Dirty Creek flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Dirty Creek
(Coffs Harbour, NSW) - 18.64 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
18.64 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Dirty 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 Dirty 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 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.
Dirty Creek at a glance
How Dirty Creek is zoned
Buying in Dirty 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 18.64 km², Dirty Creek is highly constrained by planning overlays. Flood mapping covers the suburb and none of it falls within a mapped flood overlay, and 88% 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 36,863 m² across 187 parcels.
Who lives in Dirty Creek
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Dirty 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 904, and decile 2 within New South Wales. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Dirty Creek's 106 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Woolgoolga - Arrawarra, the wider ABS statistical area containing Dirty Creek. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Dirty Creek itself.
10,248 in 2001 to 15,229 in 2025, up 49%.
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.
Dirty 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 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 Dirty 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.
Published flood models are held over parts of Dirty Creek. The free check tells you whether one reaches an address; where it does, a Flood Model Report is +$9 with the planning report.
Building or pricing a slab? The $119 geotechnical desktop report covers geology, soils, bores and an indicative AS 2870 site class for a Dirty Creek lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Dirty Creek planning - frequently asked
Is Dirty Creek flood-prone?
Flood mapping covers Dirty Creek and none of the suburb falls within a mapped flood overlay (the council-wide suburb average is 21%). Published flood models are held over parts of Dirty Creek; the free check on the Flood Model Report page says whether one reaches a given address.
Is Dirty Creek bushfire-prone?
Around 88% of Dirty Creek is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Coffs Harbour average of 88%.
Is Dirty Creek under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed over about 13% of Dirty 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 Dirty Creek?
The dominant planning zone in Dirty Creek is Rural Landscape, though the suburb also includes Environmental Conservation and Infrastructure.
Does Dirty Creek have heritage-listed places?
Dirty Creek has 1 heritage-listed place on record.
What is the typical lot size in Dirty Creek?
Across 187 surveyed parcels in Dirty Creek, the median lot size is about 36,863 m².
Does Dirty Creek have a train station?
There is no train station inside Dirty Creek itself. The suburb is served by 6 bus stops.
What is the population of Dirty Creek?
At the 2021 Census Dirty Creek had 106 usual residents, with a median age of 32 and an average household size of 2.9 people. The wider Woolgoolga - Arrawarra statistical area, which contains Dirty Creek, went from 10,248 people in 2001 to 15,229 in 2025, up 49%.
Is Dirty Creek an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Dirty Creek scores 904 and sits in decile 2 of 10 nationally and decile 2 within New South Wales (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in Dirty Creek?
Median household income in Dirty Creek was $1,125 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,550 for the typical suburb in Coffs Harbour. Median rent was $385 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,500 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corindi Beach | 5.6 km | 36% | 96% |
| Red Rock | 6.6 km | 50% | 96% |
| Upper Corindi | 7.1 km | 8% | 97% |
| Halfway Creek Clarence Valley |
7.2 km | 0% | 100% |
| Arrawarra | 8.5 km | 58% | 92% |
| Arrawarra Headland | 10.2 km | 12% | 93% |
| Sherwood Clarence Valley |
10.7 km | <1% | 100% |
| Kungala Clarence Valley |
11.7 km | 0% | 100% |
| Mullaway | 11.9 km | 9% | 90% |
| Woolgoolga | 12.1 km | 7% | 89% |