Swan Bay flood map & planning overlays

A planning-constraint profile of Swan Bay (Richmond Valley, NSW) - 38.81 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.

Planning schematicSwan Bay

Constraint readout

38.81 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.

Flood overlay <1%

below council avg (4%) · #5 of 14 mapped council suburbs

Bushfire-prone 96%

≈ council avg (97%) · #39 of 49 mapped council suburbs

Environmental1%

below council avg (10%) · #24 of 49 in council

Heritage sites 1 Mostly Primary Production Bushfire 39th most affected of 49 →

Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Swan Bay's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top.

Nearby suburbs, nearest first

Aircraft noise and flight paths over Swan Bay

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

No aircraft observed

of the suburb, in the sampled period - a floor, not a census

Lowest measured

8,500 ft

averaging 8,500 ft

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.

Swan Bay at a glance

Parcels 255 Median lot 20,000 m² Mapped easements 1 Landslide overlay 2%

How Swan Bay is zoned

Primary Production 90%

Large Lot Residential 5%

Natural Waterways 4%

Environmental Conservation 1%

Buying in Swan Bay? 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 38.81 km², Swan Bay is highly constrained by planning overlays. Flood mapping covers the suburb and none of it falls within a mapped flood overlay, and 96% is flagged bushfire-prone. There is 1 heritage-listed site on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Primary Production. The median lot measures about 20,000 m² across 255 parcels.

Who lives in Swan Bay

Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Swan Bay suburb boundary itself, not a wider region.

Population

357

usual residents, 2021

Median age

years

Median household income

$1,833

per week, Richmond Valley suburb typical $1,337

Median rent

$310

per week, Richmond Valley suburb typical $276

Median mortgage

$1,916

per month

Household size

2.9

people, average

Socio-economic standing

ABS SEIFA 2021 ranks every Australian suburb. Decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth of the country, decile 10 the least.

Advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD) Decile 6

most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Score 987, and decile 5 within New South Wales. The national average is 1000.

Relative disadvantage (IRSD) Decile 5

most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Age profile

Share of Swan Bay's 357 residents in each ABS age band.

0-4 5.3%

5-14 12.0%

15-19 11.8%

20-24 5.0%

25-34 7.3%

35-44 13.7%

45-54 17.4%

55-64 12.0%

65-74 11.8%

75-84 2.0%

85+ 1.7%

Population trend, 2001 to 2025

Estimated resident population of Evans Head, the wider ABS statistical area containing Swan Bay. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Swan Bay itself.

4,817 in 2001 to 6,062 in 2025, up 26%.

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.

Swan Bay 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 Swan Bay 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 Swan Bay lot.

See what's in the $9 report →

Swan Bay planning - frequently asked

Is Swan Bay flood-prone?

Flood mapping covers Swan Bay and less than 1% of the suburb falls within a mapped flood overlay (the council-wide suburb average is 4%).

Is Swan Bay bushfire-prone?

Around 96% of Swan Bay is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Richmond Valley average of 97%.

Is Swan Bay under a flight path?

No aircraft were observed over Swan Bay in the period sampled (4 Sep 2026 to 2 Oct 2026). 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 Swan Bay?

The dominant planning zone in Swan Bay is Primary Production, though the suburb also includes Large Lot Residential and Natural Waterways.

Does Swan Bay have heritage-listed places?

Swan Bay has 1 heritage-listed place on record.

What is the typical lot size in Swan Bay?

Across 255 surveyed parcels in Swan Bay, the median lot size is about 20,000 m². There are also 1 registered easements mapped in the suburb.

What is the population of Swan Bay?

At the 2021 Census Swan Bay had 357 usual residents, with a median age of 43 and an average household size of 2.9 people. The wider Evans Head statistical area, which contains Swan Bay, went from 4,817 people in 2001 to 6,062 in 2025, up 26%.

Is Swan Bay an advantaged suburb?

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Swan Bay scores 987 and sits in decile 6 of 10 nationally and decile 5 within New South Wales (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).

What is the median household income in Swan Bay?

Median household income in Swan Bay was $1,833 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,337 for the typical suburb in Richmond Valley. Median rent was $310 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,916 a month.

Compare nearby suburbs

Nearby suburb	Distance	Flood mapped	Bushfire-prone
Woodburn	5.3 km	<1%	97%
North Woodburn Lismore	5.6 km	99%	4%
Buckendoon Lismore	7.0 km	100%	2%
East Coraki Lismore	7.0 km	92%	8%
New Italy	8.2 km	Not mapped	100%
Kilgin Lismore	8.9 km	99%	4%
Doonbah	9.5 km	Not mapped	96%
Coraki	9.8 km	34%	60%
Bora Ridge	10.4 km	Not mapped	100%
Rileys Hill	10.8 km	<1%	93%

See all Richmond Valley suburb profiles →