Macalister Range flood map & planning overlays
A 54% median lot slope, the steepest in Queensland. Flat land is a rumour here.
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A planning-constraint profile of Macalister Range
(Cairns Regional, QLD) - 25.52 km², mapped from live council and
state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 7 November 2026.
Constraint readout
25.52 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Macalister Range's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top.
Nearby suburbs, nearest first
How common is mapped flood risk across Macalister Range properties?
Counts of properties, not share of land, across 10 analysed Macalister Range properties; no individual property result is identified.
Lot-level readout
Flood-risk rating across all 10 properties
From LayeredGeo's lot-risk engine: council flood overlays, historical flooding and terrain, resolved to each individual lot in Macalister Range.
Aircraft noise and flight paths over Macalister Range
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
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.
Macalister Range at a glance
Schools in and near Macalister Range
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: 0.30 km from the suburb boundary
Secondary: 1.19 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 Range address in? Check an address with our free school zone checker.
How Macalister Range is zoned
Selling in Macalister Range? 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 25.52 km², Macalister Range is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 5% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 47% is flagged bushfire-prone. The dominant land-use zone is Conservation. The terrain is steep, and the median lot measures about 201,859 m² across 18 parcels.
Macalister Range 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 | Not 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 Range 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 →Published flood models are held over parts of Macalister Range. 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).
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 Range lot.
Macalister Range planning - frequently asked
Is Macalister Range flood-prone?
About 5% of Macalister Range falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 55%. Across the suburb, 10% of the 10 properties we analysed carry some level of mapped flood risk, including 1 rated high risk or historically affected. Published flood models are held over parts of Macalister Range; the free check on the Flood Model Report page says whether one reaches a given address.
Is Macalister Range bushfire-prone?
Around 47% of Macalister Range is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Cairns Regional average of 23%.
Is Macalister Range under a flight path?
No aircraft were observed over Macalister Range in the period sampled (4 Sep 2026 to 7 Nov 2026). Sampling is intermittent, so that is a floor rather than proof that none fly over. 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 Range?
The dominant planning zone in Macalister Range is Conservation, though the suburb also includes Community Facilities and Environmental Management.
Does Macalister Range have heritage-listed places?
No heritage-listed places are on record within Macalister Range.
Is Macalister Range hilly or flat?
Macalister Range is steep: the median ground slope is about 54%, and 100% of measured points sit on grades of 15% or steeper. Ground level runs from roughly 5 m to 380 m AHD across the suburb.
What is the typical lot size in Macalister Range?
Across 18 surveyed parcels in Macalister Range, the median lot size is about 201,859 m².
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clifton Beach | 1.7 km | 15% | 47% |
| Kewarra Beach | 2.7 km | 23% | 30% |
| Palm Cove | 3.6 km | 13% | 31% |
| Trinity Beach | 5.1 km | 22% | 40% |
| Ellis Beach | 5.8 km | 7% | 8% |
| Trinity Park | 6.2 km | 83% | 22% |
| Smithfield | 6.7 km | 48% | 43% |
| Yorkeys Knob | 8.7 km | 87% | 15% |
| Caravonica | 9.9 km | 40% | 19% |
| Holloways Beach | 11.2 km | 81% | 15% |