Chelmer flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Chelmer
(Brisbane City, QLD) - 1.84 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
1.84 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Chelmer's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top.
Nearby suburbs, nearest first
How common is mapped flood risk across Chelmer properties?
Overlay percentages say how much land is constrained; these figures say how many properties are actually touched in a suburb-wide analysis of 1,638 Chelmer properties. No individual property result is identified on this page.
Lot-level readout
Flood-risk rating across all 1,638 properties
From LayeredGeo's lot-risk engine: council flood overlays, historical flooding and terrain, resolved to each individual lot in Chelmer.
Chelmer flood history and overland flow
These are suburb-wide totals across 1,638 analysed properties. They show how common each mapped category is across Chelmer; they do not identify or describe any individual property.
Recorded historical flood mapping
1,213 analysed properties intersect at least one mapped historical event extent.
- Historic Flood 1974: 1,210
- January 2011: 970
- February 2022: 638
Mapped overland flow
393 analysed properties carry a mapped overland-flow category.
- Low: 102
- Medium: 179
- High: 9
- Affected: 103
Source: Brisbane City Council flood mapping, aggregated by LayeredGeo. Categories are only shown where at least five analysed properties share them. An address-level check is still required to determine whether a particular lot is mapped.
Chelmer at a glance
Schools in and near Chelmer
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 schools providing primary years and 1 providing secondary years. A combined school may be counted in both teaching levels.
Nearest school availability
Primary: 0.06 km from the suburb boundary
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 Chelmer is zoned
Selling in Chelmer? 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 1.84 km², Chelmer is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 89% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay. There are 20 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Low density residential. The terrain is largely flat, and the median lot measures about 508 m² across 1,463 parcels.
Recent development applications in Chelmer
Applications are counted across the whole gazetted suburb from the public Brisbane City Council register. No application address or individual property is published here.
Submitted in the past 12 months
Latest included submission: 5 August 2026.
Previous 12 months: 38 (45% lower in the latest period).
Common application types
- Material change of use: 5
- Building work: 17
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 20 September 2026. Check the official council register.
Who lives in Chelmer
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Chelmer 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 1166, and decile 10 within Queensland. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Chelmer's 3,325 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Chelmer - Graceville, the wider ABS statistical area containing Chelmer. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Chelmer itself.
6,612 in 2001 to 8,015 in 2025, up 21%.
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.
Chelmer property market snapshot
Queensland Government publishes this as a SA2 market series for Chelmer - Graceville, the wider statistical area containing Chelmer. It is not a valuation and is not specific to this suburb or any individual property.
House sales
Median sale price from 200 sales over 12 months to March 2026.
Unit sales
Median sale price from 30 sales over 12 months to March 2026.
Source: Queensland Government Statistician's Office (QGSO). View the source profile. The same SA2 figure can appear on several suburb pages within that statistical area.
Chelmer 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 |
| Market statistics | Available at SA2 level | Queensland Government Statistician's Office (QGSO) |
| Development applications | Available as suburb totals | Brisbane 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 Chelmer 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 here: a Flood Model Report is available for about 1,600 Chelmer addresses (+$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 Chelmer lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Chelmer planning - frequently asked
Is Chelmer flood-prone?
About 89% of Chelmer falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 40%. Across the suburb, 88% of the 1,638 properties we analysed carry some level of mapped flood risk, including 196 rated high risk or historically affected.
Is Chelmer bushfire-prone?
Bushfire mapping covers Chelmer and little to none of it is mapped as bushfire-prone (the Brisbane City average is 27%).
What is the zoning in Chelmer?
The dominant planning zone in Chelmer is Low density residential, though the suburb also includes Character residential (Character) and Sport and recreation (District).
Does Chelmer have heritage-listed places?
Chelmer has 20 heritage-listed places on record.
Is Chelmer hilly or flat?
Chelmer is largely flat: the median ground slope is about 4%, and 7% of measured points sit on grades of 15% or steeper. Ground level runs from roughly 5 m to 18 m AHD across the suburb.
What is the typical lot size in Chelmer?
Across 1,463 surveyed parcels in Chelmer, the median lot size is about 508 m². There are also 82 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
Does Chelmer have a train station?
Yes - Chelmer has 1 train station: Chelmer station. It is also served by 6 bus stops.
What is the population of Chelmer?
At the 2021 Census Chelmer had 3,325 usual residents, with a median age of 41 and an average household size of 3.0 people. The wider Chelmer - Graceville statistical area, which contains Chelmer, went from 6,612 people in 2001 to 8,015 in 2025, up 21%.
Is Chelmer an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Chelmer scores 1166 and sits in decile 10 of 10 nationally and decile 10 within Queensland (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in Chelmer?
Median household income in Chelmer was $3,402 a week at the 2021 Census, against $2,122 for the typical suburb in Brisbane City. Median rent was $490 a week and the median mortgage repayment $3,000 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indooroopilly | 0.9 km | 56% | 40% |
| Graceville | 1.2 km | 89% | 0% |
| Sherwood | 2.1 km | 63% | 12% |
| Taringa | 2.1 km | 27% | 39% |
| Fig Tree Pocket | 2.3 km | 69% | 66% |
| Chapel Hill | 2.9 km | 20% | 65% |
| Tennyson | 3.1 km | 100% | 11% |
| St Lucia | 3.4 km | 64% | 13% |
| Corinda | 3.5 km | 54% | 27% |
| Yeronga | 3.6 km | 74% | <1% |