Bellingen flood map check
Bellingen Shire Council publishes its own flood mapping, and the Site Checker reads it for any Bellingen address. Its mapping comes from the Lower Bellinger and Kalang Rivers Floodplain Risk Management Study and Plan, which commenced on 24 November 2021.
Type an address below to see what each map says about the block, with its source and date.
NSW addresses only. Free, and no sign up.
Is my Bellingen property flood affected?
A Bellingen Shire property is flood affected for planning when any part of it is in the flood planning area mapped by the Lower Bellinger and Kalang Rivers Floodplain Risk Management Study and Plan. The Site Checker above reads the council's layers, the NSW Planning Portal map and the NSW SES extents, and shows each answer separately. The official answer is still Bellingen Shire Council's, and the questions below explain how to get it.
Where is the Bellingen Shire Council flood map?
Bellingen Shire Council shows its floodplain study mapping in its online mapping portal, and the study itself, prepared by WMAwater, is on the council's study page.
Which Bellingen Shire Council flood layers does the Site Checker read?
Every polygon on the three layers the checker reads carries the plan's name and its commencement date, and the council says the plan was endorsed by its Coastal Estuaries and Floodplain Advisory Committee and by Council.
The checker asks 3 layers: Flood Planning Area levels, 1% AEP Event levels and Probable Maximum Flood levels. Every one answered a test query on 17 September 2026. The study area outline, the 5 year and 5% AEP events and the hydraulic categories are left out: none is a control a reading can state, and the hydraulic layer mixes floodway, storage and fringe in one class.
What does a flood planning area mean in Bellingen Shire?
It is the land where the council's flood controls apply, drawn from the flood planning levels in the Lower Bellinger and Kalang Rivers plan: generally the 1% AEP flood level plus a safety margin called freeboard. 1% AEP means a flood with a 1 in 100 chance of being reached or exceeded in any year. The checker also shows whether the lot is inside the 1% AEP event and the probable maximum flood, the largest flood that could reasonably occur.
How do I get a flood certificate from Bellingen Shire Council?
Bellingen Shire Council does not list a separate flood certificate on its website. The formal route is the planning certificate: the combined 10.7(2) and (5) certificate adds any flood studies that apply to the land, and it is applied for through the NSW Planning Portal. Questions about the flood study go to council@bellingen.nsw.gov.au, as the council's study page says.
Why does the Bellingen Shire Council map differ from the state map?
They are drawn by different bodies for different jobs. The NSW SES Flood Database compiles flood extents from studies across the state, while Bellingen Shire Council's map is the one its planning controls are written against, and a flood planning area usually sits above the 1% AEP extent because it adds freeboard. A withdrawn LEP flood map on the Planning Portal shows as a former map with its date, never as a current control. The checker never merges the sources into one verdict, and where they disagree, Bellingen Shire Council settles it.
What else do people ask?
Does the Bellingen flood map show how deep the water would get?
No. An extent says whether land is inside a modelled flood, not how deep or fast the water is. Flood levels in metres AHD (height above average sea level) come from Bellingen Shire Council, through a direct enquiry to the council.
If my Bellingen block is outside the mapped area, can it still flood?
Yes. The Bellingen study covers the lower reaches of the two rivers, so a Dorrigo lot, or one higher up either catchment, is outside all three layers. Land outside every map can still flood from overland flow no study has modelled, and a council can apply flood controls to land its published map does not show.
Is this the same as a section 10.7 planning certificate?
No. Bellingen Shire Council's section 10.7 planning certificate is the formal statement of the controls on a lot, including whether flood related development controls apply. Order one through Bellingen Shire Council planning certificates.
Where does this information come from?
This page and the Site Checker are general information from published maps, not a flood certificate, a section 10.7 planning certificate or a survey. They do not replace advice from the council, your certifier, an engineer, a lawyer or your own designer. Check any decision to buy or build against the council's own documents.