Areas / Gold Coast City / Biggera Waters

Biggera Waters flood map & planning overlays

9,973 residents on median lots of 627 m², with 59.3% flood-mapped. Waterside living, mapped.

A planning-constraint profile of Biggera Waters (Gold Coast City, QLD) - 3.74 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 Biggera Waters'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 Biggera Waters properties?

Counts of properties, not share of land, across 5,972 analysed Biggera Waters properties; no individual property result is identified.

Aircraft noise and flight paths over Biggera Waters

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
100%
of the suburb, at or below 10,000 ft
Below 3,000 ft
100%
of the suburb's area
Lowest measured
500 ft
averaging 2,000 ft · ground movements recorded: on or beside an aerodrome
Busiest square
~6 a day
6 a day below 3,000 ft · ±6% · area average
typical observed square 2 a day

Night movements: observed, lowest 1,500 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.

Biggera Waters at a glance

Parcels 6,127 Median lot 627 m² Mapped easements 300 Bus stops 22 Schools in suburb 1 Landslide overlay <1%

Schools in and near Biggera Waters

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: 0.03 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 Biggera Waters is zoned

Medium density residential 49%
Medium impact industry 12%
Low density residential 12%
Centre 10%
Mixed use 10%
Open space 4%

Selling in Biggera Waters? 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 3.74 km², Biggera Waters is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 59% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay. The dominant land-use zone is Medium density residential. The terrain is largely flat, and the median lot measures about 627 m² across 6,127 parcels.

Recent development applications in Biggera Waters

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

Submitted in the past 12 months

60

Latest included submission: 29 October 2026.

Previous 12 months: 61 (2% lower in the latest period).

Common application types

  • Material change of use: 5

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 8 November 2026. Check the official council register.

Who lives in Biggera Waters

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

Population
9,973
usual residents, 2021
Median age
44
years
Median household income
$1,314
per week, Gold Coast City suburb typical $1,830
Median rent
$430
per week, Gold Coast City suburb typical $450
Median mortgage
$1,699
per month
Household size
2.1
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 5
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Score 972, and decile 6 within Queensland. The national average is 1000.

Relative disadvantage (IRSD) Decile 3
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Age profile

Share of Biggera Waters's 9,973 residents in each ABS age band.

0-4 3.9%
5-14 7.8%
15-19 4.7%
20-24 7.1%
25-34 15.6%
35-44 12.0%
45-54 13.4%
55-64 13.7%
65-74 12.3%
75-84 6.8%
85+ 2.7%

Population trend, 2001 to 2025

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

4,992 in 2001 to 11,016 in 2025, up 121%.

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.

Biggera Waters 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
Development applicationsAvailable as suburb totalsCity of Gold Coast

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 Biggera Waters 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 100% of Biggera Waters. 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 Biggera Waters. 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 Biggera Waters lot.

Biggera Waters planning - frequently asked

Is Biggera Waters flood-prone?

About 59% of Biggera Waters falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 35%. Across the suburb, 85% of the 5,972 properties we analysed carry some level of mapped flood risk, including 4464 rated high risk or historically affected. Published flood models are held over parts of Biggera Waters; the free check on the Flood Model Report page says whether one reaches a given address.

Is Biggera Waters bushfire-prone?

Bushfire mapping covers Biggera Waters and little to none of it is mapped as bushfire-prone (the Gold Coast City average is 50%).

Is Biggera Waters under a flight path?

Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 100% of Biggera Waters, in the period sampled (4 Sep 2026 to 7 Nov 2026). The lowest measured aircraft was at 500 ft, with an average of 2,000 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 6 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 Biggera Waters?

The dominant planning zone in Biggera Waters is Medium density residential, though the suburb also includes Medium impact industry and Low density residential.

Does Biggera Waters have heritage-listed places?

No heritage-listed places are on record within Biggera Waters.

Is Biggera Waters hilly or flat?

Biggera Waters is largely flat: the median ground slope is about 2%. Ground level runs from roughly 2 m to 10 m AHD across the suburb.

What is the typical lot size in Biggera Waters?

Across 6,127 surveyed parcels in Biggera Waters, the median lot size is about 627 m². There are also 300 registered easements mapped in the suburb.

Does Biggera Waters have a train station?

There is no train station inside Biggera Waters itself. The suburb is served by 22 bus stops.

What is the population of Biggera Waters?

At the 2021 Census Biggera Waters had 9,973 usual residents, with a median age of 44 and an average household size of 2.1 people. The wider Biggera Waters statistical area, which contains Biggera Waters, went from 4,992 people in 2001 to 11,016 in 2025, up 121%.

Is Biggera Waters an advantaged suburb?

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Biggera Waters scores 972 and sits in decile 5 of 10 nationally and decile 6 within Queensland (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).

What is the median household income in Biggera Waters?

Median household income in Biggera Waters was $1,314 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,830 for the typical suburb in Gold Coast City. Median rent was $430 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,699 a month.

Compare nearby suburbs

Nearby suburbDistanceFlood mappedBushfire-prone
Labrador 1.9 km 49% 9%
Runaway Bay 2.2 km 68% 13%
Arundel 2.9 km 27% 56%
Coombabah 3.2 km 73% 61%
Parkwood 3.8 km 18% 46%
Hollywell 3.9 km 66% 27%
Main Beach 4.5 km 70% 0%
Southport 5.0 km 27% 25%
Molendinar 5.6 km 5% 40%
Paradise Point 5.8 km 86% 2%

See all Gold Coast City suburb profiles →