Coombabah flood map & planning overlays

A planning-constraint profile of Coombabah (Gold Coast City, QLD) - 13.2 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 Coombabah's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top.

Nearby suburbs, nearest first

How common is mapped flood risk across Coombabah properties?

Overlay percentages say how much land is constrained; these figures say how many properties are actually touched in a suburb-wide analysis of 5,350 Coombabah properties. No individual property result is identified on this page.

Coombabah at a glance

Parcels 4,666 Median lot 327 m² Mapped easements 167 Bus stops 30 Schools in suburb 3 Landslide overlay <1%

Schools in and near Coombabah

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

3

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 Coombabah is zoned

Special purpose 37%
Conservation 34%
Medium density residential 13%
Low density residential 7%
Open space 2%
Unzoned 2%

Selling in Coombabah? 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 13.2 km², Coombabah is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 76% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 61% is flagged bushfire-prone. The dominant land-use zone is Special purpose. The terrain is largely flat, and the median lot measures about 327 m² across 4,666 parcels.

Recent development applications in Coombabah

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

16

Latest included submission: 31 August 2026.

Previous 12 months: 10 (60% higher 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 Coombabah

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

Population
10,298
usual residents, 2021
Median age
51
years
Median household income
$1,092
per week, Gold Coast City suburb typical $1,830
Median rent
$415
per week, Gold Coast City suburb typical $450
Median mortgage
$1,647
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 3
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Score 936, and decile 4 within Queensland. The national average is 1000.

Relative disadvantage (IRSD) Decile 3
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Age profile

Share of Coombabah's 10,298 residents in each ABS age band.

0-4 3.8%
5-14 9.9%
15-19 4.1%
20-24 4.0%
25-34 9.6%
35-44 11.0%
45-54 11.4%
55-64 12.7%
65-74 16.5%
75-84 12.6%
85+ 4.3%

Population trend, 2001 to 2025

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

9,075 in 2001 to 10,815 in 2025, up 19%.

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.

Coombabah 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 totalsCity of Gold Coast

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 Coombabah 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 Coombabah. 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 Coombabah lot.

See what's in the $9 report →

Coombabah planning - frequently asked

Is Coombabah flood-prone?

About 76% of Coombabah falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 38%. Across the suburb, 88% of the 5,350 properties we analysed carry some level of mapped flood risk, including 3814 rated high risk or historically affected.

Is Coombabah bushfire-prone?

Around 61% of Coombabah is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Gold Coast City average of 50%.

What is the zoning in Coombabah?

The dominant planning zone in Coombabah is Special purpose, though the suburb also includes Conservation and Medium density residential.

Does Coombabah have heritage-listed places?

No heritage-listed places are on record within Coombabah.

Is Coombabah hilly or flat?

Coombabah is largely flat: the median ground slope is about 2%. Ground level runs from roughly 2 m to 12 m AHD across the suburb.

What is the typical lot size in Coombabah?

Across 4,666 surveyed parcels in Coombabah, the median lot size is about 327 m². There are also 167 registered easements mapped in the suburb.

Does Coombabah have a train station?

There is no train station inside Coombabah itself. The suburb is served by 30 bus stops.

What is the population of Coombabah?

At the 2021 Census Coombabah had 10,298 usual residents, with a median age of 51 and an average household size of 2.1 people. The wider Coombabah statistical area, which contains Coombabah, went from 9,075 people in 2001 to 10,815 in 2025, up 19%.

Is Coombabah an advantaged suburb?

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Coombabah scores 936 and sits in decile 3 of 10 nationally and decile 4 within Queensland (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).

What is the median household income in Coombabah?

Median household income in Coombabah was $1,092 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,830 for the typical suburb in Gold Coast City. Median rent was $415 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,647 a month.

Compare nearby suburbs

Nearby suburbDistanceFlood mappedBushfire-prone
Runaway Bay 3.1 km 78% 13%
Biggera Waters 3.2 km 66% <1%
Helensvale 3.4 km 57% 31%
Arundel 3.4 km 27% 56%
Hollywell 3.4 km 72% 27%
Paradise Point 4.3 km 92% 2%
Hope Island 4.8 km 74% 21%
Parkwood 5.0 km 18% 46%
Labrador 5.0 km 50% 9%
Gaven 5.8 km 3% 90%

See all Gold Coast City suburb profiles →