South Grafton flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of South Grafton
(Clarence Valley, NSW) - 24.94 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
24.94 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to South Grafton's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top.
Nearby suburbs, nearest first
Aircraft noise and flight paths over South Grafton
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.
South Grafton at a glance
How South Grafton is zoned
Buying in South Grafton? 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 24.94 km², South Grafton is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 23% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 66% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 94 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Rural Landscape. The median lot measures about 736 m² across 3,399 parcels.
Who lives in South Grafton
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the South Grafton 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 822, and decile 1 within New South Wales. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of South Grafton's 6,288 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Grafton, the wider ABS statistical area containing South Grafton. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than South Grafton itself.
18,513 in 2001 to 19,905 in 2025, up 8%.
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.
South Grafton 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 South Grafton 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 South Grafton lot.
See what's in the $9 report →South Grafton planning - frequently asked
Is South Grafton flood-prone?
About 23% of South Grafton falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 24%.
Is South Grafton bushfire-prone?
Around 66% of South Grafton is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Clarence Valley average of 94%.
Is South Grafton under a flight path?
No aircraft were observed over South Grafton 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 South Grafton?
The dominant planning zone in South Grafton is Rural Landscape, though the suburb also includes General Residential and Primary Production.
Does South Grafton have heritage-listed places?
South Grafton has 94 heritage-listed places on record.
What is the typical lot size in South Grafton?
Across 3,399 surveyed parcels in South Grafton, the median lot size is about 736 m². There are also 7 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
Does South Grafton have a train station?
Yes - South Grafton has 1 train station: Grafton Station. It is also served by 142 bus stops.
What is the population of South Grafton?
At the 2021 Census South Grafton had 6,288 usual residents, with a median age of 40 and an average household size of 2.4 people. The wider Grafton statistical area, which contains South Grafton, went from 18,513 people in 2001 to 19,905 in 2025, up 8%.
Is South Grafton an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), South Grafton scores 822 and sits in decile 1 of 10 nationally and decile 1 within New South Wales (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in South Grafton?
Median household income in South Grafton was $975 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,187 for the typical suburb in Clarence Valley. Median rent was $280 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,144 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southampton | 3.5 km | 27% | 100% |
| Grafton | 5.1 km | 91% | 10% |
| Bom Bom | 5.2 km | 0% | 100% |
| Waterview | 6.2 km | 92% | 91% |
| Clarenza | 6.5 km | 36% | 97% |
| Carrs Island | 6.6 km | 100% | 77% |
| Elland | 7.8 km | 0% | 99% |
| Carrs Creek | 8.1 km | 96% | 100% |
| Rushforth | 8.2 km | 0% | 100% |
| Swan Creek | 8.5 km | 95% | 97% |