Tweed Heads flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Tweed Heads
(Tweed, NSW) - 4.55 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
4.55 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Tweed Heads'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 Tweed Heads
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
26% 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 between ANEF 25 and 30 is generally unacceptable for new houses; 20 to 25 is conditionally acceptable with noise attenuation. The contour is a forecast, not a measurement at any one house.
Contours held
- tweed_gc_airport_anef
Observed overflight - sampled 4 Sep to 2 Oct 2026
typical observed square 2 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.
Tweed Heads at a glance
How Tweed Heads is zoned
Buying in Tweed Heads? 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 4.55 km², Tweed Heads is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 77% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 8% is flagged bushfire-prone. There is 1 heritage-listed site on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Low Density Residential. The median lot measures about 746 m² across 2,055 parcels.
Who lives in Tweed Heads
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Tweed Heads 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 3 within New South Wales. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Tweed Heads's 9,176 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Tweed Heads, the wider ABS statistical area containing Tweed Heads. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Tweed Heads itself.
17,013 in 2001 to 21,576 in 2025, up 27%.
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.
Tweed Heads 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 Tweed Heads 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 100% of Tweed Heads. 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 Tweed Heads lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Tweed Heads planning - frequently asked
Is Tweed Heads flood-prone?
About 77% of Tweed Heads falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 29%.
Is Tweed Heads bushfire-prone?
Around 8% of Tweed Heads is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Tweed average of 91%.
Is Tweed Heads affected by aircraft noise?
About 26% of Tweed Heads sits inside a published aircraft noise contour, and the highest contour present is ANEF 25 - 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 Tweed Heads under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 100% of Tweed Heads, in the period sampled (4 Sep 2026 to 2 Oct 2026). The lowest measured aircraft was at 500 ft, with an average of 1,000 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 73 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 Tweed Heads?
The dominant planning zone in Tweed Heads is Low Density Residential, though the suburb also includes Medium Density Residential and Working Waterways.
Does Tweed Heads have heritage-listed places?
Tweed Heads has 1 heritage-listed place on record.
What is the typical lot size in Tweed Heads?
Across 2,055 surveyed parcels in Tweed Heads, the median lot size is about 746 m². There are also 8 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
Does Tweed Heads have a train station?
There is no train station inside Tweed Heads itself. The suburb is served by 90 bus stops.
What is the population of Tweed Heads?
At the 2021 Census Tweed Heads had 9,176 usual residents, with a median age of 55 and an average household size of 2.0 people. The wider Tweed Heads statistical area, which contains Tweed Heads, went from 17,013 people in 2001 to 21,576 in 2025, up 27%.
Is Tweed Heads an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Tweed Heads scores 959 and sits in decile 4 of 10 nationally and decile 3 within New South Wales (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in Tweed Heads?
Median household income in Tweed Heads was $1,138 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,394 for the typical suburb in Tweed. Median rent was $403 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,733 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tweed Heads South | 2.2 km | 85% | 42% |
| Tweed Heads West | 2.9 km | 79% | 46% |
| Fingal Head | 4.0 km | 77% | 52% |
| Banora Point | 5.2 km | 55% | 18% |
| Cobaki Lakes | 6.1 km | 54% | 100% |
| Bilambil Heights | 6.2 km | 27% | 80% |
| Terranora | 7.5 km | 30% | 70% |
| Chinderah | 8.0 km | 99% | 64% |
| Cobaki | 8.2 km | 16% | 100% |
| Bilambil | 8.9 km | 22% | 96% |