New South Wales · flood risk, by council

How to check flood risk for an address in Hawkesbury City Council

Flood mapping in NSW is the council's. The state layer on the Planning Portal is a copy of what councils have contributed, and the flood notation on the 10.7 certificate is the council's statement for one lot. This page says where Hawkesbury City Council publishes its mapping, in what form, how to check an address against it for free, and what to ask for before you exchange. Links are the council's own, each shown with the date we last checked it.

Links checked 16 September 2026

What Hawkesbury City Council publishes

Hawkesbury City Council publishes its flood studies and flood maps as documents rather than an address-searchable map. You open the study that covers the catchment or town, find the map sheet, and locate the lot on it. It is the council's own mapping and the primary source.

How to check an address in Hawkesbury City Council

  1. Open the NSW Planning Portal Spatial Viewer, search the address, and turn on the Hazard group's Flood Planning layer. A shaded lot means the council's planning instrument applies flood related development controls to it. An unshaded lot means the state dataset holds nothing for it, not that the council's study holds nothing. The flood guide explains that layer in full.
  2. Open the council's flood page from the link above and find the flood study or floodplain risk management study for the catchment or town. Open its maps, find the sheet covering the street, and locate the lot against the legend (the flood planning area is usually the line that matters).
  3. Read the flood notation on the section 10.7(2) planning certificate attached to the contract. It states whether flood related development controls apply to the lot, in the council's own words. Our 10.7 guide says what else it does and does not contain.
  4. Read the NSW SES Local Flood Insights page for the area for the flood history and warnings context the planning layers leave out.

What none of these tell you

Whether water has been inside this house. The planning layers and the council's maps describe modelled flood behaviour on the land, not what happened in a given year in a given room. Ask the agent and the neighbours directly.

What insurance will cost. Insurers run their own flood models. Get a quote for the address before exchange; a flood notation and a high premium do not always go together, and a clear lot can still carry a high premium.

The future. Councils revise flood studies, and the flood planning level can rise. A study dated ten years ago is describing the catchment as it was then.

Questions about flood risk in Hawkesbury City Council

Does Hawkesbury City Council have a flood map?

Not an address-searchable one. Hawkesbury City Council publishes flood studies and flood maps as documents; the link is on this page. Find the study for the catchment, open its map sheets and locate the lot. The 10.7(2) certificate states the council's flood notation for the lot.

How do I get flood information for a property in Hawkesbury City Council?

Read the flood notation on the 10.7(2) planning certificate attached to the contract, then use the council's own source linked on this page. If the council provides flood information on request, apply for it before exchange; a council fee may apply.

Is the state flood layer on the NSW Planning Portal the same as the council's mapping?

No. Since July 2021 councils are responsible for flood mapping in their area, and the Planning Portal's flood layer is a copy of what councils have contributed. A blank result there means the state dataset holds nothing for the lot, not that the council's study does. The council's own mapping is the primary source.

Does Prova replace Hawkesbury City Council's flood information?

No. The free check reads the state flood layer and names the flag. The A$19 report links the council's flood document and compares its mapping with the state layer's answer, and says what to ask the council for the lot.