Sutherland Shire flood map check
Sutherland Shire Council publishes its own flood mapping, and the Site Checker reads it for any Sutherland Shire address. The checker reads its flood planning level extent, its probable maximum flood and its flood prone land, graded by risk.
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 Sutherland Shire property flood affected?
A Sutherland Shire property is flood affected for planning when any part of it is inside Sutherland Shire Council's flood planning level extent or its mapped flood prone land. 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 Sutherland Shire Council's, and the questions below explain how to get it.
Where is the Sutherland Shire Council flood map?
Sutherland Shire Council's flood maps are in Shire Maps, under its Flood prone land button. Its floodplain management program lists studies of the Woronora River, the Georges River, Kurnell and the Gwawley Bay and Woolooware Bay catchments.
Which Sutherland Shire Council flood layers does the Site Checker read?
The council's flood prone land service carries three flood layers among 26: the flood planning level extent, the probable maximum flood, and flood prone land graded high, medium or low risk, with some land marked known risk or initial assessment. The PMF layer names its study, for example the Oyster Creek floodplain risk management plan of 2010, revised in 2013.
The checker asks 3 layers: Flood Planning Level (FPL), Flood PMF and Flood Prone Land risk. Every one answered a test query on 17 September 2026. The draft overland flow layers for the 2026 Draft Overland Flow Flood Study are left out because the study is a draft.
What does flood prone land mean in Sutherland Shire?
It is land the council's studies show can flood, graded by how much risk that flooding carries: high, medium or low. The grade and the flood planning level together decide which flood controls apply to a development on the lot. Some land is marked known risk or initial assessment instead of a grade, and for that land the council is the one to ask.
How do I get a flood certificate from Sutherland Shire Council?
Apply for a Flood Information Certificate. Sutherland Shire Council asks you to phone its Catchments and Waterways team on 9710 0333 first, to confirm it holds flood information for the property, and then submit the application form. Its flooding questions page has the details.
Why does the Sutherland 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 Sutherland 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, Sutherland Shire Council settles it.
What else do people ask?
Does the Sutherland 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 Sutherland Shire Council, through a Flood Information Certificate.
If my Sutherland Shire block is outside the mapped area, can it still flood?
Yes. Overland flow across the shire is still the subject of a 2026 draft study, so the adopted maps do not yet show what that study may find. 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. Sutherland 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 Sutherland Shire Council planning certificates.
Where does this information come from?
- Sutherland Shire Council flood mapping, the map service the Site Checker reads
- Sutherland Shire Council, flood information
- Sutherland Shire Council, floodplain management program
- Sutherland Shire Council, flooding frequently asked questions
- Sutherland Shire Council planning certificates
- NSW Planning Portal spatial viewer
- NSW SES Flood Database, statewide 1% AEP and probable maximum flood extents
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.