Cowley Beach flood map & planning overlays
The smallest median lots in Cassowary Coast Regional, at 648 m². Snug blocks by the beach.
Things you won't regret: spending $9 to know the lot before you commit.
Free map preview, then PDF reports from $9 - about the price of an iced latte on a public holiday.
A planning-constraint profile of Cowley Beach
(Cassowary Coast Regional, QLD) - 144.01 km², mapped from live council and
state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 7 November 2026.
Constraint readout
144.01 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Cowley Beach'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
Aircraft noise and flight paths over Cowley Beach
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
Night movements: observed, lowest 5,500 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.
Cowley Beach at a glance
Schools in and near Cowley Beach
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
0 schools providing primary years and 0 providing secondary years. A combined school may be counted in both teaching levels.
Nearest school availability
Primary: 5.65 km from the suburb boundary
Secondary: 10.26 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 Cowley Beach is zoned
Selling in Cowley Beach? 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 144.01 km², Cowley Beach is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 47% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 24% is flagged bushfire-prone. The dominant land-use zone is Environmental management and conservation. The median lot measures about 648 m² across 95 parcels.
Who lives in Cowley Beach
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Cowley Beach 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 931, and decile 3 within Queensland. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Cowley Beach's 65 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Johnstone, the wider ABS statistical area containing Cowley Beach. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Cowley Beach itself.
8,075 in 2001 to 8,281 in 2025, up 3%.
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.
Cowley Beach 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 |
| Observed flight paths | Observed | adsb.lol, under the Open Database License |
| Demographics | Available | Australian Bureau of Statistics (2021 Census and SEIFA) |
| School availability | Available | Queensland Government |
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 Cowley Beach 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 →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 Cowley Beach. 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 the indicative soil reactivity range to expect for a Cowley Beach lot.
Cowley Beach planning - frequently asked
Is Cowley Beach flood-prone?
About 47% of Cowley Beach falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 66%. Published flood models are held over parts of Cowley Beach; the free check on the Flood Model Report page says whether one reaches a given address.
Is Cowley Beach bushfire-prone?
Around 24% of Cowley Beach is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Cassowary Coast Regional average of 16%.
Is Cowley Beach under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed over about 9% of Cowley Beach in the period sampled, but only above 3,000 ft - the lowest measured was 2,500 ft. 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 Cowley Beach?
The dominant planning zone in Cowley Beach is Environmental management and conservation, though the suburb also includes Special purpose and Rural.
Does Cowley Beach have heritage-listed places?
No heritage-listed places are on record within Cowley Beach.
What is the typical lot size in Cowley Beach?
Across 95 surveyed parcels in Cowley Beach, the median lot size is about 648 m². There are also 2 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
What is the population of Cowley Beach?
At the 2021 Census Cowley Beach had 65 usual residents, with a median age of 59 and an average household size of 1.8 people. The wider Johnstone statistical area, which contains Cowley Beach, went from 8,075 people in 2001 to 8,281 in 2025, up 3%.
Is Cowley Beach an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Cowley Beach scores 931 and sits in decile 3 of 10 nationally and decile 3 within Queensland (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in Cowley Beach?
Median household income in Cowley Beach was $1,042 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 $553 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mourilyan Harbour | 7.3 km | 76% | 6% |
| Lower Cowley | 7.8 km | 93% | 18% |
| New Harbourline | 8.2 km | 100% | 17% |
| Cowley | 8.5 km | 84% | 14% |
| Sandy Pocket | 9.7 km | 94% | 18% |
| Kurrimine Beach | 10.7 km | 32% | 16% |
| Moresby | 10.7 km | 88% | 15% |
| McCutcheon | 10.7 km | 88% | 9% |
| Martyville | 11.0 km | 100% | 27% |
| Etty Bay | 11.1 km | 69% | 22% |