Palona flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Palona
(Sutherland Shire, NSW) - 21.08 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
21.08 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Palona'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 Palona
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 2 a day
Night movements: observed, lowest 3,000 ft - night is sampled as often as day, but night traffic is light, so this is a floor and no rate can be put on it.
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.
How Palona is zoned
Buying in Palona? 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 21.08 km², Palona 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 3 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is National Parks and Nature Reserves.
Who lives in Palona
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Palona suburb boundary itself, not a wider region.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Royal National Park, the wider ABS statistical area containing Palona. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Palona itself.
20 in 2001 to 45 in 2025, up 125%.
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.
Palona 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 Palona 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 59% of Palona. 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 Palona lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Palona planning - frequently asked
Is Palona flood-prone?
Flood mapping covers Palona and none of the suburb falls within a mapped flood overlay (the council-wide suburb average is 22%).
Is Palona bushfire-prone?
Around 100% of Palona is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Sutherland Shire average of 46%.
Is Palona under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 59% of Palona, and over about 84% 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 4,500 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 22 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 Palona?
The dominant planning zone in Palona is National Parks and Nature Reserves, though the suburb also includes Infrastructure.
Does Palona have heritage-listed places?
Palona has 3 heritage-listed places on record.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uloola | 3.7 km | 0% | 100% |
| Yenabilli | 3.8 km | 8% | 96% |
| Garie | 4.1 km | 0% | 100% |
| Wattamolla | 4.3 km | Not mapped | 100% |
| Warumbul | 5.2 km | 14% | 93% |
| Lilyvale Wollongong |
5.7 km | 0% | 100% |
| Marley | 5.8 km | Not mapped | 100% |
| Goarra | 5.9 km | 0% | 100% |
| Waterfall | 6.2 km | 0% | 98% |
| Audley | 7.0 km | 2% | 100% |