Calen flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Calen
(Mackay Regional, QLD) - 71.93 km², mapped from live council and
state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 19 September 2026.
Suburb-wide figures; the free map shows which overlays touch your lot.
Constraint readout
71.93 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Calen's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top.
Nearby suburbs, nearest first
How common is mapped flood risk across Calen properties?
Overlay percentages say how much land is constrained; these figures say how many properties are actually touched in a suburb-wide analysis of 342 Calen properties. No individual property result is identified on this page.
Lot-level readout
Flood-risk rating across all 342 properties
From LayeredGeo's lot-risk engine: council flood overlays, historical flooding and terrain, resolved to each individual lot in Calen.
Calen at a glance
Schools in and near Calen
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
1 school providing primary years and 2 providing secondary years. A combined school may be counted in both teaching levels.
Nearest school availability
Primary: inside the suburb
Secondary: inside the suburb
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 Calen is zoned
Selling in Calen? 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 71.93 km², Calen is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 3% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 35% is flagged bushfire-prone. The dominant land-use zone is Rural. The terrain is largely flat, and the median lot measures about 2,889 m² across 334 parcels.
Who lives in Calen
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Calen 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 870, and decile 2 within Queensland. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Calen's 427 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Seaforth - Calen, the wider ABS statistical area containing Calen. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Calen itself.
7,079 in 2001 to 8,785 in 2025, up 24%.
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.
Calen 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 |
| Demographics | Available | Australian Bureau of Statistics (2021 Census and SEIFA) |
| School availability | Available | Queensland Government |
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 Calen 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 Calen. 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 Calen lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Calen planning - frequently asked
Is Calen flood-prone?
About 3% of Calen falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 34%. Across the suburb, 4% of the 342 properties we analysed carry some level of mapped flood risk, including 13 rated high risk or historically affected.
Is Calen bushfire-prone?
Around 35% of Calen is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Mackay Regional average of 26%.
What is the zoning in Calen?
The dominant planning zone in Calen is Rural, though the suburb also includes Conservation and Open space.
Does Calen have heritage-listed places?
No heritage-listed places are on record within Calen.
Is Calen hilly or flat?
Calen is largely flat: the median ground slope is about 1%, and 7% of measured points sit on grades of 15% or steeper. Ground level runs from roughly 9 m to 99 m AHD across the suburb.
What is the typical lot size in Calen?
Across 334 surveyed parcels in Calen, the median lot size is about 2,889 m². There are also 14 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
What is the population of Calen?
At the 2021 Census Calen had 427 usual residents, with a median age of 43 and an average household size of 2.5 people. The wider Seaforth - Calen statistical area, which contains Calen, went from 7,079 people in 2001 to 8,785 in 2025, up 24%.
Is Calen an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Calen scores 870 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 Calen?
Median household income in Calen was $1,424 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 $1,300 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pindi Pindi | 4.7 km | <1% | 16% |
| Mount Pelion | 6.7 km | 9% | 37% |
| St Helens Beach | 6.8 km | 32% | 19% |
| Mount Charlton | 11.4 km | 0% | 48% |
| Yalboroo | 11.9 km | <1% | 52% |
| Mount Ossa | 13.1 km | 9% | 44% |
| Mentmore | 15.4 km | 16% | 15% |
| Seaforth | 20.2 km | 21% | 44% |
| Kuttabul | 22.1 km | <1% | 53% |
| Owens Creek | 23.1 km | <1% | 30% |