Sandy Beach flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Sandy Beach
(Coffs Harbour, NSW) - 13.45 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
13.45 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Sandy Beach'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 Sandy Beach
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
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.
Sandy Beach at a glance
How Sandy Beach is zoned
Buying in Sandy Beach? 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 13.45 km², Sandy Beach is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 28% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 74% is flagged bushfire-prone. The dominant land-use zone is Rural Landscape. The median lot measures about 581 m² across 1,198 parcels.
Who lives in Sandy Beach
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Sandy Beach 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 959, and decile 4 within New South Wales. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Sandy Beach's 2,913 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Woolgoolga - Arrawarra, the wider ABS statistical area containing Sandy Beach. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Sandy Beach itself.
10,248 in 2001 to 15,229 in 2025, up 49%.
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.
Sandy Beach 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 Sandy Beach 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 13% of Sandy Beach. The report's Aircraft Overflight page narrows that to the address itself: how many aircraft a day, how low, and at what heights.
Published flood models are held over parts of Sandy Beach. The free check tells you whether one reaches an address; where it does, a Flood Model Report is +$9 with the planning report.
Building or pricing a slab? The $119 geotechnical desktop report covers geology, soils, bores and an indicative AS 2870 site class for a Sandy Beach lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Sandy Beach planning - frequently asked
Is Sandy Beach flood-prone?
About 28% of Sandy Beach falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 21%. Published flood models are held over parts of Sandy Beach; the free check on the Flood Model Report page says whether one reaches a given address.
Is Sandy Beach bushfire-prone?
Around 74% of Sandy Beach is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Coffs Harbour average of 88%.
Is Sandy Beach under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 13% of Sandy Beach, and over about 32% 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 2,000 ft, with an average of 4,000 ft. 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 Sandy Beach?
The dominant planning zone in Sandy Beach is Rural Landscape, though the suburb also includes Low Density Residential and Environmental Conservation.
Does Sandy Beach have heritage-listed places?
No heritage-listed places are on record within Sandy Beach.
What is the typical lot size in Sandy Beach?
Across 1,198 surveyed parcels in Sandy Beach, the median lot size is about 581 m². There are also 9 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
Does Sandy Beach have a train station?
There is no train station inside Sandy Beach itself. The suburb is served by 68 bus stops.
What is the population of Sandy Beach?
At the 2021 Census Sandy Beach had 2,913 usual residents, with a median age of 35 and an average household size of 2.7 people. The wider Woolgoolga - Arrawarra statistical area, which contains Sandy Beach, went from 10,248 people in 2001 to 15,229 in 2025, up 49%.
Is Sandy Beach an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Sandy Beach scores 959 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 Sandy Beach?
Median household income in Sandy Beach was $1,567 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,550 for the typical suburb in Coffs Harbour. Median rent was $420 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,810 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emerald Beach | 2.6 km | 24% | 96% |
| Woolgoolga | 5.9 km | 7% | 89% |
| Safety Beach | 5.9 km | 35% | 69% |
| Moonee Beach | 6.4 km | 41% | 91% |
| Mullaway | 6.9 km | 9% | 90% |
| Bucca | 7.3 km | 13% | 96% |
| Arrawarra Headland | 8.8 km | 12% | 93% |
| Arrawarra | 10.4 km | 58% | 92% |
| Sapphire Beach | 10.5 km | 15% | 86% |
| Upper Corindi | 12.3 km | 8% | 97% |