Maroochy River flood map & planning overlays
Maroochy River: 47 flights a day and 67.4% flood-mapped.
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 Maroochy River
(Sunshine Coast Regional, QLD) - 25.91 km², mapped from live council and
state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 7 November 2026.
Constraint readout
25.91 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Maroochy River's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top. Amber hatching is the published aircraft noise (ANEF) contour. 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 Maroochy River properties?
Counts of properties, not share of land, across 777 analysed Maroochy River properties; no individual property result is identified.
Lot-level readout
Flood-risk rating across all 777 properties
From LayeredGeo's lot-risk engine: council flood overlays, historical flooding and terrain, resolved to each individual lot in Maroochy River.
Aircraft noise and flight paths over Maroochy River
The ANEF contour is a published planning forecast and observed overflight is what a sampled tracking feed recorded - neither describes any individual property.
Inside an aircraft noise contour
3% 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
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
- Sunshine Coast Airport ANEF
Observed overflight - sampled 4 Sep to 7 Nov 2026
typical observed square 1 a day
Night movements: observed, lowest 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.
Maroochy River at a glance
Schools in and near Maroochy River
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: 0.70 km from the suburb boundary
Secondary: 0.70 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 Maroochy River address in? Check an address with our free school zone checker.
How Maroochy River is zoned
Selling in Maroochy River? 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 25.91 km², Maroochy River is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 67% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 27% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 2 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Rural. The terrain is hilly, and the median lot measures about 6,138 m² across 779 parcels.
Recent development applications in Maroochy River
Applications are counted across the whole gazetted suburb from the public Sunshine Coast Council register. No application address or individual property is published here.
Submitted in the past 12 months
Latest included submission: 16 October 2026.
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 Maroochy River
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Maroochy River 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 1042, and decile 9 within Queensland. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Maroochy River's 1,667 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Bli Bli, the wider ABS statistical area containing Maroochy River. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Maroochy River itself.
5,632 in 2001 to 11,935 in 2025, up 112%.
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.
Maroochy River 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) | Inside a held contour | 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 |
| Development applications | Available as suburb totals | Sunshine Coast Council |
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 Maroochy River 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 90% of Maroochy River. 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 Maroochy River. 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 Maroochy River lot.
Maroochy River planning - frequently asked
Is Maroochy River flood-prone?
About 67% of Maroochy River falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 30%. Across the suburb, 25% of the 777 properties we analysed carry some level of mapped flood risk, including 150 rated high risk or historically affected. Published flood models are held over parts of Maroochy River; the free check on the Flood Model Report page says whether one reaches a given address.
Is Maroochy River bushfire-prone?
Around 27% of Maroochy River is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Sunshine Coast Regional average of 38%.
Is Maroochy River affected by aircraft noise?
About 3% of Maroochy River 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.
Is Maroochy River under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 90% of Maroochy River, and over about 95% 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 1,000 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 48 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 Maroochy River?
The dominant planning zone in Maroochy River is Rural, though the suburb also includes Rural Residential and Environmental Management and Conservation.
Does Maroochy River have heritage-listed places?
Maroochy River has 2 heritage-listed places on record.
Is Maroochy River hilly or flat?
Maroochy River is hilly: the median ground slope is about 15%, and 48% of measured points sit on grades of 15% or steeper. Ground level runs from roughly 1 m to 138 m AHD across the suburb.
What is the typical lot size in Maroochy River?
Across 779 surveyed parcels in Maroochy River, the median lot size is about 6,138 m². There are also 247 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
What is the population of Maroochy River?
At the 2021 Census Maroochy River had 1,667 usual residents, with a median age of 42 and an average household size of 2.9 people. The wider Bli Bli statistical area, which contains Maroochy River, went from 5,632 people in 2001 to 11,935 in 2025, up 112%.
Is Maroochy River an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Maroochy River scores 1042 and sits in decile 8 of 10 nationally and decile 9 within Queensland (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in Maroochy River?
Median household income in Maroochy River was $2,152 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,677 for the typical suburb in Sunshine Coast Regional. Median rent was $460 a week and the median mortgage repayment $2,000 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bli Bli | 3.8 km | 60% | 19% |
| Valdora | 4.4 km | 43% | 26% |
| Parklands | 4.7 km | 2% | 80% |
| Yandina Creek | 5.2 km | 56% | 47% |
| Marcoola | 6.0 km | 96% | 38% |
| Ninderry | 6.2 km | 26% | 59% |
| Yandina | 6.3 km | 54% | 27% |
| Rosemount | 6.4 km | 40% | 20% |
| Mount Coolum | 6.6 km | 51% | 58% |
| Coolum Beach | 6.8 km | 79% | 55% |