Fingal Bay flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Fingal Bay
(Port Stephens, NSW) - 9.68 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
9.68 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Fingal Bay'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 Fingal 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
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.
Fingal Bay at a glance
How Fingal Bay is zoned
Buying in Fingal 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 9.68 km², Fingal Bay is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 22% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 78% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 2 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is National Parks and Nature Reserves. The median lot measures about 640 m² across 845 parcels.
Who lives in Fingal Bay
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Fingal Bay 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 949, and decile 3 within New South Wales. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Fingal Bay's 1,635 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Nelson Bay Peninsula, the wider ABS statistical area containing Fingal Bay. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Fingal Bay itself.
17,533 in 2001 to 22,156 in 2025, up 26%.
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.
Fingal 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 | 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 Fingal 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 21% of Fingal 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 Fingal Bay lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Fingal Bay planning - frequently asked
Is Fingal Bay flood-prone?
About 22% of Fingal Bay falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 45%.
Is Fingal Bay bushfire-prone?
Around 78% of Fingal Bay is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Port Stephens average of 82%.
Is Fingal Bay under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 21% of Fingal Bay, and over about 24% 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 500 ft, with an average of 2,000 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 1 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 Fingal Bay?
The dominant planning zone in Fingal Bay is National Parks and Nature Reserves, though the suburb also includes Low Density Residential and Public Recreation.
Does Fingal Bay have heritage-listed places?
Fingal Bay has 2 heritage-listed places on record.
What is the typical lot size in Fingal Bay?
Across 845 surveyed parcels in Fingal Bay, the median lot size is about 640 m². There are also 1 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
Does Fingal Bay have a train station?
There is no train station inside Fingal Bay itself. The suburb is served by 42 bus stops.
What is the population of Fingal Bay?
At the 2021 Census Fingal Bay had 1,635 usual residents, with a median age of 63 and an average household size of 2.1 people. The wider Nelson Bay Peninsula statistical area, which contains Fingal Bay, went from 17,533 people in 2001 to 22,156 in 2025, up 26%.
Is Fingal Bay an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Fingal Bay scores 949 and sits in decile 3 of 10 nationally and decile 3 within New South Wales (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in Fingal Bay?
Median household income in Fingal Bay was $1,114 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,421 for the typical suburb in Port Stephens. Median rent was $390 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,733 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nelson Bay | 2.7 km | 25% | 79% |
| Shoal Bay | 3.2 km | 27% | 84% |
| One Mile | 4.2 km | 52% | 83% |
| Corlette | 5.1 km | 20% | 44% |
| Boat Harbour | 5.9 km | 13% | 78% |
| Salamander Bay | 7.0 km | 52% | 75% |
| Fishermans Bay | 7.3 km | 6% | 100% |
| Anna Bay | 8.2 km | 58% | 76% |
| Taylors Beach | 8.9 km | 77% | 97% |
| Port Stephens | 9.3 km | 96% | 4% |