Mount Low flood map & planning overlays

A planning-constraint profile of Mount Low (Townsville City, QLD) - 11.44 km², mapped from live council and state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 19 September 2026.

Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Mount Low's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top.

Nearby suburbs, nearest first

How common is mapped flood risk across Mount Low properties?

Overlay percentages say how much land is constrained; these figures say how many properties are actually touched in a suburb-wide analysis of 2,154 Mount Low properties. No individual property result is identified on this page.

Mount Low at a glance

Parcels 2,172 Median lot 695 m² Mapped easements 235 Bus stops 15 Schools in suburb 0 Landslide overlay 8%

Schools in and near Mount Low

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

0

0 schools providing primary years and 0 providing secondary years. A combined school may be counted in both teaching levels.

Nearest school availability

Primary: 0.46 km from the suburb boundary

Secondary: 0.43 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 Mount Low is zoned

Emerging Community 55%
Rural Residential 27%
Low Density Residential 7%
Low Impact Industry 5%
Open Space 4%
Community Facilities 1%

Selling in Mount Low? 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 11.44 km², Mount Low is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 33% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 30% is flagged bushfire-prone. The dominant land-use zone is Emerging Community. The terrain is largely flat, and the median lot measures about 695 m² across 2,172 parcels.

Recent development applications in Mount Low

Applications are counted across the whole gazetted suburb from the public Townsville City Council register. No application address or individual property is published here.

Submitted in the past 12 months

42

Latest included submission: 3 September 2026.

Previous 12 months: 63 (33% 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 19 September 2026. Check the official council register.

Who lives in Mount Low

Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Mount Low suburb boundary itself, not a wider region.

Population
5,488
usual residents, 2021
Median age
29
years
Median household income
$2,259
per week, Townsville City suburb typical $1,510
Median rent
$370
per week, Townsville City suburb typical $291
Median mortgage
$1,733
per month
Household size
3.0
people, average

Socio-economic standing

ABS SEIFA 2021 ranks every Australian suburb. Decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth of the country, decile 10 the least.

Advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD) Decile 6
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Score 994, and decile 7 within Queensland. The national average is 1000.

Relative disadvantage (IRSD) Decile 7
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Age profile

Share of Mount Low's 5,488 residents in each ABS age band.

0-4 10.4%
5-14 18.2%
15-19 5.4%
20-24 7.0%
25-34 19.5%
35-44 16.4%
45-54 10.0%
55-64 7.4%
65-74 4.3%
75-84 1.3%
85+ 0.2%

Population trend, 2001 to 2025

Estimated resident population of Burdell - Mount Low, the wider ABS statistical area containing Mount Low. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Mount Low itself.

3,799 in 2001 to 22,202 in 2025, up 484%.

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.

Mount Low data sources and coverage

“Not mapped” means we hold no source layer for this suburb - never an all-clear.

DatasetCoveragePublisher
Flood mappingMappedthe relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data
Bushfire-prone mappingMappedthe relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data
ZoningMappedthe relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data
Heritage and environmentMapped where publishedthe relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data
Aircraft noise contours (ANEF)Not heldthe relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data, Defence
DemographicsAvailableAustralian Bureau of Statistics (2021 Census and SEIFA)
School availabilityAvailableQueensland Government
Development applicationsAvailable as suburb totalsTownsville 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 Mount Low 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 over parts of Mount Low. 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 (+$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 Mount Low lot.

See what's in the $9 report →

Mount Low planning - frequently asked

Is Mount Low flood-prone?

About 33% of Mount Low falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 39%. Across the suburb, 0% of the 2,154 properties we analysed carry some level of mapped flood risk.

Is Mount Low bushfire-prone?

Around 30% of Mount Low is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Townsville City average of 50%.

What is the zoning in Mount Low?

The dominant planning zone in Mount Low is Emerging Community, though the suburb also includes Rural Residential and Low Density Residential.

Does Mount Low have heritage-listed places?

No heritage-listed places are on record within Mount Low.

Is Mount Low hilly or flat?

Mount Low is largely flat: the median ground slope is about 1%. Ground level runs from roughly 6 m to 12 m AHD across the suburb.

What is the typical lot size in Mount Low?

Across 2,172 surveyed parcels in Mount Low, the median lot size is about 695 m². There are also 235 registered easements mapped in the suburb.

Does Mount Low have a train station?

There is no train station inside Mount Low itself. The suburb is served by 15 bus stops.

What is the population of Mount Low?

At the 2021 Census Mount Low had 5,488 usual residents, with a median age of 29 and an average household size of 3.0 people. The wider Burdell - Mount Low statistical area, which contains Mount Low, went from 3,799 people in 2001 to 22,202 in 2025, up 484%.

Is Mount Low an advantaged suburb?

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Mount Low scores 994 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 Mount Low?

Median household income in Mount Low was $2,259 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,510 for the typical suburb in Townsville City. Median rent was $370 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,733 a month.

Compare nearby suburbs

Nearby suburbDistanceFlood mappedBushfire-prone
Deeragun 2.7 km <1% 44%
Beach Holm 2.7 km 68% 31%
Bushland Beach 2.9 km 76% 37%
Burdell 3.1 km 86% 36%
Jensen 4.1 km 0% 40%
Bohle 6.3 km 100% 16%
Shaw 7.0 km 2% 88%
Cosgrove 7.0 km 6% 78%
Bohle Plains 7.4 km 0% 59%
Yabulu 7.6 km 36% 46%

See all Townsville City suburb profiles →