Salt Ash flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Salt Ash
(Port Stephens, NSW) - 49.15 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
49.15 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Salt Ash's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top. Amber hatching is the published aircraft noise (ANEF) contour. 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 Salt Ash
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.
Inside an aircraft noise contour
21% of the suburb's land sits inside a published ANEF or airport-environs contour. Contours vary street by street, so whether a particular lot is inside one needs a property-level check.
Highest contour present
Under AS 2021, land at ANEF 30 and above is generally unacceptable for new houses and most noise-sensitive uses. The contour is a forecast, not a measurement at any one house.
Contours held
- Defence Airfields ANEF
Observed overflight - sampled 4 Sep to 2 Oct 2026
typical observed square 2 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.
Salt Ash at a glance
How Salt Ash is zoned
Buying in Salt Ash? 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 49.15 km², Salt Ash is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 50% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 84% is flagged bushfire-prone. There is 1 heritage-listed site on record, and the dominant land-use zone is National Parks and Nature Reserves. The median lot measures about 8,897 m² across 504 parcels.
Who lives in Salt Ash
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Salt Ash 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 931, and decile 2 within New South Wales. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Salt Ash's 1,103 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Williamtown - Medowie - Karuah, the wider ABS statistical area containing Salt Ash. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Salt Ash itself.
10,830 in 2001 to 17,178 in 2025, up 59%.
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.
Salt Ash 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) | Inside a held contour | 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 Salt Ash 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 58% of Salt Ash. 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 Salt Ash lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Salt Ash planning - frequently asked
Is Salt Ash flood-prone?
About 50% of Salt Ash falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 45%.
Is Salt Ash bushfire-prone?
Around 84% of Salt Ash is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Port Stephens average of 82%.
Is Salt Ash affected by aircraft noise?
About 21% of Salt Ash sits inside a published aircraft noise contour, and the highest contour present is ANEF 40 - under AS 2021, land above ANEF 25 is generally considered unacceptable for new houses, and 20-25 conditionally acceptable with noise attenuation. ANEF contours are forecasts published per airport and used to control noise-sensitive development; they are not a measurement at any one house, and a property can sit under a flight path and outside every contour.
Is Salt Ash under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 58% of Salt Ash, and over about 86% 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 2,500 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 Salt Ash?
The dominant planning zone in Salt Ash is National Parks and Nature Reserves, though the suburb also includes Rural Landscape and Environmental Management.
Does Salt Ash have heritage-listed places?
Salt Ash has 1 heritage-listed place on record.
What is the typical lot size in Salt Ash?
Across 504 surveyed parcels in Salt Ash, the median lot size is about 8,897 m². There are also 5 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
Does Salt Ash have a train station?
There is no train station inside Salt Ash itself. The suburb is served by 74 bus stops.
What is the population of Salt Ash?
At the 2021 Census Salt Ash had 1,103 usual residents, with a median age of 46 and an average household size of 2.7 people. The wider Williamtown - Medowie - Karuah statistical area, which contains Salt Ash, went from 10,830 people in 2001 to 17,178 in 2025, up 59%.
Is Salt Ash an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Salt Ash scores 931 and sits in decile 3 of 10 nationally and decile 2 within New South Wales (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in Salt Ash?
Median household income in Salt Ash was $1,461 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,421 for the typical suburb in Port Stephens. Median rent was $310 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,950 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tilligerry Creek | 6.3 km | 100% | 28% |
| Oyster Cove | 6.5 km | 55% | 99% |
| Medowie | 6.6 km | 39% | 79% |
| Campvale | 7.0 km | 28% | 99% |
| Bobs Farm | 7.7 km | 36% | 79% |
| Tanilba Bay | 7.9 km | 65% | 86% |
| Williamtown | 8.4 km | 48% | 88% |
| Fullerton Cove | 10.3 km | 70% | 51% |
| Swan Bay | 10.9 km | 51% | 99% |
| Mallabula | 11.0 km | 60% | 83% |