Great Mackerel Beach flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Great Mackerel Beach
(Northern Beaches, NSW) - 0.25 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
0.25 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Great Mackerel Beach'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 Great Mackerel Beach
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.
Great Mackerel Beach at a glance
How Great Mackerel Beach is zoned
Buying in Great Mackerel Beach? 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 0.25 km², Great Mackerel Beach is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 25% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 99% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 3 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Environmental Conservation. The median lot measures about 625 m² across 130 parcels.
Who lives in Great Mackerel Beach
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Great Mackerel Beach 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 1111, and decile 10 within New South Wales. The national average is 1000.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Bayview - Elanora Heights, the wider ABS statistical area containing Great Mackerel Beach. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Great Mackerel Beach itself.
10,768 in 2001 to 11,426 in 2025, up 6%.
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.
Great Mackerel Beach 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 Great Mackerel Beach 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 3% of Great Mackerel Beach. 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 Great Mackerel Beach. 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 Great Mackerel Beach lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Great Mackerel Beach planning - frequently asked
Is Great Mackerel Beach flood-prone?
About 25% of Great Mackerel Beach falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 12%. Published flood models are held over parts of Great Mackerel Beach; the free check on the Flood Model Report page says whether one reaches a given address.
Is Great Mackerel Beach bushfire-prone?
Around 99% of Great Mackerel Beach is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Northern Beaches average of 47%.
Is Great Mackerel Beach under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 3% of Great Mackerel Beach, and over about 63% 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 1,500 ft, with an average of 4,500 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 Great Mackerel Beach?
The dominant planning zone in Great Mackerel Beach is Environmental Conservation, though the suburb also includes Environmental Management and Public Recreation.
Does Great Mackerel Beach have heritage-listed places?
Great Mackerel Beach has 3 heritage-listed places on record.
What is the typical lot size in Great Mackerel Beach?
Across 130 surveyed parcels in Great Mackerel Beach, the median lot size is about 625 m².
What is the population of Great Mackerel Beach?
At the 2021 Census Great Mackerel Beach had 50 usual residents, with a median age of 57 and an average household size of 1.7 people. The wider Bayview - Elanora Heights statistical area, which contains Great Mackerel Beach, went from 10,768 people in 2001 to 11,426 in 2025, up 6%.
Is Great Mackerel Beach an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Great Mackerel Beach scores 1111 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 Great Mackerel Beach?
Median household income in Great Mackerel Beach was $1,124 a week at the 2021 Census, against $2,778 for the typical suburb in Northern Beaches. Median rent was $350 a week and the median mortgage repayment $862 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Currawong Beach | 0.4 km | 0% | 100% |
| Coasters Retreat | 1.5 km | <1% | 100% |
| Palm Beach | 2.3 km | 6% | 48% |
| Pittwater | 3.5 km | <1% | 12% |
| Whale Beach | 3.8 km | 3% | 21% |
| Morning Bay | 4.0 km | Not mapped | 100% |
| Lovett Bay | 4.7 km | 0% | 100% |
| Avalon Beach | 5.0 km | 12% | 23% |
| Clareville | 5.0 km | 4% | 5% |
| Box Head Central Coast |
5.1 km | <1% | 17% |