Port Macquarie flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Port Macquarie
(Port Macquarie-Hastings, NSW) - 54.22 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
54.22 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Port Macquarie'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 Port Macquarie
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: observed, lowest 500 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.
Port Macquarie at a glance
How Port Macquarie is zoned
Buying in Port Macquarie? 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 54.22 km², Port Macquarie is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 38% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 52% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 83 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is General Residential. The median lot measures about 676 m² across 17,215 parcels.
Who lives in Port Macquarie
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Port Macquarie 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 969, and decile 4 within New South Wales. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Port Macquarie's 47,693 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Port Macquarie - West, the wider ABS statistical area containing Port Macquarie. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Port Macquarie itself.
12,360 in 2001 to 23,991 in 2025, up 94%.
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.
Port Macquarie 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 Port Macquarie 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 90% of Port Macquarie. 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 Port Macquarie lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Port Macquarie planning - frequently asked
Is Port Macquarie flood-prone?
About 38% of Port Macquarie falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 36%.
Is Port Macquarie bushfire-prone?
Around 52% of Port Macquarie is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Port Macquarie-Hastings average of 93%.
Is Port Macquarie under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 90% of Port Macquarie, and over about 92% 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 1,000 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 120 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 Port Macquarie?
The dominant planning zone in Port Macquarie is General Residential, though the suburb also includes Environmental Conservation and National Parks and Nature Reserves.
Does Port Macquarie have heritage-listed places?
Port Macquarie has 83 heritage-listed places on record.
What is the typical lot size in Port Macquarie?
Across 17,215 surveyed parcels in Port Macquarie, the median lot size is about 676 m². There are also 59 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
Does Port Macquarie have a train station?
There is no train station inside Port Macquarie itself. The suburb is served by 689 bus stops and 2 ferry terminals.
What is the population of Port Macquarie?
At the 2021 Census Port Macquarie had 47,693 usual residents, with a median age of 48 and an average household size of 2.2 people. The wider Port Macquarie - West statistical area, which contains Port Macquarie, went from 12,360 people in 2001 to 23,991 in 2025, up 94%.
Is Port Macquarie an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Port Macquarie scores 969 and sits in decile 4 of 10 nationally and decile 4 within New South Wales (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in Port Macquarie?
Median household income in Port Macquarie was $1,282 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,381 for the typical suburb in Port Macquarie-Hastings. Median rent was $380 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,751 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thrumster | 5.3 km | 35% | 86% |
| Fernbank Creek | 6.7 km | 87% | 91% |
| North Shore | 7.8 km | 90% | 88% |
| Riverside | 7.9 km | 74% | 78% |
| Lake Innes | 9.2 km | 38% | 87% |
| Blackmans Point | 9.9 km | 86% | 87% |
| Sancrox | 9.9 km | 33% | 92% |
| Lake Cathie | 10.9 km | 33% | 85% |
| Rawdon Island | 11.0 km | 95% | 82% |
| The Hatch | 13.6 km | 89% | 99% |