Cowley Beach flood map & planning overlays
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 19 September 2026.
Suburb-wide figures; the free map shows which overlays touch your lot.
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.
Nearby suburbs, nearest first
Cowley Beach at a glance
Schools in and near Cowley Beach
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 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 |
| 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 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.
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 an indicative AS 2870 site class for a Cowley Beach lot.
See what's in the $9 report →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%.
Is Cowley Beach bushfire-prone?
Around 24% of Cowley Beach is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Cassowary Coast Regional average of 16%.
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% |