Haywards Bay flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Haywards Bay
(Wollongong, NSW) - 1.14 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
1.14 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Haywards 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 Haywards 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.
Haywards Bay at a glance
How Haywards Bay is zoned
Buying in Haywards 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 1.14 km², Haywards Bay is highly constrained by planning overlays. Flood mapping covers the suburb and none of it falls within a mapped flood overlay, and 64% is flagged bushfire-prone. The dominant land-use zone is Environmental Conservation. The median lot measures about 573 m² across 447 parcels.
Who lives in Haywards Bay
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Haywards 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 1049, and decile 8 within New South Wales. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Haywards Bay's 1,280 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Dapto - Avondale, the wider ABS statistical area containing Haywards Bay. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Haywards Bay itself.
21,968 in 2001 to 24,842 in 2025, up 13%.
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.
Haywards 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 Haywards 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 44% of Haywards 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 Haywards Bay lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Haywards Bay planning - frequently asked
Is Haywards Bay flood-prone?
Flood mapping covers Haywards Bay and none of the suburb falls within a mapped flood overlay (the council-wide suburb average is 12%).
Is Haywards Bay bushfire-prone?
Around 64% of Haywards Bay is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Wollongong average of 56%.
Is Haywards Bay under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 44% of Haywards Bay, and over about 100% 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 2,000 ft, with an average of 4,000 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 2 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 Haywards Bay?
The dominant planning zone in Haywards Bay is Environmental Conservation, though the suburb also includes Low Density Residential and Public Recreation.
Does Haywards Bay have heritage-listed places?
No heritage-listed places are on record within Haywards Bay.
What is the typical lot size in Haywards Bay?
Across 447 surveyed parcels in Haywards Bay, the median lot size is about 573 m².
Does Haywards Bay have a train station?
There is no train station inside Haywards Bay itself. The suburb is served by 2 bus stops.
What is the population of Haywards Bay?
At the 2021 Census Haywards Bay had 1,280 usual residents, with a median age of 38 and an average household size of 3.1 people. The wider Dapto - Avondale statistical area, which contains Haywards Bay, went from 21,968 people in 2001 to 24,842 in 2025, up 13%.
Is Haywards Bay an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Haywards Bay scores 1049 and sits in decile 9 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 Haywards Bay?
Median household income in Haywards Bay was $2,308 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,912 for the typical suburb in Wollongong. Median rent was $590 a week and the median mortgage repayment $2,383 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yallah | 1.3 km | 0% | 74% |
| Albion Park Rail Shellharbour |
1.8 km | 0% | 34% |
| Oak Flats Shellharbour |
3.1 km | 0% | 13% |
| Shellharbour City Centre Shellharbour |
4.4 km | Not mapped | 5% |
| Albion Park Shellharbour |
4.4 km | Not mapped | 46% |
| Koonawarra | 4.4 km | 0% | 38% |
| Mount Warrigal Shellharbour |
4.5 km | 0% | 7% |
| Blackbutt Shellharbour |
4.5 km | Not mapped | 57% |
| Dapto | 4.7 km | 11% | 29% |
| Cleveland | 5.2 km | 53% | 100% |