Port Stephens flood map check

Port Stephens Council publishes its own flood mapping, and the Site Checker reads it for any Port Stephens address. The checker reads its flood planning area and its flood prone land, both in their May 2026 editions.

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

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Is my Port Stephens property flood affected?

A Port Stephens property is flood affected for planning when any part of it is in Port Stephens Council's flood planning area, the land below the flood planning level, or in its flood prone land, the land the probable maximum flood reaches. 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 Port Stephens Council's, and the questions below explain how to get it.

Where is the Port Stephens Council flood map?

Port Stephens Council's flood mapping page links its online flood mapping portal and says its flood hazard maps are being updated with its latest studies. Its flood safety page lists studies for Anna Bay, Medowie, the Paterson River, Shoal Bay, the Williams River and Williamtown and Salt Ash.

Which Port Stephens Council flood layers does the Site Checker read?

The council publishes two editions of each layer. The checker reads the May 2026 ones, 429 flood planning area polygons and 229 flood prone land polygons, because the council's own public flood map draws them, and leaves the November 2023 editions aside. The flood planning area includes overland flow as a class of its own.

The checker asks 2 layers: Flood Planning Area and Flood Prone Land. Every one answered a test query on 17 September 2026.

What is the difference between flood planning area and flood prone land in Port Stephens?

The flood planning area is the land below the flood planning level, where the flood controls in chapter B4 of Port Stephens Council's development control plan apply. Flood prone land reaches further, out to the probable maximum flood, the largest flood that could reasonably occur. A lot can be flood prone without being in the flood planning area.

How do I get a flood certificate from Port Stephens Council?

Apply for a flood certificate on the council's online flooding certificate form. Port Stephens Council says the certificate gives the flood planning level for a lot, the minimum finished floor level for new development, and the same application offers a free Land Check of whether a lot is flood prone. Both are on its flood safety page.

Why does the Port Stephens 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 Port Stephens 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, Port Stephens Council settles it.

What else do people ask?

Does the Port Stephens 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 Port Stephens Council, through a flood certificate.

If my Port Stephens block is outside the mapped area, can it still flood?

Yes. Port Stephens Council says its flood hazard maps are still being updated with its latest studies, so the published extents can lag the newest modelling. 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. Port Stephens 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 Port Stephens 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.