Goolwa Beach flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Goolwa Beach
(Alexandrina Council, SA) - 4.26 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
4.26 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Goolwa 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 Goolwa 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 3 Oct 2026
Night movements: observed, lowest 9,000 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.
Goolwa Beach at a glance
How Goolwa Beach is zoned
Selling in Goolwa Beach? The zone and overlays on this page are the Planning and Design Code controls a Form 1 vendor's statement has to disclose.
Across its 4.26 km², Goolwa Beach is highly constrained by planning overlays. Flood mapping covers the suburb and none of it falls within a mapped flood overlay, and 95% is flagged bushfire-prone. There is 1 heritage-listed site on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Neighbourhood. The median lot measures about 760 m² across 1,731 parcels.
Who lives in Goolwa Beach
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Goolwa 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 907, and decile 2 within South Australia. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Goolwa Beach's 2,222 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Goolwa - Port Elliot, the wider ABS statistical area containing Goolwa Beach. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Goolwa Beach itself.
7,889 in 2001 to 13,711 in 2025, up 74%.
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.
Goolwa 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 | the South Australian Planning and Design Code and Location SA spatial data |
| Bushfire-prone mapping | Mapped | the South Australian Planning and Design Code and Location SA spatial data |
| Zoning | Mapped | the South Australian Planning and Design Code and Location SA spatial data |
| Heritage and environment | Mapped where published | the South Australian Planning and Design Code and Location SA spatial data |
| Aircraft noise contours (ANEF) | Not held | the South Australian Planning and Design Code and Location SA spatial data, 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 Goolwa 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.
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 Goolwa Beach lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Goolwa Beach planning - frequently asked
Is Goolwa Beach flood-prone?
Flood mapping covers Goolwa Beach and none of the suburb falls within a mapped flood overlay (the council-wide suburb average is 16%).
Is Goolwa Beach bushfire-prone?
Around 95% of Goolwa Beach is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Alexandrina Council average of 100%.
Is Goolwa Beach under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed over about 20% of Goolwa Beach in the period sampled, but only above 3,000 ft - the lowest measured was 3,000 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 Goolwa Beach?
The dominant planning zone in Goolwa Beach is Neighbourhood, though the suburb also includes Rural and Conservation.
Does Goolwa Beach have heritage-listed places?
Goolwa Beach has 1 heritage-listed place on record.
What is the typical lot size in Goolwa Beach?
Across 1,731 surveyed parcels in Goolwa Beach, the median lot size is about 760 m².
What is the population of Goolwa Beach?
At the 2021 Census Goolwa Beach had 2,222 usual residents, with a median age of 58 and an average household size of 2.1 people. The wider Goolwa - Port Elliot statistical area, which contains Goolwa Beach, went from 7,889 people in 2001 to 13,711 in 2025, up 74%.
Is Goolwa Beach an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Goolwa Beach scores 907 and sits in decile 2 of 10 nationally and decile 2 within South Australia (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in Goolwa Beach?
Median household income in Goolwa Beach was $916 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,655 for the typical suburb in Alexandrina Council. Median rent was $275 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,083 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goolwa | 2.9 km | 4% | 100% |
| Goolwa South | 5.8 km | 79% | 94% |
| Goolwa North | 5.8 km | 79% | 100% |
| Middleton | 5.8 km | 0% | 99% |
| Currency Creek | 7.7 km | 20% | 100% |
| Port Elliot | 8.1 km | 0% | 99% |
| Chiton | 9.5 km | 3% | 98% |
| Hayborough City of Victor Harbor |
10.7 km | 2% | 50% |
| Hindmarsh Island | 11.1 km | 90% | 100% |
| Mccracken City of Victor Harbor |
11.9 km | 10% | 54% |