Macquarie Plains flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Macquarie Plains
(Derwent Valley, TAS) - 8.27 km², mapped from live council and
state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 12 September 2026.
Suburb-wide figures; the free map shows which overlays touch your lot.
Constraint readout
8.27 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Macquarie Plains's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top.
Nearby suburbs, nearest first
Aircraft noise and flight paths over Macquarie Plains
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.
Macquarie Plains at a glance
How Macquarie Plains is zoned
Buying in Macquarie Plains? The zone and code overlays on this page are the Tasmanian Planning Scheme controls a section 337 certificate reports for a title.
Across its 8.27 km², Macquarie Plains is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 29% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 91% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 31 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Agriculture. The median lot measures about 12,623 m² across 46 parcels.
Who lives in Macquarie Plains
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Macquarie Plains 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 916, and decile 4 within Tasmania. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Macquarie Plains's 53 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Derwent Valley, the wider ABS statistical area containing Macquarie Plains. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Macquarie Plains itself.
2,973 in 2001 to 3,464 in 2025, up 17%.
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.
Macquarie Plains 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 Tasmanian Planning Scheme and the LIST (Land Tasmania) |
| Bushfire-prone mapping | Mapped | the Tasmanian Planning Scheme and the LIST (Land Tasmania) |
| Zoning | Mapped | the Tasmanian Planning Scheme and the LIST (Land Tasmania) |
| Heritage and environment | Mapped where published | the Tasmanian Planning Scheme and the LIST (Land Tasmania) |
| Aircraft noise contours (ANEF) | Not held | the Tasmanian Planning Scheme and the LIST (Land Tasmania), 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 12 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 Macquarie Plains 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.
Published flood models are held here: a Flood Model Report is available for about 20 Macquarie Plains addresses (+$9 with the planning report).
See what's in the $9 report →Macquarie Plains planning - frequently asked
Is Macquarie Plains flood-prone?
About 29% of Macquarie Plains falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 8%. Modelled flood depth, velocity and flood level are held for about 20 Macquarie Plains addresses, from published flood studies; the free check on the Flood Model Report page says whether a model reaches a given address.
Is Macquarie Plains bushfire-prone?
Around 91% of Macquarie Plains is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Derwent Valley average of 97%.
Is Macquarie Plains under a flight path?
No aircraft were observed over Macquarie Plains 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 Macquarie Plains?
The dominant planning zone in Macquarie Plains is Agriculture, though the suburb also includes Environmental Management and Utilities.
Does Macquarie Plains have heritage-listed places?
Macquarie Plains has 31 heritage-listed places on record.
What is the typical lot size in Macquarie Plains?
Across 46 surveyed parcels in Macquarie Plains, the median lot size is about 12,623 m².
What is the population of Macquarie Plains?
At the 2021 Census Macquarie Plains had 53 usual residents, with a median age of 48 and an average household size of 2.2 people. The wider Derwent Valley statistical area, which contains Macquarie Plains, went from 2,973 people in 2001 to 3,464 in 2025, up 17%.
Is Macquarie Plains an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Macquarie Plains scores 916 and sits in decile 2 of 10 nationally and decile 4 within Tasmania (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in Macquarie Plains?
Median household income in Macquarie Plains was $1,187 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,375 for the typical suburb in Derwent Valley. Median rent was $200 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,192 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rosegarland | 2.8 km | 7% | 100% |
| Bushy Park | 4.0 km | 17% | 91% |
| Plenty | 4.9 km | 15% | 100% |
| Glenora | 5.1 km | 18% | 97% |
| Hayes | 7.2 km | 9% | 100% |
| Karanja | 7.5 km | 10% | 100% |
| Uxbridge | 8.3 km | 4% | 100% |
| Black Hills | 8.7 km | 3% | 100% |
| Gretna Central Highlands |
9.3 km | 6% | 100% |
| Westerway | 10.2 km | 10% | 99% |