Mermaid Waters flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Mermaid Waters (Gold Coast City, QLD) - 7.12 km², mapped from live council and state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Everything below is suburb-wide. Overlays change block to block - see which ones actually touch your lot. The map is free.
Constraint readout
7.12 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Mermaid Waters's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top. It shows where constraints fall; the interactive map shows them on your exact address.
Mermaid Waters flood risk at the property level
Overlay percentages say how much land is constrained; these figures say how many properties are actually touched, from our lot-by-lot analysis of 6,181 Mermaid Waters properties.
Lot-level readout
Flood-risk rating across all 6,181 properties
From LayeredGeo's lot-risk engine: council flood overlays, historical flooding and terrain, resolved to each individual lot in Mermaid Waters.
Mermaid Waters at a glance
How Mermaid Waters is zoned
Selling in Mermaid Waters? 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 7.12 km², Mermaid Waters is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 100% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 5% is flagged bushfire-prone. The dominant land-use zone is Low density residential. The terrain is largely flat, and the median lot measures about 646 m² across 5,459 parcels. These figures are suburb-wide - the overlays that actually apply to a given lot can differ block to block, which is what a property-level check tells you.
Who lives in Mermaid Waters
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Mermaid Waters 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 1038, and decile 9 within Queensland. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Mermaid Waters's 13,088 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Mermaid Waters, the wider ABS statistical area containing Mermaid Waters. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Mermaid Waters itself.
11,923 in 2001 to 14,564 in 2025, up 22%.
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics. Census of Population and Housing 2021 (General Community Profile) and SEIFA 2021, both published at the Suburbs and Localities level; Regional Population (estimated resident population) at Statistical Area Level 2. Used under CC BY 4.0. Census counts of small populations are randomly adjusted by the ABS to protect confidentiality, so figures for small suburbs are indicative.
Check a specific Mermaid Waters 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 →Mermaid Waters planning - frequently asked
Where can I see a flood map of Mermaid Waters?
The schematic on this page is a Mermaid Waters flood map: the mapped flood overlays drawn over the suburb's terrain and street grid, covering about 100% of the suburb. Flood lines vary block to block, so for a specific property use the free interactive map - search any Mermaid Waters address and it shows the flood, zoning and bushfire mapping on the exact lot boundary.
Is Mermaid Waters flood-prone?
About 100% of Mermaid Waters falls within a mapped flood overlay, against a Gold Coast City average of 49%. Looking lot by lot, 76% of the 6,181 properties we analysed in Mermaid Waters carry some level of mapped flood risk, including 2063 rated high risk or historically affected. Flood overlays vary block to block, so whether a particular lot is affected needs a property-level check.
Is Mermaid Waters bushfire-prone?
Yes - around 5% of Mermaid Waters is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Gold Coast City average of 48%. A bushfire-prone designation can trigger additional building requirements, so check the specific address.
What is the zoning in Mermaid Waters?
The dominant planning zone in Mermaid Waters is Low density residential, though the suburb also includes Medium density residential and Open space. Zoning sets what you can build and do on a site, and can differ lot by lot.
Does Mermaid Waters have heritage-listed places?
No heritage-listed places are on record within Mermaid Waters. Even so, it is worth confirming for an individual property before any works.
Is Mermaid Waters hilly or flat?
Mermaid Waters is largely flat: the median lot slope is about 3%. Ground level runs from roughly 3 m to 6 m AHD across the suburb. Slope drives site costs - cut and fill, retaining walls and driveway grades - so it is worth knowing before you commit to a sloping block.
What is the typical lot size in Mermaid Waters?
Across 5,459 surveyed parcels in Mermaid Waters, the median lot size is about 646 m². There are also 355 registered easements mapped in the suburb - an easement can restrict where you can build, so always check the title and overlays for the specific lot.
Does Mermaid Waters have a train station?
There is no train station inside Mermaid Waters itself. The suburb is served by 49 bus stops.
What is the population of Mermaid Waters?
At the 2021 Census Mermaid Waters had 13,088 usual residents, with a median age of 40 and an average household size of 2.5 people. The wider Mermaid Waters statistical area, which contains Mermaid Waters, went from 11,923 people in 2001 to 14,564 in 2025, up 22%. ABS publishes no annual population series for individual suburbs, so that trend describes the surrounding area rather than Mermaid Waters alone.
Is Mermaid Waters an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Mermaid Waters scores 1038 and sits in decile 8 of 10 nationally and decile 9 within Queensland - decile 1 being the most disadvantaged tenth of Australian suburbs and decile 10 the least. The national average score is 1000. SEIFA summarises income, education, occupation and housing across the whole suburb, so it describes the area, not any particular household in it.
What is the median household income in Mermaid Waters?
Median household income in Mermaid Waters was $1,766 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,830 for the typical suburb in Gold Coast City. Median rent was $450 a week and the median mortgage repayment $2,167 a month. These are 2021 Census figures and have not been indexed to today.
Do I need a planning report for a Mermaid Waters property?
A Mermaid Waters planning report pulls every overlay - zoning, flood, bushfire, heritage and environmental - that touches a single lot, on live council and state data. The interactive map preview is free; a full PDF report is $9.