Fernvale flood map & planning overlays
Fernvale is Somerset Regional's youngest suburb, median age 35, and its 2nd-biggest.
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 Fernvale
(Somerset Regional, QLD) - 27.81 km², mapped from live council and
state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 7 November 2026.
Constraint readout
27.81 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Fernvale'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 Fernvale
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
typical observed square 0 a day
Night movements: observed, lowest 3,500 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.
Fernvale at a glance
Schools in and near Fernvale
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
1 school providing primary years and 0 providing secondary years. A combined school may be counted in both teaching levels.
Nearest school availability
Primary: inside the suburb
Secondary: 4.26 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 Fernvale is zoned
Selling in Fernvale? 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 27.81 km², Fernvale is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 29% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 55% is flagged bushfire-prone. The dominant land-use zone is Rural. The median lot measures about 1,083 m² across 1,820 parcels.
Who lives in Fernvale
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Fernvale 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 946, and decile 4 within Queensland. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Fernvale's 3,629 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Lowood, the wider ABS statistical area containing Fernvale. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Fernvale itself.
9,538 in 2001 to 15,478 in 2025, up 62%.
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.
Fernvale 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 Fernvale 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 →Aircraft have been seen below 3,000 ft over about 63% of Fernvale. 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 here: a Flood Model Report is available for about 140 Fernvale addresses (+$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 Fernvale lot.
Fernvale planning - frequently asked
Is Fernvale flood-prone?
About 29% of Fernvale falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 19%. Modelled flood depth, velocity and flood level are held for about 140 Fernvale addresses, from published flood studies; the free check on the Flood Model Report page says whether a model reaches a given address.
Is Fernvale bushfire-prone?
Around 55% of Fernvale is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Somerset Regional average of 54%.
Is Fernvale under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 63% of Fernvale, and over about 83% at any altitude up to 10,000 ft, in the period sampled (4 Sep 2026 to 7 Nov 2026). The lowest measured aircraft was at 1,000 ft, with an average of 3,000 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 1 aircraft a day were recorded passing over one 500 m square. 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 Fernvale?
The dominant planning zone in Fernvale is Rural, though the suburb also includes General Residential and Emerging Community.
Does Fernvale have heritage-listed places?
No heritage-listed places are on record within Fernvale.
What is the typical lot size in Fernvale?
Across 1,820 surveyed parcels in Fernvale, the median lot size is about 1,083 m². There are also 272 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
Does Fernvale have a train station?
There is no train station inside Fernvale itself. The suburb is served by 2 bus stops.
What is the population of Fernvale?
At the 2021 Census Fernvale had 3,629 usual residents, with a median age of 35 and an average household size of 3.0 people. The wider Lowood statistical area, which contains Fernvale, went from 9,538 people in 2001 to 15,478 in 2025, up 62%.
Is Fernvale an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Fernvale scores 946 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 Fernvale?
Median household income in Fernvale was $1,771 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,312 for the typical suburb in Somerset Regional. Median rent was $350 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,630 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fairney View | 3.2 km | 16% | 37% |
| Vernor | 4.2 km | 17% | 47% |
| Wivenhoe Pocket | 4.7 km | 50% | 43% |
| Lake Manchester | 5.6 km | 9% | 86% |
| Borallon | 6.3 km | 44% | 58% |
| Wanora | 6.8 km | 7% | 80% |
| England Creek | 7.1 km | 10% | 92% |
| Banks Creek | 7.1 km | 5% | 92% |
| Glamorgan Vale | 7.3 km | 16% | 42% |
| Split Yard Creek | 8.5 km | 2% | 92% |