Kirwan flood map & planning overlays

A planning-constraint profile of Kirwan (Townsville City, QLD) - 11.45 km², mapped from live council and state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 19 September 2026.

Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Kirwan'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 Kirwan properties?

Overlay percentages say how much land is constrained; these figures say how many properties are actually touched in a suburb-wide analysis of 8,773 Kirwan properties. No individual property result is identified on this page.

Aircraft noise and flight paths over Kirwan

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

5%

5% 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 20

Under AS 2021, land between ANEF 20 and 25 is conditionally acceptable for houses, usually with noise attenuation built in. The contour is a forecast, not a measurement at any one house.

Contours held

  • Defence Airfields ANEF
  • Townsville City Council ANEF

Kirwan at a glance

Parcels 8,491 Median lot 657 m² Mapped easements 347 Bus stops 47 Schools in suburb 5

Schools in and near Kirwan

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

5

3 schools providing primary years and 3 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 Kirwan is zoned

Low Density Residential 64%
Sport and Recreation 12%
Open Space 11%
Community Facilities 5%
Medium Density Residential 3%
Rural Residential 2%

Selling in Kirwan? 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 11.45 km², Kirwan is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 32% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 8% is flagged bushfire-prone. There is 1 heritage-listed site on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Low Density Residential. The terrain is largely flat, and the median lot measures about 657 m² across 8,491 parcels.

Recent development applications in Kirwan

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

70

Latest included submission: 4 September 2026.

Previous 12 months: 161 (57% lower in the latest period).

Common application types

  • Material change of use: 7

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 Kirwan

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

Population
20,780
usual residents, 2021
Median age
38
years
Median household income
$1,673
per week, Townsville City suburb typical $1,510
Median rent
$325
per week, Townsville City suburb typical $291
Median mortgage
$1,450
per month
Household size
2.6
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 3
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Score 944, and decile 4 within Queensland. The national average is 1000.

Relative disadvantage (IRSD) Decile 3
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Age profile

Share of Kirwan's 20,780 residents in each ABS age band.

0-4 5.6%
5-14 14.5%
15-19 7.7%
20-24 6.4%
25-34 12.0%
35-44 13.0%
45-54 13.8%
55-64 12.2%
65-74 9.1%
75-84 4.4%
85+ 1.4%

Population trend, 2001 to 2025

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

10,859 in 2001 to 15,115 in 2025, up 39%.

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.

Kirwan 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 Kirwan 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 Kirwan. 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 Kirwan lot.

See what's in the $9 report →

Kirwan planning - frequently asked

Is Kirwan flood-prone?

About 32% of Kirwan falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 39%. Across the suburb, 0% of the 8,773 properties we analysed carry some level of mapped flood risk.

Is Kirwan bushfire-prone?

Around 8% of Kirwan is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Townsville City average of 50%.

Is Kirwan affected by aircraft noise?

About 5% of Kirwan sits inside a published aircraft noise contour, and the highest contour present is ANEF 20 - under AS 2021, land between ANEF 20 and 25 is conditionally acceptable for houses, usually with noise attenuation in the build. 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 Kirwan?

The dominant planning zone in Kirwan is Low Density Residential, though the suburb also includes Sport and Recreation and Open Space.

Does Kirwan have heritage-listed places?

Kirwan has 1 heritage-listed place on record.

Is Kirwan hilly or flat?

Kirwan is largely flat: the median ground slope is about 1%. Ground level runs from roughly 11 m to 16 m AHD across the suburb.

What is the typical lot size in Kirwan?

Across 8,491 surveyed parcels in Kirwan, the median lot size is about 657 m². There are also 347 registered easements mapped in the suburb.

Does Kirwan have a train station?

There is no train station inside Kirwan itself. The suburb is served by 47 bus stops.

What is the population of Kirwan?

At the 2021 Census Kirwan had 20,780 usual residents, with a median age of 38 and an average household size of 2.6 people. The wider Kirwan - West statistical area, which contains Kirwan, went from 10,859 people in 2001 to 15,115 in 2025, up 39%.

Is Kirwan an advantaged suburb?

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Kirwan scores 944 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 Kirwan?

Median household income in Kirwan was $1,673 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,510 for the typical suburb in Townsville City. Median rent was $325 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,450 a month.

Compare nearby suburbs

Nearby suburbDistanceFlood mappedBushfire-prone
Thuringowa Central 1.4 km 39% 10%
Condon 2.9 km 5% 27%
Shaw 3.2 km 2% 88%
Cosgrove 3.6 km 6% 78%
Mount Louisa 3.8 km 25% 45%
Cranbrook 3.9 km 11% 8%
Douglas 4.0 km 20% 65%
Heatley 4.2 km 12% 0%
Bohle Plains 4.8 km 0% 59%
Rasmussen 5.4 km 8% 16%

See all Townsville City suburb profiles →