Kembla Heights flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Kembla Heights
(Wollongong, NSW) - 6.34 km², mapped from live council and
state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 26 September 2026.
Suburb-wide figures; the free map shows which overlays touch your lot.
Constraint readout
6.34 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Kembla Heights'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 Kembla Heights
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 26 Sep 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.
Kembla Heights at a glance
How Kembla Heights is zoned
Buying in Kembla Heights? 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 6.34 km², Kembla Heights is highly constrained by planning overlays. Flood mapping covers the suburb and none of it falls within a mapped flood overlay, and 100% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 14 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is National Parks and Nature Reserves. The median lot measures about 29,112 m² across 38 parcels.
Who lives in Kembla Heights
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Kembla Heights 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 1051, and decile 8 within New South Wales. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Kembla Heights's 88 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Unanderra - Mount Kembla, the wider ABS statistical area containing Kembla Heights. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Kembla Heights itself.
16,092 in 2001 to 15,414 in 2025, down 4%.
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.
Kembla Heights 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 26 September 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 Kembla Heights 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 Kembla Heights. 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 Kembla Heights lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Kembla Heights planning - frequently asked
Is Kembla Heights flood-prone?
Flood mapping covers Kembla Heights and none of the suburb falls within a mapped flood overlay (the council-wide suburb average is 12%).
Is Kembla Heights bushfire-prone?
Around 100% of Kembla Heights is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Wollongong average of 56%.
Is Kembla Heights under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 16% of Kembla Heights, and over about 68% at any altitude up to 10,000 ft, in the period sampled (4 Sep 2026 to 26 Sep 2026). The lowest measured aircraft was at 1,500 ft, with an average of 3,500 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 Kembla Heights?
The dominant planning zone in Kembla Heights is National Parks and Nature Reserves, though the suburb also includes Environmental Conservation and Environmental Management.
Does Kembla Heights have heritage-listed places?
Kembla Heights has 14 heritage-listed places on record.
What is the typical lot size in Kembla Heights?
Across 38 surveyed parcels in Kembla Heights, the median lot size is about 29,112 m². There are also 8 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
Does Kembla Heights have a train station?
There is no train station inside Kembla Heights itself. The suburb is served by 9 bus stops.
What is the population of Kembla Heights?
At the 2021 Census Kembla Heights had 88 usual residents, with a median age of 44 and an average household size of 2.2 people. The wider Unanderra - Mount Kembla statistical area, which contains Kembla Heights, went from 16,092 people in 2001 to 15,414 in 2025, down 4%.
Is Kembla Heights an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Kembla Heights scores 1051 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 Kembla Heights?
Median household income in Kembla Heights was $1,265 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,912 for the typical suburb in Wollongong. Median rent was $355 a week.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Kembla | 1.5 km | 0% | 95% |
| Cordeaux Heights | 2.6 km | 0% | 56% |
| Farmborough Heights | 3.2 km | <1% | 63% |
| Figtree | 3.4 km | 0% | 38% |
| Kembla Grange | 3.9 km | 33% | 66% |
| Unanderra | 4.8 km | 0% | 17% |
| Dombarton | 5.1 km | 2% | 100% |
| Mount Keira | 5.3 km | 3% | 93% |
| West Wollongong | 5.4 km | 8% | 4% |
| Stream Hill | 5.5 km | 31% | 88% |