Cardwell flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Cardwell
(Cassowary Coast Regional, QLD) - 47.1 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
47.1 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Cardwell's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top.
Nearby suburbs, nearest first
Cardwell at a glance
Schools in and near Cardwell
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 0 providing secondary years. A combined school may be counted in both teaching levels.
Nearest school availability
Primary: inside the suburb
Secondary: 22.88 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 Cardwell is zoned
Selling in Cardwell? 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 47.1 km², Cardwell is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 55% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 64% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 10 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Rural. The median lot measures about 1,012 m² across 1,300 parcels.
Who lives in Cardwell
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Cardwell 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 850, and decile 1 within Queensland. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Cardwell's 1,320 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Tully, the wider ABS statistical area containing Cardwell. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Cardwell itself.
11,086 in 2001 to 11,867 in 2025, up 7%.
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.
Cardwell 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 Cardwell 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 Cardwell. The free check tells you whether one reaches an address; where it does, a Flood Model Report is +$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 Cardwell lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Cardwell planning - frequently asked
Is Cardwell flood-prone?
About 55% of Cardwell falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 66%.
Is Cardwell bushfire-prone?
Around 64% of Cardwell is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Cassowary Coast Regional average of 16%.
What is the zoning in Cardwell?
The dominant planning zone in Cardwell is Rural, though the suburb also includes Environmental management and conservation and Emerging community.
Does Cardwell have heritage-listed places?
Cardwell has 10 heritage-listed places on record.
What is the typical lot size in Cardwell?
Across 1,300 surveyed parcels in Cardwell, the median lot size is about 1,012 m². There are also 118 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
What is the population of Cardwell?
At the 2021 Census Cardwell had 1,320 usual residents, with a median age of 60 and an average household size of 1.9 people. The wider Tully statistical area, which contains Cardwell, went from 11,086 people in 2001 to 11,867 in 2025, up 7%.
Is Cardwell an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Cardwell scores 850 and sits in decile 1 of 10 nationally and decile 1 within Queensland (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in Cardwell?
Median household income in Cardwell was $846 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,319 for the typical suburb in Cassowary Coast Regional. Median rent was $250 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,278 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ellerbeck | 4.1 km | 85% | 61% |
| Kennedy | 10.5 km | 65% | 60% |
| Carruchan | 10.7 km | 73% | 69% |
| Lumholtz | 12.5 km | 22% | 60% |
| Damper Creek | 13.8 km | 46% | 48% |
| Bilyana | 18.3 km | 73% | 56% |
| Abergowrie Hinchinbrook Shire |
21.1 km | 58% | 62% |
| Dalrymple Creek Hinchinbrook Shire |
24.3 km | 47% | 75% |
| Hinchinbrook | 24.4 km | 14% | 29% |
| Rockingham | 25.0 km | 84% | 43% |