Airlie Beach flood map & planning overlays

A planning-constraint profile of Airlie Beach (Whitsunday Regional, QLD) - 3.22 km², mapped from live council and state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 12 September 2026.

Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Airlie Beach's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top.

Nearby suburbs, nearest first

Airlie Beach at a glance

Parcels 1,687 Median lot 871 m² Mapped easements 279 Bus stops 10 Schools in suburb 0

Schools in and near Airlie Beach

Public school-location data shows availability across the suburb. These figures do not rate schools and do not assign a particular address to a catchment.

Inside the suburb boundary

0

0 schools providing primary years and 0 providing secondary years. A combined school may be counted in both teaching levels.

Nearest school availability

Primary: 0.91 km from the suburb boundary

Secondary: 3.71 km from the suburb boundary

Source: Queensland Government school geographic information. Catchment boundaries can divide a suburb and change over time; use the official catchment finder for a specific address.

How Airlie Beach is zoned

Low density residential 28%
Community facilities 18%
Recreation and open space 15%
Mixed use 14%
Low-medium density residential 12%
Rural 9%

Selling in Airlie Beach? The lot-level zone is the zoning Part 3 of Queensland's Form 2 seller disclosure statement asks for - see our Form 2 planning data guide.

Across its 3.22 km², Airlie Beach is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 40% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 87% is flagged bushfire-prone. The dominant land-use zone is Low density residential. The median lot measures about 871 m² across 1,687 parcels.

Who lives in Airlie Beach

Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Airlie Beach suburb boundary itself, not a wider region.

Population
1,312
usual residents, 2021
Median age
41
years
Median household income
$1,562
per week, Whitsunday Regional suburb typical $1,499
Median rent
$380
per week, Whitsunday Regional suburb typical $295
Median mortgage
$1,925
per month
Household size
1.8
people, average

Socio-economic standing

ABS SEIFA 2021 ranks every Australian suburb. Decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth of the country, decile 10 the least.

Advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD) Decile 6
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Score 1002, and decile 8 within Queensland. The national average is 1000.

Relative disadvantage (IRSD) Decile 5
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Age profile

Share of Airlie Beach's 1,312 residents in each ABS age band.

0-4 1.8%
5-14 4.0%
15-19 2.0%
20-24 7.8%
25-34 26.5%
35-44 13.9%
45-54 14.0%
55-64 16.6%
65-74 9.7%
75-84 3.4%
85+ 0.2%

Population trend, 2001 to 2025

Estimated resident population of Airlie - Whitsundays, the wider ABS statistical area containing Airlie Beach. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Airlie Beach itself.

8,192 in 2001 to 16,597 in 2025, up 103%.

Source: ABS Census 2021 and SEIFA 2021 (Suburbs and Localities), Regional Population (SA2), CC BY 4.0. Small counts are randomly adjusted by the ABS.

Airlie Beach data sources and coverage

“Not mapped” means we hold no source layer for this suburb - never an all-clear.

DatasetCoveragePublisher
Flood mappingMappedthe relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data
Bushfire-prone mappingMappedthe relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data
ZoningMappedthe relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data
Heritage and environmentMapped where publishedthe relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data
Aircraft noise contours (ANEF)Not heldthe relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data, Defence
DemographicsAvailableAustralian Bureau of Statistics (2021 Census and SEIFA)
School availabilityAvailableQueensland Government

Profile last materially updated 12 September 2026. See the methodology and full source list. Source data changes over time and critical decisions should be checked with the responsible authority.

Check a specific Airlie Beach address

See exactly which overlays touch a single property - the interactive map is free. Need it on paper? A full planning PDF is just $9.

Building or pricing a slab? The $119 geotechnical desktop report covers geology, soils, bores and an indicative AS 2870 site class for a Airlie Beach lot.

See what's in the $9 report →

Airlie Beach planning - frequently asked

Is Airlie Beach flood-prone?

About 40% of Airlie Beach falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 48%.

Is Airlie Beach bushfire-prone?

Around 87% of Airlie Beach is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Whitsunday Regional average of 69%.

What is the zoning in Airlie Beach?

The dominant planning zone in Airlie Beach is Low density residential, though the suburb also includes Community facilities and Recreation and open space.

Does Airlie Beach have heritage-listed places?

No heritage-listed places are on record within Airlie Beach.

What is the typical lot size in Airlie Beach?

Across 1,687 surveyed parcels in Airlie Beach, the median lot size is about 871 m². There are also 279 registered easements mapped in the suburb.

Does Airlie Beach have a train station?

There is no train station inside Airlie Beach itself. The suburb is served by 10 bus stops.

What is the population of Airlie Beach?

At the 2021 Census Airlie Beach had 1,312 usual residents, with a median age of 41 and an average household size of 1.8 people. The wider Airlie - Whitsundays statistical area, which contains Airlie Beach, went from 8,192 people in 2001 to 16,597 in 2025, up 103%.

Is Airlie Beach an advantaged suburb?

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Airlie Beach scores 1002 and sits in decile 6 of 10 nationally and decile 8 within Queensland (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).

What is the median household income in Airlie Beach?

Median household income in Airlie Beach was $1,562 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,499 for the typical suburb in Whitsunday Regional. Median rent was $380 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,925 a month.

Compare nearby suburbs

Nearby suburbDistanceFlood mappedBushfire-prone
Mandalay 2.0 km 87% 71%
Jubilee Pocket 2.0 km 19% 90%
Cannonvale 2.8 km 36% 76%
Flametree 3.3 km 68% 97%
Mount Rooper 4.9 km 4% 91%
Shute Harbour 7.8 km 76% 66%
Riordanvale 7.8 km 6% 91%
Brandy Creek 7.9 km <1% 92%
Woodwark 8.5 km 44% 93%
Cannon Valley 8.5 km 42% 76%

See all Whitsunday Regional suburb profiles →