Balberra flood map & planning overlays
Balberra is joint 4th-flattest in Mackay Regional, on a 0.7% median slope.
Things you won't regret: spending $9 to know the lot before you commit.
Free map preview, then PDF reports from $9 - about the price of an iced latte on a public holiday.
A planning-constraint profile of Balberra
(Mackay Regional, QLD) - 61.58 km², mapped from live council and
state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 7 November 2026.
Constraint readout
61.58 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Balberra'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 Balberra properties?
Counts of properties, not share of land, across 309 analysed Balberra properties; no individual property result is identified.
Lot-level readout
Flood-risk rating across all 309 properties
From LayeredGeo's lot-risk engine: council flood overlays, historical flooding and terrain, resolved to each individual lot in Balberra.
Aircraft noise and flight paths over Balberra
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
typical observed square 0 a day
Night movements: observed, lowest 3,500 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.
Balberra at a glance
Schools in and near Balberra
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
0 schools providing primary years and 0 providing secondary years. A combined school may be counted in both teaching levels.
Nearest school availability
Primary: 0.82 km from the suburb boundary
Secondary: 11.13 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 Balberra is zoned
Selling in Balberra? 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 61.58 km², Balberra is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 46% of the suburb sits 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 26,579 m² across 299 parcels.
Who lives in Balberra
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Balberra 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 954, and decile 5 within Queensland. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Balberra's 425 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Walkerston - Eton, the wider ABS statistical area containing Balberra. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Balberra itself.
6,919 in 2001 to 8,749 in 2025, up 26%.
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.
Balberra data sources and coverage
“Not mapped” means we hold no source layer for this suburb - never an all-clear.
| Dataset | Coverage | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| Flood mapping | Mapped | the relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data |
| Bushfire-prone mapping | Mapped | the relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data |
| Zoning | Mapped | the relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data |
| Heritage and environment | Mapped where published | the relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data |
| Aircraft noise contours (ANEF) | Not held | the relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data, Defence |
| Observed flight paths | Observed | adsb.lol, under the Open Database License |
| Demographics | Available | Australian Bureau of Statistics (2021 Census and SEIFA) |
| School availability | Available | Queensland 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 Balberra 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 30% of Balberra. 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 Balberra. 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).
Building or pricing a slab? The $119 geotechnical desktop report covers geology, soils, bores and the indicative soil reactivity range to expect for a Balberra lot.
Balberra planning - frequently asked
Is Balberra flood-prone?
About 46% of Balberra falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 36%. Across the suburb, 60% of the 309 properties we analysed carry some level of mapped flood risk, including 35 rated high risk or historically affected. Published flood models are held over parts of Balberra; the free check on the Flood Model Report page says whether one reaches a given address.
Is Balberra bushfire-prone?
Around 3% of Balberra is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Mackay Regional average of 26%.
Is Balberra under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 30% of Balberra, and over about 46% 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 3,000 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 0 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 Balberra?
The dominant planning zone in Balberra is Rural, though the suburb also includes Conservation and Open space.
Does Balberra have heritage-listed places?
No heritage-listed places are on record within Balberra.
Is Balberra hilly or flat?
Balberra is largely flat: the median ground slope is about 1%. Ground level runs from roughly 3 m to 26 m AHD across the suburb.
What is the typical lot size in Balberra?
Across 299 surveyed parcels in Balberra, the median lot size is about 26,579 m². There are also 86 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
What is the population of Balberra?
At the 2021 Census Balberra had 425 usual residents, with a median age of 47 and an average household size of 2.6 people. The wider Walkerston - Eton statistical area, which contains Balberra, went from 6,919 people in 2001 to 8,749 in 2025, up 26%.
Is Balberra an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Balberra scores 954 and sits in decile 4 of 10 nationally and decile 5 within Queensland (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in Balberra?
Median household income in Balberra was $1,862 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,937 for the typical suburb in Mackay Regional. Median rent was $250 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,997 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chelona | 4.5 km | 89% | 4% |
| Dunnrock | 5.4 km | 93% | <1% |
| Rosella | 6.6 km | 25% | 0% |
| Sandiford | 7.6 km | 42% | <1% |
| McEwens Beach | 8.1 km | 93% | 10% |
| Munbura | 8.1 km | 4% | 4% |
| Alligator Creek | 8.5 km | 16% | 22% |
| Bakers Creek | 9.6 km | 88% | 4% |
| Sunnyside | 9.8 km | <1% | 35% |
| Homebush | 11.4 km | 24% | 12% |