Duns Creek flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Duns Creek
(Port Stephens, NSW) - 27.54 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
27.54 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Duns 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 Duns 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
typical observed square 4 a day
Night movements: observed, lowest 3,000 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.
Duns Creek at a glance
How Duns Creek is zoned
Buying in Duns 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 27.54 km², Duns Creek is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 17% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 100% is flagged bushfire-prone. There is 1 heritage-listed site on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Environmental Management. The median lot measures about 20,211 m² across 230 parcels.
Who lives in Duns Creek
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Duns 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 1041, and decile 8 within New South Wales. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Duns Creek's 582 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Seaham - Woodville, the wider ABS statistical area containing Duns Creek. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Duns Creek 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.
Duns 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 Duns 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.
Aircraft have been seen below 3,000 ft over about 16% of Duns Creek. 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 Duns Creek lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Duns Creek planning - frequently asked
Is Duns Creek flood-prone?
About 17% of Duns Creek falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 45%.
Is Duns Creek bushfire-prone?
Around 100% of Duns Creek is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Port Stephens average of 82%.
Is Duns Creek under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 16% of Duns Creek, and over about 50% 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 3,500 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 14 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 Duns Creek?
The dominant planning zone in Duns Creek is Environmental Management, though the suburb also includes Rural Landscape and National Parks and Nature Reserves.
Does Duns Creek have heritage-listed places?
Duns Creek has 1 heritage-listed place on record.
What is the typical lot size in Duns Creek?
Across 230 surveyed parcels in Duns Creek, the median lot size is about 20,211 m². There are also 3 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
Does Duns Creek have a train station?
There is no train station inside Duns Creek itself. The suburb is served by 38 bus stops.
What is the population of Duns Creek?
At the 2021 Census Duns Creek had 582 usual residents, with a median age of 42 and an average household size of 2.9 people. The wider Seaham - Woodville statistical area, which contains Duns Creek, went from 4,443 people in 2001 to 5,899 in 2025, up 33%.
Is Duns Creek an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Duns Creek scores 1041 and sits in decile 8 of 10 nationally and decile 8 within New South Wales (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in Duns Creek?
Median household income in Duns Creek was $2,236 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,421 for the typical suburb in Port Stephens. Median rent was $355 a week and the median mortgage repayment $2,167 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Butterwick | 4.7 km | 29% | 100% |
| Glen Oak | 4.7 km | 18% | 100% |
| Paterson Dungog |
5.6 km | Not mapped | 97% |
| Martins Creek Dungog |
5.8 km | Not mapped | 100% |
| Woodville | 7.4 km | 64% | 100% |
| Seaham | 7.9 km | 48% | 97% |
| Tocal Dungog |
8.7 km | 5% | 100% |
| Brandy Hill | 9.3 km | 39% | 100% |
| Wallalong | 9.5 km | 64% | 87% |
| East Seaham | 9.5 km | 41% | 99% |