Macalister flood map & planning overlays
Flood covers 88.8% of Macalister on the map, 9th in the Western Downs.
Most lots here are flood-mapped. The free check shows how much of one lot the overlay covers.
Free map preview, then PDF reports from $9 - about the price of an iced latte on a public holiday.
A planning-constraint profile of Macalister
(Western Downs Regional, QLD) - 327.37 km², mapped from live council and
state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 7 November 2026.
Constraint readout
327.37 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Macalister'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 Macalister
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 4,500 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.
Macalister at a glance
Schools in and near Macalister
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
0 schools providing primary years and 0 providing secondary years. A combined school may be counted in both teaching levels.
Nearest school availability
Primary: 3.66 km from the suburb boundary
Secondary: 12.14 km from the suburb boundary
Source: Queensland Government school geographic information. Catchment boundaries can divide a suburb and change over time.
Which school zone is a Macalister address in? Check an address with our free school zone checker.
How Macalister is zoned
Selling in Macalister? 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 327.37 km², Macalister is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 89% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 7% is flagged bushfire-prone. The dominant land-use zone is Rural. The median lot measures about 790,072 m² across 303 parcels.
Who lives in Macalister
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Macalister 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 992, and decile 7 within Queensland. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Macalister's 156 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Wambo, the wider ABS statistical area containing Macalister. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Macalister itself.
15,011 in 2001 to 17,853 in 2025, up 19%.
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.
Macalister 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 Macalister 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 14% of Macalister. 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 Macalister. The free check tells you whether one reaches an address; where it does, a Flood Model Report is +$9 with the planning report.
Moving here? The Liveability section adds walking times from the address to schools, parks, shops and transport, and the school zones it sits in (+$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 Macalister lot.
Macalister planning - frequently asked
Is Macalister flood-prone?
About 89% of Macalister falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 49%. Published flood models are held over parts of Macalister; the free check on the Flood Model Report page says whether one reaches a given address.
Is Macalister bushfire-prone?
Around 7% of Macalister is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Western Downs Regional average of 43%.
Is Macalister under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 14% of Macalister, and over about 64% 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 500 ft, with an average of 5,000 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 2 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 Macalister?
The dominant planning zone in Macalister is Rural, though the suburb also includes Community facilities and Recreation and open space.
Does Macalister have heritage-listed places?
No heritage-listed places are on record within Macalister.
What is the typical lot size in Macalister?
Across 303 surveyed parcels in Macalister, the median lot size is about 790,072 m². There are also 2 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
What is the population of Macalister?
At the 2021 Census Macalister had 156 usual residents, with a median age of 40 and an average household size of 2.5 people. The wider Wambo statistical area, which contains Macalister, went from 15,011 people in 2001 to 17,853 in 2025, up 19%.
Is Macalister an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Macalister scores 992 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 Macalister?
Median household income in Macalister was $1,458 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,432 for the typical suburb in Western Downs Regional. Median rent was $250 a week.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ranges Bridge | 12.4 km | 100% | 9% |
| Warra | 17.2 km | 91% | 10% |
| Pirrinuan | 17.3 km | 72% | 8% |
| Jimbour West | 18.4 km | 89% | 0% |
| Dalby | 21.4 km | 85% | 8% |
| Jimbour East | 25.8 km | 44% | 38% |
| Beelbee | 26.1 km | 28% | 83% |
| Ducklo | 26.4 km | 86% | 26% |
| Tuckerang | 28.1 km | 96% | 9% |
| Nandi | 29.2 km | 93% | 14% |