Needles flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Needles
(Meander Valley, TAS) - 20.45 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
20.45 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Needles's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top.
Nearby suburbs, nearest first
Aircraft noise and flight paths over Needles
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: 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.
Needles at a glance
How Needles is zoned
Buying in Needles? The zone and code overlays on this page are the Tasmanian Planning Scheme controls a section 337 certificate reports for a title.
Across its 20.45 km², Needles is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 14% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 100% is flagged bushfire-prone. There is 1 heritage-listed site on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Agriculture. The median lot measures about 72,889 m² across 44 parcels.
Who lives in Needles
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Needles 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 943, and decile 6 within Tasmania. The national average is 1000.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Deloraine, the wider ABS statistical area containing Needles. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Needles itself.
5,671 in 2001 to 6,372 in 2025, up 12%.
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.
Needles 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 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 Needles 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 over parts of Needles. The free check tells you whether one reaches an address; where it does, a Flood Model Report is +$9 with the planning report.
See what's in the $9 report →Needles planning - frequently asked
Is Needles flood-prone?
About 14% of Needles falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 15%. Published flood models are held over parts of Needles; the free check on the Flood Model Report page says whether one reaches a given address.
Is Needles bushfire-prone?
Around 100% of Needles is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Meander Valley average of 99%.
Is Needles under a flight path?
No aircraft were observed over Needles in the period sampled (4 Sep 2026 to 3 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 Needles?
The dominant planning zone in Needles is Agriculture, though the suburb also includes Rural and Utilities.
Does Needles have heritage-listed places?
Needles has 1 heritage-listed place on record.
What is the typical lot size in Needles?
Across 44 surveyed parcels in Needles, the median lot size is about 72,889 m².
What is the population of Needles?
At the 2021 Census Needles had 50 usual residents, with a median age of 45 and an average household size of 2.9 people. The wider Deloraine statistical area, which contains Needles, went from 5,671 people in 2001 to 6,372 in 2025, up 12%.
Is Needles an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Needles scores 943 and sits in decile 3 of 10 nationally and decile 6 within Tasmania (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in Needles?
Median household income in Needles was $2,125 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,278 for the typical suburb in Meander Valley. Median rent was $210 a week and the median mortgage repayment $934 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hills | 3.9 km | 18% | 100% |
| Chudleigh | 5.2 km | 14% | 100% |
| Dairy Plains | 5.3 km | 26% | 100% |
| Dunorlan | 5.5 km | 11% | 100% |
| Montana | 6.5 km | 27% | 100% |
| Weegena | 9.7 km | 10% | 100% |
| Deloraine | 10.9 km | 20% | 97% |
| Moltema | 11.2 km | 7% | 100% |
| Weetah | 12.0 km | 6% | 100% |
| Mole Creek | 13.0 km | 12% | 100% |