Back Plains flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Back Plains (Toowoomba Regional, QLD) - 39.96 km², mapped from live council and state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Everything below is suburb-wide. Overlays change block to block - see which ones actually touch your lot. The map is free.
Constraint readout
39.96 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Back Plains's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top. It shows where constraints fall; the interactive map shows them on your exact address.
Back Plains flood risk at the property level
Overlay percentages say how much land is constrained; these figures say how many properties are actually touched, from our lot-by-lot analysis of 79 Back Plains properties.
Lot-level readout
Flood-risk rating across all 79 properties
From LayeredGeo's lot-risk engine: council flood overlays, historical flooding and terrain, resolved to each individual lot in Back Plains.
Back Plains at a glance
How Back Plains is zoned
Selling in Back Plains? 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 39.96 km², Back Plains is highly constrained by planning overlays. Flood mapping covers the suburb and none of it falls within a mapped flood overlay, and 3% is flagged bushfire-prone. The dominant land-use zone is Rural. The terrain is largely flat, and the median lot measures about 479,148 m² across 70 parcels. These figures are suburb-wide - the overlays that actually apply to a given lot can differ block to block, which is what a property-level check tells you.
Who lives in Back Plains
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Back Plains suburb boundary itself, not a wider region.
Socio-economic standing
ABS SEIFA 2021 ranks every Australian suburb. Decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth of the country, decile 10 the least.
Score 1000, and decile 7 within Queensland. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Back Plains's 104 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Clifton - Greenmount, the wider ABS statistical area containing Back Plains. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Back Plains itself.
3,760 in 2001 to 5,433 in 2025, up 44%.
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics. Census of Population and Housing 2021 (General Community Profile) and SEIFA 2021, both published at the Suburbs and Localities level; Regional Population (estimated resident population) at Statistical Area Level 2. Used under CC BY 4.0. Census counts of small populations are randomly adjusted by the ABS to protect confidentiality, so figures for small suburbs are indicative.
Check a specific Back Plains 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 →Back Plains planning - frequently asked
Where can I see a flood map of Back Plains?
The schematic on this page is a Back Plains flood map: the mapped flood overlays drawn over the suburb's terrain and street grid. Flood lines vary block to block, so for a specific property use the free interactive map - search any Back Plains address and it shows the flood, zoning and bushfire mapping on the exact lot boundary.
Is Back Plains flood-prone?
Flood mapping covers Back Plains and none of the suburb falls within a mapped flood overlay (the Toowoomba Regional average is 13%). Looking lot by lot, 0% of the 79 properties we analysed in Back Plains carry some level of mapped flood risk. Flood overlays vary block to block, so whether a particular lot is affected needs a property-level check.
Is Back Plains bushfire-prone?
Yes - around 3% of Back Plains is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Toowoomba Regional average of 20%. A bushfire-prone designation can trigger additional building requirements, so check the specific address.
What is the zoning in Back Plains?
The dominant planning zone in Back Plains is Rural, though the suburb also includes Community Facilities. Zoning sets what you can build and do on a site, and can differ lot by lot.
Does Back Plains have heritage-listed places?
No heritage-listed places are on record within Back Plains. Even so, it is worth confirming for an individual property before any works.
Is Back Plains hilly or flat?
Back Plains is largely flat: the median lot slope is about 3%. Ground level runs from roughly 431 m to 507 m AHD across the suburb. Slope drives site costs - cut and fill, retaining walls and driveway grades - so it is worth knowing before you commit to a sloping block.
What is the typical lot size in Back Plains?
Across 70 surveyed parcels in Back Plains, the median lot size is about 479,148 m². There are also 1 registered easements mapped in the suburb - an easement can restrict where you can build, so always check the title and overlays for the specific lot.
What is the population of Back Plains?
At the 2021 Census Back Plains had 104 usual residents, with a median age of 42 and an average household size of 2.7 people. The wider Clifton - Greenmount statistical area, which contains Back Plains, went from 3,760 people in 2001 to 5,433 in 2025, up 44%. ABS publishes no annual population series for individual suburbs, so that trend describes the surrounding area rather than Back Plains alone.
Is Back Plains an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Back Plains scores 1000 and sits in decile 6 of 10 nationally and decile 7 within Queensland - decile 1 being the most disadvantaged tenth of Australian suburbs and decile 10 the least. The national average score is 1000. SEIFA summarises income, education, occupation and housing across the whole suburb, so it describes the area, not any particular household in it.
What is the median household income in Back Plains?
Median household income in Back Plains was $1,812 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,583 for the typical suburb in Toowoomba Regional. Median rent was $265 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,460 a month. These are 2021 Census figures and have not been indexed to today.
Do I need a planning report for a Back Plains property?
A Back Plains planning report pulls every overlay - zoning, flood, bushfire, heritage and environmental - that touches a single lot, on live council and state data. The interactive map preview is free; a full PDF report is $9.