McDowall flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of McDowall
(Brisbane City, QLD) - 4.24 km², mapped from live council and
state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 19 September 2026.
Suburb-wide figures; the free map shows which overlays touch your lot.
Constraint readout
4.24 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to McDowall's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top.
Nearby suburbs, nearest first
How common is mapped flood risk across McDowall properties?
Overlay percentages say how much land is constrained; these figures say how many properties are actually touched in a suburb-wide analysis of 3,859 McDowall properties. No individual property result is identified on this page.
Lot-level readout
Flood-risk rating across all 3,859 properties
From LayeredGeo's lot-risk engine: council flood overlays, historical flooding and terrain, resolved to each individual lot in McDowall.
McDowall flood history and overland flow
These are suburb-wide totals across 3,859 analysed properties. They show how common each mapped category is across McDowall; they do not identify or describe any individual property.
Recorded historical flood mapping
66 analysed properties intersect at least one mapped historical event extent.
- February 2022: 66
Mapped overland flow
410 analysed properties carry a mapped overland-flow category.
- Low: 191
- Medium: 166
- High: 40
- Affected: 13
Source: Brisbane City Council flood mapping, aggregated by LayeredGeo. Categories are only shown where at least five analysed properties share them. An address-level check is still required to determine whether a particular lot is mapped.
McDowall at a glance
Schools in and near McDowall
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
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: 0.17 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 McDowall is zoned
Selling in McDowall? 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 4.24 km², McDowall is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 17% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 45% is flagged bushfire-prone. The dominant land-use zone is Low density residential. The terrain is gently undulating, and the median lot measures about 614 m² across 3,685 parcels.
Recent development applications in McDowall
Applications are counted across the whole gazetted suburb from the public Brisbane City Council register. No application address or individual property is published here.
Submitted in the past 12 months
Latest included submission: 14 September 2026.
Previous 12 months: 20 (50% lower in the latest period).
Common application types
- Material change of use: 5
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 20 September 2026. Check the official council register.
Who lives in McDowall
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the McDowall 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 1092, and decile 10 within Queensland. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of McDowall's 7,612 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of McDowall, the wider ABS statistical area containing McDowall. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than McDowall itself.
6,691 in 2001 to 8,886 in 2025, up 33%.
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.
McDowall property market snapshot
Queensland Government publishes this as a SA2 market series for McDowall, the wider statistical area containing McDowall. It is not a valuation and is not specific to this suburb or any individual property.
House sales
Median sale price from 75 sales over 12 months to March 2026.
Unit sales
Median sale price from 88 sales over 12 months to March 2026.
Source: Queensland Government Statistician's Office (QGSO). View the source profile. The same SA2 figure can appear on several suburb pages within that statistical area.
McDowall 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 |
| Demographics | Available | Australian Bureau of Statistics (2021 Census and SEIFA) |
| School availability | Available | Queensland Government |
| Market statistics | Available at SA2 level | Queensland Government Statistician's Office (QGSO) |
| Development applications | Available as suburb totals | Brisbane 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 McDowall 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 here: a Flood Model Report is available for about 3,800 McDowall addresses (+$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 McDowall lot.
See what's in the $9 report →McDowall planning - frequently asked
Is McDowall flood-prone?
About 17% of McDowall falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 40%. Across the suburb, 2% of the 3,859 properties we analysed carry some level of mapped flood risk, including 46 rated high risk or historically affected.
Is McDowall bushfire-prone?
Around 45% of McDowall is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Brisbane City average of 27%.
What is the zoning in McDowall?
The dominant planning zone in McDowall is Low density residential, though the suburb also includes Conservation (District) and Emerging community.
Does McDowall have heritage-listed places?
No heritage-listed places are on record within McDowall.
Is McDowall hilly or flat?
McDowall is gently undulating: the median ground slope is about 10%, and 11% of measured points sit on grades of 15% or steeper. Ground level runs from roughly 40 m to 72 m AHD across the suburb.
What is the typical lot size in McDowall?
Across 3,685 surveyed parcels in McDowall, the median lot size is about 614 m². There are also 342 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
Does McDowall have a train station?
There is no train station inside McDowall itself. The suburb is served by 23 bus stops.
What is the population of McDowall?
At the 2021 Census McDowall had 7,612 usual residents, with a median age of 38 and an average household size of 2.9 people. The wider McDowall statistical area, which contains McDowall, went from 6,691 people in 2001 to 8,886 in 2025, up 33%.
Is McDowall an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), McDowall scores 1092 and sits in decile 10 of 10 nationally and decile 10 within Queensland (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in McDowall?
Median household income in McDowall was $2,486 a week at the 2021 Census, against $2,122 for the typical suburb in Brisbane City. Median rent was $470 a week and the median mortgage repayment $2,167 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chermside West | 1.9 km | 18% | 27% |
| Everton Park | 2.1 km | 25% | 17% |
| Stafford Heights | 2.3 km | 13% | 8% |
| Everton Hills Moreton Bay City |
2.6 km | 22% | 14% |
| Aspley | 3.0 km | 30% | 16% |
| Bridgeman Downs | 3.4 km | 21% | 36% |
| Stafford | 3.6 km | 26% | 18% |
| Mitchelton | 3.7 km | 31% | 23% |
| Gaythorne | 4.0 km | 22% | 5% |
| Albany Creek Moreton Bay City |
4.0 km | 41% | 25% |