Byron Shire flood map check

Byron Shire Council publishes its own flood mapping, and the Site Checker reads it for any Byron Shire address. The checker reads its flood planning area, the West Byron Bay flood planning area made by a 2014 SEPP amendment, and the probable maximum flood envelope it labels flood prone land.

Type an address below to see what each map says about the block, with its source and date.

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Is my Byron Shire property flood affected?

A Byron Shire property is flood affected for planning when any part of it is in Byron Shire Council's flood planning area, or in the West Byron Bay flood planning area. 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 Byron Shire Council's, and the questions below explain how to get it.

Where is the Byron Shire Council flood map?

Byron Shire Council's flood mapping is a layer of its web map, and its flood information page names flood studies for North Byron, Belongil Creek, the Brunswick River, Marshalls Creek and Tallow Creek.

Which Byron Shire Council flood layers does the Site Checker read?

The council renamed its Future Flood Planning Level layer to Flood Planning Area in May 2023 to match the NSW Floodplain Development Manual, and the checker reads the renamed layer once, so a lot is never reported twice for one polygon. The flood prone land layer is built from probable maximum flood levels and envelopes.

The checker asks 3 layers: Flood Planning Area, Flood Planning Area (West Byron) and Flood Prone / Prone Land. Every one answered a test query on 17 September 2026. Flood model catchment outlines, fill exclusion zones and a floor level survey are left out, and so is the council's layer of February 2022 flood levels, whose licence reads not for distribution.

What is the West Byron Bay flood planning area?

It is a separate flood planning area for West Byron Bay, made in 2014 by an amendment to a State Environmental Planning Policy rather than by the council's own mapping. The checker reads it as a layer of its own, so a West Byron lot shows which of the two maps it is in.

How do I get a flood certificate from Byron Shire Council?

Apply for a Flood Information Certificate, by online form or through one of Byron Shire Council's Development Support Officers. The council says the certificate can tell you about flood risks, how high you should build and what level a flood may get to. Start at its flood information certificate page.

Why does the Byron 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 Byron 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, Byron Shire Council settles it.

What else do people ask?

Does the Byron Shire 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 Byron Shire Council, through a Flood Information Certificate.

If my Byron Shire block is outside the mapped area, can it still flood?

Yes. Byron Shire Council's flood planning area covers the land its studies modelled, from Belongil and Tallow creeks to the Brunswick River, and the council's own page asks you to check whether it holds any flood information for your property at all. 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. Byron 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 Byron Shire Council planning certificate.

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.