Property Report / Areas / Cairns Regional / Freshwater

Freshwater flood map & planning overlays

A planning-constraint profile of Freshwater (Cairns Regional, QLD) - 1.74 km², mapped from live council and state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 10 September 2026.

Suburb-wide figures; the free map shows which overlays touch your lot.

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

Nearby suburbs, nearest first

How common is mapped flood risk across Freshwater properties?

Overlay percentages say how much land is constrained; these figures say how many properties are actually touched in a suburb-wide analysis of 1,144 Freshwater properties. No individual property result is identified on this page.

Freshwater at a glance

Parcels 1,156 Median lot 814 m² Mapped easements 191 Bus stops 12 Schools in suburb 1 Landslide overlay 47%

Schools in and near Freshwater

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

1

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: 0.35 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 Freshwater is zoned

Low Density Residential 45%
Conservation 30%
Environmental Management 7%
Medium Density Residential 6%
Open Space 5%
Community Facilities 3%

Selling in Freshwater? 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 1.74 km², Freshwater is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 32% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 39% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 3 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Low Density Residential. The terrain is gently undulating, and the median lot measures about 814 m² across 1,156 parcels.

Who lives in Freshwater

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

Population
2,142
usual residents, 2021
Median age
42
years
Median household income
$1,867
per week, Cairns Regional suburb typical $1,618
Median rent
$350
per week, Cairns Regional suburb typical $315
Median mortgage
$1,625
per month
Household size
2.3
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 8
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Score 1040, and decile 9 within Queensland. The national average is 1000.

Relative disadvantage (IRSD) Decile 8
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Age profile

Share of Freshwater's 2,142 residents in each ABS age band.

0-4 4.8%
5-14 15.4%
15-19 5.6%
20-24 4.1%
25-34 10.7%
35-44 14.3%
45-54 16.9%
55-64 13.9%
65-74 9.6%
75-84 4.0%
85+ 0.8%

Population trend, 2001 to 2025

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

3,365 in 2001 to 3,856 in 2025, up 15%.

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.

Freshwater 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 10 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 Freshwater 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 Freshwater. 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 Freshwater lot.

See what's in the $9 report →

Freshwater planning - frequently asked

Is Freshwater flood-prone?

About 32% of Freshwater falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 55%. Across the suburb, 14% of the 1,144 properties we analysed carry some level of mapped flood risk, including 163 rated high risk or historically affected.

Is Freshwater bushfire-prone?

Around 39% of Freshwater is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Cairns Regional average of 23%.

What is the zoning in Freshwater?

The dominant planning zone in Freshwater is Low Density Residential, though the suburb also includes Conservation and Environmental Management.

Does Freshwater have heritage-listed places?

Freshwater has 3 heritage-listed places on record.

Is Freshwater hilly or flat?

Freshwater is gently undulating: the median ground slope is about 8%, and 25% of measured points sit on grades of 15% or steeper. Ground level runs from roughly 7 m to 61 m AHD across the suburb.

What is the typical lot size in Freshwater?

Across 1,156 surveyed parcels in Freshwater, the median lot size is about 814 m². There are also 191 registered easements mapped in the suburb.

Does Freshwater have a train station?

There is no train station inside Freshwater itself. The suburb is served by 12 bus stops.

What is the population of Freshwater?

At the 2021 Census Freshwater had 2,142 usual residents, with a median age of 42 and an average household size of 2.3 people. The wider Freshwater - Stratford statistical area, which contains Freshwater, went from 3,365 people in 2001 to 3,856 in 2025, up 15%.

Is Freshwater an advantaged suburb?

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Freshwater scores 1040 and sits in decile 8 of 10 nationally and decile 9 within Queensland (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).

What is the median household income in Freshwater?

Median household income in Freshwater was $1,867 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,618 for the typical suburb in Cairns Regional. Median rent was $350 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,625 a month.

Compare nearby suburbs

Nearby suburbDistanceFlood mappedBushfire-prone
Stratford 1.6 km 42% 69%
Kamerunga 1.7 km 73% 39%
Brinsmead 1.8 km 35% 18%
Barron 2.1 km 100% 6%
Whitfield 2.2 km 23% 31%
Edge Hill 3.8 km 65% 23%
Caravonica 4.2 km 40% 19%
Kanimbla 4.2 km 33% 58%
Barron Gorge 4.4 km 13% 38%
Manoora 4.5 km 94% 20%

See all Cairns Regional suburb profiles →