Areas / Mackay Regional / Alligator Creek

Alligator Creek flood map & planning overlays

Alligator Creek's 12,158 m² lots carry light overlays, 16.5% flood and 22% bushfire.

A planning-constraint profile of Alligator Creek (Mackay Regional, QLD) - 75.26 km², mapped from live council and state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 7 November 2026.

Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Alligator Creek's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top. Magenta is where aircraft were observed in the sampled period, brightest below 3,000 ft.

Nearby suburbs, nearest first

How common is mapped flood risk across Alligator Creek properties?

Counts of properties, not share of land, across 460 analysed Alligator Creek properties; no individual property result is identified.

Aircraft noise and flight paths over Alligator Creek

The ANEF contour is a published planning forecast and observed overflight is what a sampled tracking feed recorded - neither describes any individual property.

Observed overflight - sampled 4 Sep to 7 Nov 2026

Under observed aircraft
50%
of the suburb, at or below 10,000 ft
Below 3,000 ft
18%
of the suburb's area
Lowest measured
500 ft
averaging 5,000 ft
Busiest square
~16 a day
6 a day below 3,000 ft · ±16%
typical observed square 3 a day

Night movements: observed, lowest 2,000 ft - night is sampled as often as day, but night traffic is light, so this is a floor and no rate can be put on it.

How this is measured

Traffic is sampled rather than watched continuously, so every figure is a floor: aircraft not captured between samples are not represented. Rates are per 500 m square - the busiest square in the suburb, not a count of flights over the suburb - and a square is only rated where enough traffic was seen to measure it. Altitudes are above mean sea level. Flight paths change with runway use, weather, season and airspace design. This is a record of observed traffic; it is not a noise contour and not a planning control.

Alligator Creek at a glance

Parcels 466 Median lot 12,158 m² Mapped easements 115 Bus stops 2 Schools in suburb 1 Landslide overlay 16%

Schools in and near Alligator Creek

Public school-location data shows availability across the suburb; it does not rate schools or assign any individual address to a catchment.

Inside the suburb boundary

1

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

Nearest school availability

Primary: inside the suburb

Secondary: 5.79 km from the suburb boundary

Source: Queensland Government school geographic information. Catchment boundaries can divide a suburb and change over time.

Which school zone is a Alligator Creek address in? Check an address with our free school zone checker.

How Alligator Creek is zoned

Rural 72%
Strategic Port Land 18%
Rural residential 5%
Open space 4%
Conservation 0%
Special purpose 0%

Selling in Alligator Creek? 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 75.26 km², Alligator Creek is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 16% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 22% is flagged bushfire-prone. The dominant land-use zone is Rural. The terrain is gently undulating, and the median lot measures about 12,158 m² across 466 parcels.

Who lives in Alligator Creek

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

Population
897
usual residents, 2021
Median age
37
years
Median household income
$2,321
per week, Mackay Regional suburb typical $1,937
Median rent
$200
per week, Mackay Regional suburb typical $272
Median mortgage
$2,167
per month
Household size
2.9
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 987, and decile 7 within Queensland. The national average is 1000.

Relative disadvantage (IRSD) Decile 7
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Age profile

Share of Alligator Creek's 897 residents in each ABS age band.

0-4 6.9%
5-14 15.3%
15-19 6.1%
20-24 3.1%
25-34 13.5%
35-44 12.8%
45-54 15.3%
55-64 15.1%
65-74 8.7%
75-84 2.9%
85+ 0.3%

Population trend, 2001 to 2025

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

9,620 in 2001 to 12,500 in 2025, up 30%.

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.

Alligator Creek 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
Observed flight pathsObservedadsb.lol, under the Open Database License
DemographicsAvailableAustralian Bureau of Statistics (2021 Census and SEIFA)
School availabilityAvailableQueensland Government

Profile last materially updated 7 November 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 Alligator Creek 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.

See what's in the $9 report →

Aircraft have been seen below 3,000 ft over about 18% of Alligator Creek. The report's Aircraft Overflight page narrows that to the address itself: how many aircraft a day, how low, and at what heights.

Published flood models are held over parts of Alligator Creek. The free check tells you whether one reaches an address; where it does, a Flood Model Report is +$9 with the planning report.

The Terrain Report shows the fall of the block - contours, cross sections and a 3D model of the lot to spin round in your browser (+$9 with the planning report).

Moving here? The Liveability section adds walking times from the address to schools, parks, shops and transport, and the school zones it sits in (+$9 with the planning report).

Building or pricing a slab? The $119 geotechnical desktop report covers geology, soils, bores and the indicative soil reactivity range to expect for a Alligator Creek lot.

Alligator Creek planning - frequently asked

Is Alligator Creek flood-prone?

About 16% of Alligator Creek falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 36%. Across the suburb, 8% of the 460 properties we analysed carry some level of mapped flood risk, including 36 rated high risk or historically affected. Published flood models are held over parts of Alligator Creek; the free check on the Flood Model Report page says whether one reaches a given address.

Is Alligator Creek bushfire-prone?

Around 22% of Alligator Creek is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Mackay Regional average of 26%.

Is Alligator Creek under a flight path?

Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 18% of Alligator Creek, and over about 50% at any altitude up to 10,000 ft, in the period sampled (4 Sep 2026 to 7 Nov 2026). The lowest measured aircraft was at 500 ft, with an average of 5,000 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 16 aircraft a day were recorded passing over one 500 m square. Traffic is sampled rather than watched continuously and flight paths change with runway use, weather and season; the ANEF contour is the planning instrument.

What is the zoning in Alligator Creek?

The dominant planning zone in Alligator Creek is Rural, though the suburb also includes Strategic Port Land and Rural residential.

Does Alligator Creek have heritage-listed places?

No heritage-listed places are on record within Alligator Creek.

Is Alligator Creek hilly or flat?

Alligator Creek is gently undulating: the median ground slope is about 6%, and 14% of measured points sit on grades of 15% or steeper. Ground level runs from roughly 4 m to 73 m AHD across the suburb.

What is the typical lot size in Alligator Creek?

Across 466 surveyed parcels in Alligator Creek, the median lot size is about 12,158 m². There are also 115 registered easements mapped in the suburb.

Does Alligator Creek have a train station?

There is no train station inside Alligator Creek itself. The suburb is served by 2 bus stops.

What is the population of Alligator Creek?

At the 2021 Census Alligator Creek had 897 usual residents, with a median age of 37 and an average household size of 2.9 people. The wider Sarina statistical area, which contains Alligator Creek, went from 9,620 people in 2001 to 12,500 in 2025, up 30%.

Is Alligator Creek an advantaged suburb?

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Alligator Creek scores 987 and sits in decile 6 of 10 nationally and decile 7 within Queensland (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).

What is the median household income in Alligator Creek?

Median household income in Alligator Creek was $2,321 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,937 for the typical suburb in Mackay Regional. Median rent was $200 a week and the median mortgage repayment $2,167 a month.

Compare nearby suburbs

Nearby suburbDistanceFlood mappedBushfire-prone
Hay Point 4.5 km 35% 15%
Dunnrock 6.2 km 93% <1%
Grasstree Beach 7.8 km 11% 44%
McEwens Beach 8.5 km 93% 10%
Balberra 8.5 km 46% 3%
Chelona 10.2 km 89% 4%
Sarina Beach 10.9 km 50% 19%
Rosella 11.3 km 25% 0%
Campwin Beach 11.5 km 64% 13%
Munbura 12.5 km 4% 4%

See all Mackay Regional suburb profiles →