Property Report / Areas / Mackay Regional / Dolphin Heads

Dolphin Heads flood map & planning overlays

A planning-constraint profile of Dolphin Heads (Mackay Regional, QLD) - 0.93 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.

Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Dolphin Heads's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top.

Nearby suburbs, nearest first

How common is mapped flood risk across Dolphin Heads properties?

Overlay percentages say how much land is constrained; these figures say how many properties are actually touched in a suburb-wide analysis of 324 Dolphin Heads properties. No individual property result is identified on this page.

Dolphin Heads at a glance

Parcels 363 Median lot 180 m² Mapped easements 41 Schools in suburb 0 Landslide overlay 36%

Schools in and near Dolphin Heads

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

0 schools providing primary years and 0 providing secondary years. A combined school may be counted in both teaching levels.

Nearest school availability

Primary: 2.19 km from the suburb boundary

Secondary: 3.23 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 Dolphin Heads is zoned

Rural residential 40%
Open space 39%
Medium density residential 8%
Rural 6%
Tourism 6%
Special purpose 0%

Selling in Dolphin Heads? 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 0.93 km², Dolphin Heads is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 59% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 1% is flagged bushfire-prone. The dominant land-use zone is Rural residential. The terrain is gently undulating, and the median lot measures about 180 m² across 363 parcels.

Who lives in Dolphin Heads

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

Population
413
usual residents, 2021
Median age
48
years
Median household income
$2,833
per week, Mackay Regional suburb typical $1,937
Median rent
$360
per week, Mackay Regional suburb typical $272
Median mortgage
$2,600
per month
Household size
2.4
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 10
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Score 1084, and decile 10 within Queensland. The national average is 1000.

Relative disadvantage (IRSD) Decile 8
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Age profile

Share of Dolphin Heads's 413 residents in each ABS age band.

0-4 3.9%
5-14 11.4%
15-19 6.1%
20-24 2.7%
25-34 7.0%
35-44 12.8%
45-54 19.6%
55-64 21.3%
65-74 11.6%
75-84 2.2%
85+ 1.5%

Population trend, 2001 to 2025

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

5,423 in 2001 to 14,911 in 2025, up 175%.

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.

Dolphin Heads 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

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 Dolphin Heads 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 Dolphin Heads. 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 Dolphin Heads lot.

See what's in the $9 report →

Dolphin Heads planning - frequently asked

Is Dolphin Heads flood-prone?

About 59% of Dolphin Heads falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 34%. Across the suburb, 71% of the 324 properties we analysed carry some level of mapped flood risk, including 229 rated high risk or historically affected.

Is Dolphin Heads bushfire-prone?

Around 1% of Dolphin Heads is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Mackay Regional average of 26%.

What is the zoning in Dolphin Heads?

The dominant planning zone in Dolphin Heads is Rural residential, though the suburb also includes Open space and Medium density residential.

Does Dolphin Heads have heritage-listed places?

No heritage-listed places are on record within Dolphin Heads.

Is Dolphin Heads hilly or flat?

Dolphin Heads is gently undulating: the median ground slope is about 7%, and 26% of measured points sit on grades of 15% or steeper. Ground level runs from roughly 4 m to 51 m AHD across the suburb.

What is the typical lot size in Dolphin Heads?

Across 363 surveyed parcels in Dolphin Heads, the median lot size is about 180 m². There are also 41 registered easements mapped in the suburb.

What is the population of Dolphin Heads?

At the 2021 Census Dolphin Heads had 413 usual residents, with a median age of 48 and an average household size of 2.4 people. The wider Eimeo - Rural View statistical area, which contains Dolphin Heads, went from 5,423 people in 2001 to 14,911 in 2025, up 175%.

Is Dolphin Heads an advantaged suburb?

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Dolphin Heads scores 1084 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 Dolphin Heads?

Median household income in Dolphin Heads was $2,833 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,937 for the typical suburb in Mackay Regional. Median rent was $360 a week and the median mortgage repayment $2,600 a month.

Compare nearby suburbs

Nearby suburbDistanceFlood mappedBushfire-prone
Eimeo 1.2 km 50% 6%
Blacks Beach 2.6 km 68% 19%
Bucasia 3.6 km 75% 8%
Rural View 3.6 km 34% 11%
Shoal Point 5.1 km 68% 8%
Slade Point 5.3 km 68% 12%
Beaconsfield 5.7 km 61% 2%
Andergrove 5.8 km 72% 14%
Nindaroo 6.6 km 1% 18%
Richmond 7.3 km 20% 8%

See all Mackay Regional suburb profiles →