Terrey Hills flood map & planning overlays

A planning-constraint profile of Terrey Hills (Northern Beaches, NSW) - 8.96 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 schematicTerrey Hills

Constraint readout

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

Flood overlay 0%

below council avg (12%) · #46 of 52 mapped council suburbs

Modelled flood depth held over parts of Terrey Hills

Bushfire-prone 69%

1.5× council avg (47%) · #18 of 56 mapped council suburbs

Environmental26%

≈ council avg (26%) · #20 of 56 in council

Heritage sites 1 Aircraft seen below 3,000 ft 86% Mostly Primary Production Small Lots Bushfire 18th most affected of 56 →

Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Terrey Hills'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 Terrey Hills

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

Under observed aircraft

98%

of the suburb, at or below 10,000 ft

Below 3,000 ft

86%

of the suburb's area

Lowest measured

500 ft

averaging 3,500 ft

Busiest square

~20 a day

1 a day below 3,000 ft · ±20%
typical observed square 1 a day

Night movements: observed, lowest 1,000 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.

Terrey Hills at a glance

Parcels 1,008 Median lot 733 m² Mapped easements 2 Bus stops 65 Landslide overlay 76%

How Terrey Hills is zoned

Primary Production Small Lots 45%

National Parks and Nature Reserves 25%

Public Recreation 11%

Low Density Residential 8%

Infrastructure 8%

Environmental Management 2%

Buying in Terrey Hills? 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 8.96 km², Terrey Hills is highly constrained by planning overlays. Flood mapping covers the suburb and none of it falls within a mapped flood overlay, and 69% is flagged bushfire-prone. There is 1 heritage-listed site on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Primary Production Small Lots. The median lot measures about 733 m² across 1,008 parcels.

Who lives in Terrey Hills

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

Population

3,142

usual residents, 2021

Median age

years

Median household income

$2,778

per week, Northern Beaches suburb typical $2,778

Median rent

$600

per week, Northern Beaches suburb typical $700

Median mortgage

$3,033

per month

Household size

3.0

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 10

most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Score 1118, and decile 10 within New South Wales. The national average is 1000.

Relative disadvantage (IRSD) Decile 10

most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Age profile

Share of Terrey Hills's 3,142 residents in each ABS age band.

0-4 4.3%

5-14 13.8%

15-19 6.7%

20-24 5.4%

25-34 6.1%

35-44 9.7%

45-54 16.1%

55-64 13.4%

65-74 11.7%

75-84 8.7%

85+ 4.2%

Population trend, 2001 to 2025

Estimated resident population of Terrey Hills - Duffys Forest, the wider ABS statistical area containing Terrey Hills. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Terrey Hills itself.

3,789 in 2001 to 3,593 in 2025, down 5%.

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.

Terrey Hills 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 Terrey Hills 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 86% of Terrey Hills. 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 Terrey Hills. 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 Terrey Hills lot.

See what's in the $9 report →

Terrey Hills planning - frequently asked

Is Terrey Hills flood-prone?

Flood mapping covers Terrey Hills and none of the suburb falls within a mapped flood overlay (the council-wide suburb average is 12%). Published flood models are held over parts of Terrey Hills; the free check on the Flood Model Report page says whether one reaches a given address.

Is Terrey Hills bushfire-prone?

Around 69% of Terrey Hills is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Northern Beaches average of 47%.

Is Terrey Hills under a flight path?

Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 86% of Terrey Hills, and over about 98% 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 3,500 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 20 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 Terrey Hills?

The dominant planning zone in Terrey Hills is Primary Production Small Lots, though the suburb also includes National Parks and Nature Reserves and Public Recreation.

Does Terrey Hills have heritage-listed places?

Terrey Hills has 1 heritage-listed place on record.

What is the typical lot size in Terrey Hills?

Across 1,008 surveyed parcels in Terrey Hills, the median lot size is about 733 m². There are also 2 registered easements mapped in the suburb.

Does Terrey Hills have a train station?

There is no train station inside Terrey Hills itself. The suburb is served by 65 bus stops.

What is the population of Terrey Hills?

At the 2021 Census Terrey Hills had 3,142 usual residents, with a median age of 47 and an average household size of 3.0 people. The wider Terrey Hills - Duffys Forest statistical area, which contains Terrey Hills, went from 3,789 people in 2001 to 3,593 in 2025, down 5%.

Is Terrey Hills an advantaged suburb?

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Terrey Hills scores 1118 and sits in decile 10 of 10 nationally and decile 10 within New South Wales (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).

What is the median household income in Terrey Hills?

Median household income in Terrey Hills was $2,778 a week at the 2021 Census, against $2,778 for the typical suburb in Northern Beaches. Median rent was $600 a week and the median mortgage repayment $3,033 a month.

Compare nearby suburbs

Nearby suburb	Distance	Flood mapped	Bushfire-prone
Duffys Forest	3.3 km	Not mapped	73%
Belrose	3.5 km	5%	80%
Ingleside	3.6 km	7%	96%
Oxford Falls	4.8 km	4%	97%
Elanora Heights	4.9 km	5%	60%
St Ives Chase Ku-Ring-Gai	5.2 km	Not mapped	75%
Ku-Ring-Gai Chase	5.7 km	<1%	99%
St Ives Ku-Ring-Gai	6.0 km	3%	58%
Davidson	6.0 km	Not mapped	76%
Cromer	6.1 km	14%	55%

See all Northern Beaches suburb profiles →