Balgal Beach flood map & planning overlays

A planning-constraint profile of Balgal Beach (Townsville City, QLD) - 12.63 km², mapped from live council and state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 19 September 2026.

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

Nearby suburbs, nearest first

How common is mapped flood risk across Balgal Beach properties?

Overlay percentages say how much land is constrained; these figures say how many properties are actually touched in a suburb-wide analysis of 769 Balgal Beach properties. No individual property result is identified on this page.

Balgal Beach at a glance

Parcels 760 Median lot 888 m² Mapped easements 116 Schools in suburb 0

Schools in and near Balgal 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: 0.24 km from the suburb boundary

Secondary: 12.82 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 Balgal Beach is zoned

Rural 70%
Sport and Recreation 10%
Rural Residential 10%
Low Density Residential 5%
Conservation 5%
Open Space 0%

Selling in Balgal 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 12.63 km², Balgal Beach is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 38% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 85% is flagged bushfire-prone. The dominant land-use zone is Rural. The terrain is largely flat, and the median lot measures about 888 m² across 760 parcels.

Recent development applications in Balgal Beach

Applications are counted across the whole gazetted suburb from the public Townsville City Council register. No application address or individual property is published here.

Submitted in the past 12 months

13

Latest included submission: 20 August 2026.

Previous 12 months: 22 (41% lower in the latest period).

Counts depend on applications that the council publishes and that can be assigned to a suburb. Categories can overlap when one application covers several types. Totals below five and their latest dates are suppressed. Register last synchronised 19 September 2026. Check the official council register.

Who lives in Balgal Beach

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

Population
998
usual residents, 2021
Median age
58
years
Median household income
$936
per week, Townsville City suburb typical $1,510
Median rent
$273
per week, Townsville City suburb typical $291
Median mortgage
$1,192
per month
Household size
2.0
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 1
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Score 872, and decile 2 within Queensland. The national average is 1000.

Relative disadvantage (IRSD) Decile 1
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Age profile

Share of Balgal Beach's 998 residents in each ABS age band.

0-4 2.2%
5-14 9.1%
15-19 3.0%
20-24 3.1%
25-34 5.1%
35-44 7.6%
45-54 14.0%
55-64 21.0%
65-74 23.5%
75-84 10.7%
85+ 0.9%

Population trend, 2001 to 2025

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

5,363 in 2001 to 7,196 in 2025, up 34%.

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.

Balgal 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
Development applicationsAvailable as suburb totalsTownsville City Council

Profile last materially updated 19 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 Balgal 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.

Published flood models are held over parts of Balgal Beach. 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 (+$9 with the planning report).

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

See what's in the $9 report →

Balgal Beach planning - frequently asked

Is Balgal Beach flood-prone?

About 38% of Balgal Beach falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 39%. Across the suburb, 0% of the 769 properties we analysed carry some level of mapped flood risk.

Is Balgal Beach bushfire-prone?

Around 85% of Balgal Beach is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Townsville City average of 50%.

What is the zoning in Balgal Beach?

The dominant planning zone in Balgal Beach is Rural, though the suburb also includes Sport and Recreation and Rural Residential.

Does Balgal Beach have heritage-listed places?

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

Is Balgal Beach hilly or flat?

Balgal Beach is largely flat: the median ground slope is about 1%. Ground level runs from roughly 4 m to 13 m AHD across the suburb.

What is the typical lot size in Balgal Beach?

Across 760 surveyed parcels in Balgal Beach, the median lot size is about 888 m². There are also 116 registered easements mapped in the suburb.

What is the population of Balgal Beach?

At the 2021 Census Balgal Beach had 998 usual residents, with a median age of 58 and an average household size of 2.0 people. The wider Northern Beaches statistical area, which contains Balgal Beach, went from 5,363 people in 2001 to 7,196 in 2025, up 34%.

Is Balgal Beach an advantaged suburb?

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Balgal Beach scores 872 and sits in decile 1 of 10 nationally and decile 2 within Queensland (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).

What is the median household income in Balgal Beach?

Median household income in Balgal Beach was $936 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,510 for the typical suburb in Townsville City. Median rent was $273 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,192 a month.

Compare nearby suburbs

Nearby suburbDistanceFlood mappedBushfire-prone
Rollingstone 2.7 km 25% 86%
Toomulla 7.5 km 72% 96%
Clemant 10.0 km 11% 92%
Mutarnee 11.6 km 26% 84%
Crystal Creek 12.1 km 3% 62%
Bluewater Park 19.4 km 0% 93%
Bluewater 20.6 km 29% 88%
Coolbie
Hinchinbrook Shire
20.7 km 59% 33%
Paluma 23.0 km 7% 14%
Toolakea 23.2 km 100% 55%

See all Townsville City suburb profiles →