Areas / Gold Coast City / Highland Park

Highland Park flood map & planning overlays

6,576 residents on 757 m² lots, with an 11.2% median slope. The name fits the terrain.

A planning-constraint profile of Highland Park (Gold Coast City, QLD) - 3.91 km², mapped from live council and state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 7 November 2026.

Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Highland Park'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

How common is mapped flood risk across Highland Park properties?

Counts of properties, not share of land, across 2,739 analysed Highland Park properties; no individual property result is identified.

Aircraft noise and flight paths over Highland Park

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

Under observed aircraft
88%
of the suburb, at or below 10,000 ft
Below 3,000 ft
81%
of the suburb's area
Lowest measured
1,000 ft
averaging 2,500 ft
Busiest square
~1 a day
1 a day below 3,000 ft · ±14% · area average
typical observed square 0 a day

Night movements: not established - night is sampled as often as day, but too few night flights have been seen here to conclude either way.

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.

Highland Park at a glance

Parcels 2,536 Median lot 757 m² Mapped easements 658 Bus stops 12 Schools in suburb 1 Landslide overlay 26%

Schools in and near Highland Park

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

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: 0.71 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 Highland Park is zoned

Low density residential 52%
Rural residential 18%
Open space 12%
Conservation 7%
Mixed use 4%
Emerging community 3%

Selling in Highland Park? 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 3.91 km², Highland Park is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 2% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 52% is flagged bushfire-prone. The dominant land-use zone is Low density residential. The terrain is hilly, and the median lot measures about 757 m² across 2,536 parcels.

Recent development applications in Highland Park

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

Submitted in the past 12 months

14

Latest included submission: 28 October 2026.

Previous 12 months: 17 (18% 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 8 November 2026. Check the official council register.

Who lives in Highland Park

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

Population
6,576
usual residents, 2021
Median age
42
years
Median household income
$1,609
per week, Gold Coast City suburb typical $1,830
Median rent
$430
per week, Gold Coast City suburb typical $450
Median mortgage
$1,800
per month
Household size
2.7
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 6
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Score 989, and decile 7 within Queensland. The national average is 1000.

Relative disadvantage (IRSD) Decile 6
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Age profile

Share of Highland Park's 6,576 residents in each ABS age band.

0-4 5.5%
5-14 12.6%
15-19 5.9%
20-24 4.7%
25-34 11.5%
35-44 13.0%
45-54 13.2%
55-64 13.1%
65-74 10.6%
75-84 7.3%
85+ 2.5%

Population trend, 2001 to 2025

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

7,612 in 2001 to 8,797 in 2025, up 16%.

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.

Highland Park 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
Observed flight pathsObservedadsb.lol, under the Open Database License
DemographicsAvailableAustralian Bureau of Statistics (2021 Census and SEIFA)
School availabilityAvailableQueensland Government
Development applicationsAvailable as suburb totalsCity of Gold Coast

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 Highland Park 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 81% of Highland Park. 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 over parts of Highland Park. 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 to spin round in your browser (+$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 Highland Park lot.

Highland Park planning - frequently asked

Is Highland Park flood-prone?

About 2% of Highland Park falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 35%. Across the suburb, 16% of the 2,739 properties we analysed carry some level of mapped flood risk, including 419 rated high risk or historically affected. Published flood models are held over parts of Highland Park; the free check on the Flood Model Report page says whether one reaches a given address.

Is Highland Park bushfire-prone?

Around 52% of Highland Park is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Gold Coast City average of 50%.

Is Highland Park under a flight path?

Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 81% of Highland Park, and over about 88% 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 2,500 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 Highland Park?

The dominant planning zone in Highland Park is Low density residential, though the suburb also includes Rural residential and Open space.

Does Highland Park have heritage-listed places?

No heritage-listed places are on record within Highland Park.

Is Highland Park hilly or flat?

Highland Park is hilly: the median ground slope is about 11%, and 30% of measured points sit on grades of 15% or steeper. Ground level runs from roughly 25 m to 153 m AHD across the suburb.

What is the typical lot size in Highland Park?

Across 2,536 surveyed parcels in Highland Park, the median lot size is about 757 m². There are also 658 registered easements mapped in the suburb.

Does Highland Park have a train station?

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

What is the population of Highland Park?

At the 2021 Census Highland Park had 6,576 usual residents, with a median age of 42 and an average household size of 2.7 people. The wider Highland Park statistical area, which contains Highland Park, went from 7,612 people in 2001 to 8,797 in 2025, up 16%.

Is Highland Park an advantaged suburb?

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Highland Park scores 989 and sits in decile 6 of 10 nationally and decile 7 within Queensland (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).

What is the median household income in Highland Park?

Median household income in Highland Park was $1,609 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,830 for the typical suburb in Gold Coast City. Median rent was $430 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,800 a month.

Compare nearby suburbs

Nearby suburbDistanceFlood mappedBushfire-prone
Gilston 2.5 km 19% 94%
Worongary 2.8 km 8% 88%
Carrara 3.6 km 68% 33%
Nerang 4.6 km 13% 82%
Ashmore 4.9 km 11% 12%
Tallai 5.3 km 2% 94%
Benowa 5.4 km 46% 6%
Molendinar 5.4 km 5% 40%
Merrimac 5.7 km 75% 26%
Gaven 7.1 km 3% 90%

See all Gold Coast City suburb profiles →