot measures about 68,377 m² across 47 parcels.
Who lives in Cobaki Lakes
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Cobaki Lakes 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 982, and decile 5 within New South Wales. The national average is 1000.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Tweed Heads, the wider ABS statistical area containing Cobaki Lakes. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Cobaki Lakes itself.
17,013 in 2001 to 21,576 in 2025, up 27%.
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.
Cobaki Lakes 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 Cobaki Lakes 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 98% of Cobaki Lakes. 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 Cobaki Lakes lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Cobaki Lakes planning - frequently asked
Is Cobaki Lakes flood-prone?
About 54% of Cobaki Lakes falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 29%.
Is Cobaki Lakes bushfire-prone?
Around 100% of Cobaki Lakes is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Tweed average of 91%.
Is Cobaki Lakes affected by aircraft noise?
About 4% of Cobaki Lakes sits inside a published aircraft noise contour, and the highest contour present is ANEF 30 - 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 Cobaki Lakes under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 98% of Cobaki Lakes, in the period sampled (4 Sep 2026 to 2 Oct 2026). The lowest measured aircraft was at 500 ft, with an average of 1,000 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 59 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 Cobaki Lakes?
The dominant planning zone in Cobaki Lakes is Deferred Matter, though the suburb also includes General Residential and Private Recreation.
Does Cobaki Lakes have heritage-listed places?
No heritage-listed places are on record within Cobaki Lakes.
What is the typical lot size in Cobaki Lakes?
Across 47 surveyed parcels in Cobaki Lakes, the median lot size is about 68,377 m². There are also 1 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
Is Cobaki Lakes an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Cobaki Lakes scores 982 and sits in decile 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tweed Heads West | 3.4 km | 79% | 46% |
| Cobaki | 3.7 km | 16% | 100% |
| Bilambil Heights | 4.0 km | 27% | 80% |
| Piggabeen | 4.5 km | 14% | 100% |
| Bilambil | 5.6 km | 22% | 96% |
| Tweed Heads | 6.1 km | 77% | 8% |
| Tweed Heads South | 6.6 km | 85% | 42% |
| Carool | 7.0 km | 3% | 100% |
| Duroby | 7.5 km | 12% | 100% |
| Terranora | 7.9 km | 30% | 70% |