Heatley flood map & planning overlays

A planning-constraint profile of Heatley (Townsville City, QLD) - 2.03 km², mapped from live council and state overlay data. This suburb is moderately constrained.
Profile updated 19 September 2026.

Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Heatley's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top. Amber hatching is the published aircraft noise (ANEF) contour.

Nearby suburbs, nearest first

How common is mapped flood risk across Heatley properties?

Overlay percentages say how much land is constrained; these figures say how many properties are actually touched in a suburb-wide analysis of 1,813 Heatley properties. No individual property result is identified on this page.

Aircraft noise and flight paths over Heatley

Two different things, kept apart on purpose. The ANEF contour is the planning instrument - a forecast published per airport that planning schemes use to control noise-sensitive development. Observed aircraft traffic is a separate question from the contour.

Inside an aircraft noise contour

66%

66% of the suburb's land sits inside a published ANEF or airport-environs contour. Contours vary street by street, so whether a particular lot is inside one needs a property-level check.

Highest contour present

ANEF 25

Under AS 2021, land between ANEF 25 and 30 is generally unacceptable for new houses; 20 to 25 is conditionally acceptable with noise attenuation. The contour is a forecast, not a measurement at any one house.

Contours held

  • Defence Airfields ANEF
  • Townsville City Council ANEF

Heatley at a glance

Parcels 1,572 Median lot 610 m² Mapped easements 32 Bus stops 17 Schools in suburb 3

Schools in and near Heatley

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

3

1 school providing primary years and 2 providing secondary years. A combined school may be counted in both teaching levels.

Nearest school availability

Primary: inside the suburb

Secondary: inside the suburb

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 Heatley is zoned

Low Density Residential 76%
Community Facilities 12%
Sport and Recreation 9%
Character Residential 4%
Neighbourhood Centre 0%

Selling in Heatley? 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 2.03 km², Heatley is moderately constrained by planning overlays. About 12% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay. The dominant land-use zone is Low Density Residential. The terrain is largely flat, and the median lot measures about 610 m² across 1,572 parcels.

Recent development applications in Heatley

Applications are counted across the whole gazetted suburb from the public Townsville City Council register. No application address or individual property is published here.

Submitted in the past 12 months

9

Latest included submission: 8 July 2026.

Previous 12 months: 41 (78% lower in the latest period).

Counts depend on applications that the council publishes and that can be assigned to a suburb. Categories can overlap when one application covers several types. Totals below five and their latest dates are suppressed. Register last synchronised 19 September 2026. Check the official council register.

Who lives in Heatley

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

Population
3,907
usual residents, 2021
Median age
40
years
Median household income
$1,266
per week, Townsville City suburb typical $1,510
Median rent
$280
per week, Townsville City suburb typical $291
Median mortgage
$1,300
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 1
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Score 870, and decile 2 within Queensland. The national average is 1000.

Relative disadvantage (IRSD) Decile 1
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Age profile

Share of Heatley's 3,907 residents in each ABS age band.

0-4 4.7%
5-14 12.9%
15-19 7.6%
20-24 6.5%
25-34 12.2%
35-44 12.3%
45-54 12.7%
55-64 10.6%
65-74 9.6%
75-84 8.2%
85+ 2.7%

Population trend, 2001 to 2025

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

4,617 in 2001 to 4,023 in 2025, down 13%.

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.

Heatley 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)Inside a held contourthe relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data, Defence
DemographicsAvailableAustralian Bureau of Statistics (2021 Census and SEIFA)
School availabilityAvailableQueensland Government
Development applicationsAvailable as suburb totalsTownsville City Council

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 Heatley 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 Heatley. 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 Heatley lot.

See what's in the $9 report →

Heatley planning - frequently asked

Is Heatley flood-prone?

About 12% of Heatley falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 39%. Across the suburb, 0% of the 1,813 properties we analysed carry some level of mapped flood risk.

Is Heatley bushfire-prone?

Bushfire mapping covers Heatley and little to none of it is mapped as bushfire-prone (the Townsville City average is 50%).

Is Heatley affected by aircraft noise?

About 66% of Heatley sits inside a published aircraft noise contour, and the highest contour present is ANEF 25 - under AS 2021, land above ANEF 25 is generally considered unacceptable for new houses, and 20-25 conditionally acceptable with noise attenuation. ANEF contours are forecasts published per airport and used to control noise-sensitive development; they are not a measurement at any one house, and a property can sit under a flight path and outside every contour.

What is the zoning in Heatley?

The dominant planning zone in Heatley is Low Density Residential, though the suburb also includes Community Facilities and Sport and Recreation.

Does Heatley have heritage-listed places?

No heritage-listed places are on record within Heatley.

Is Heatley hilly or flat?

Heatley is largely flat: the median ground slope is about 1%. Ground level runs from roughly 9 m to 14 m AHD across the suburb.

What is the typical lot size in Heatley?

Across 1,572 surveyed parcels in Heatley, the median lot size is about 610 m². There are also 32 registered easements mapped in the suburb.

Does Heatley have a train station?

There is no train station inside Heatley itself. The suburb is served by 17 bus stops.

What is the population of Heatley?

At the 2021 Census Heatley had 3,907 usual residents, with a median age of 40 and an average household size of 2.4 people. The wider Heatley statistical area, which contains Heatley, went from 4,617 people in 2001 to 4,023 in 2025, down 13%.

Is Heatley an advantaged suburb?

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Heatley scores 870 and sits in decile 1 of 10 nationally and decile 2 within Queensland (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).

What is the median household income in Heatley?

Median household income in Heatley was $1,266 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,510 for the typical suburb in Townsville City. Median rent was $280 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,300 a month.

Compare nearby suburbs

Nearby suburbDistanceFlood mappedBushfire-prone
Cranbrook 1.4 km 11% 8%
Vincent 1.4 km 34% 0%
Aitkenvale 1.7 km 40% 3%
Gulliver 2.4 km 86% 2%
Mount Louisa 2.4 km 25% 45%
Currajong 3.2 km 100% 0%
Mundingburra 3.4 km 100% 18%
Douglas 3.5 km 20% 65%
Annandale 3.6 km 72% 15%
Thuringowa Central 3.7 km 39% 10%

See all Townsville City suburb profiles →