A father called on to help his eldest son when he got into trouble in storm-swept seas in northern NSW returned to find his younger son floating face down.
The six-year-old boy has become the sixth person killed by wild weather working its way down Australia's east coast.
The boy was with his father and brother near a rock wall at unpatrolled South Ballina beach early on Saturday afternoon when his older brother got into trouble and his father swam to help.
They returned to find the younger boy floating face down, Surf Life Saving Far North Coast duty officer Jimmy Keough told AAP.
The boy was dragged onto the rock wall, where fisherman helped deliver CPR, he said.
Volunteer surf lifesavers and paramedics arrived to take over before he was flown by helicopter to Gold Coast Hospital, where he died.
The storm front, which brought record downpours to southern Queensland on Friday, created treacherous beach conditions along the NSW coast, including massive waves and dangerous rips, Mr Keough said.
He described the beach, which lies across the Richmond River from the town of Ballina, as remote and unpatrolled.
"It would have been treacherous at the time of the incident," he said.
The death comes after authorities confirmed that five Queenslanders killed on Friday, including a five-year-old boy, died after trying to drive on flooded roads.
The NSW State Emergency Service received more than 1000 call-outs and performed more than 22 flood rescues on Friday night and Saturday, most involving cars, as the low pressure system moved south.
At one point, up to 9000 people were cut off by floodwaters. By Saturday evening the number had fallen to about 3500, spokesman Phil Campbell said.
He said Bellingen and Lismore were the worst affected areas as nearby rivers broke their banks.
The Bureau of Meteorology called off a severe weather warning for the region at 6.15pm.
"We are still expecting things will ease off in most areas overnight, and the remaining areas tomorrow," spokesman Phil Campbell said.
He said rain would hit Sydney on Saturday night with the chance of heavy downpours in the morning.
"We're keeping a close eye on it."
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