Moolarben flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Moolarben
(Mid-Western Regional, NSW) - 57.23 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
57.23 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Moolarben's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top.
Nearby suburbs, nearest first
Aircraft noise and flight paths over Moolarben
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 to
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.
Moolarben at a glance
How Moolarben is zoned
Buying in Moolarben? 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 57.23 km², Moolarben is highly constrained by planning overlays. Flood mapping covers the suburb and none of it falls within a mapped flood overlay, and 90% is flagged bushfire-prone. There is 1 heritage-listed site on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Primary Production. The median lot measures about 169,480 m² across 213 parcels.
Who lives in Moolarben
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Moolarben 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 977, and decile 4 within New South Wales. The national average is 1000.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Mudgee Surrounds - West, the wider ABS statistical area containing Moolarben. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Moolarben itself.
9,827 in 2001 to 11,482 in 2025, up 17%.
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.
Moolarben 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 Moolarben 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.
Building or pricing a slab? The $119 geotechnical desktop report covers geology, soils, bores and an indicative AS 2870 site class for a Moolarben lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Moolarben planning - frequently asked
Is Moolarben flood-prone?
Flood mapping covers Moolarben and none of the suburb falls within a mapped flood overlay (the council-wide suburb average is 2%).
Is Moolarben bushfire-prone?
Around 90% of Moolarben is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Mid-Western Regional average of 98%.
Is Moolarben under a flight path?
No aircraft were observed over Moolarben in the period sampled (recent weeks to now). Sampling is intermittent, so that is a floor rather than proof that none fly over. 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 Moolarben?
The dominant planning zone in Moolarben is Primary Production, though the suburb also includes Environmental Management and National Parks and Nature Reserves.
Does Moolarben have heritage-listed places?
Moolarben has 1 heritage-listed place on record.
What is the typical lot size in Moolarben?
Across 213 surveyed parcels in Moolarben, the median lot size is about 169,480 m².
Is Moolarben an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Moolarben scores 977 and sits in decile 5 of 10 nationally and decile 4 within New South Wales (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cooks Gap | 5.9 km | 0% | 100% |
| Munghorn | 6.1 km | 0% | 100% |
| Cooyal | 9.8 km | 0% | 100% |
| Wilpinjong | 9.9 km | 0% | 49% |
| Linburn | 10.4 km | 0% | 100% |
| Yarrawonga | 11.4 km | 0% | 100% |
| Ulan | 11.4 km | 0% | 89% |
| Cumbo | 12.3 km | 0% | 100% |
| Cope | 13.9 km | 0% | 100% |
| Stony Creek | 14.3 km | 0% | 100% |