Owens Creek flood map & planning overlays

A planning-constraint profile of Owens Creek (Mackay Regional, QLD) - 41.8 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 Owens Creek's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top.

Nearby suburbs, nearest first

How common is mapped flood risk across Owens Creek properties?

Overlay percentages say how much land is constrained; these figures say how many properties are actually touched in a suburb-wide analysis of 142 Owens Creek properties. No individual property result is identified on this page.

Owens Creek at a glance

Parcels 142 Median lot 232,366 m² Mapped easements 9 Schools in suburb 0 Landslide overlay 48%

Schools in and near Owens Creek

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: 1.90 km from the suburb boundary

Secondary: 12.94 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 Owens Creek is zoned

Rural 100%
Open space 0%
Conservation 0%

Selling in Owens Creek? 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 41.8 km², Owens Creek is highly constrained by planning overlays. Flood mapping covers the suburb and none of it falls within a mapped flood overlay, and 30% is flagged bushfire-prone. The dominant land-use zone is Rural. The terrain is gently undulating, and the median lot measures about 232,366 m² across 142 parcels.

Who lives in Owens Creek

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

Population
193
usual residents, 2021
Median age
42
years
Median household income
$1,687
per week, Mackay Regional suburb typical $1,937
Median rent
$165
per week, Mackay Regional suburb typical $272
Median mortgage
$1,517
per month
Household size
2.5
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 4
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Score 963, and decile 5 within Queensland. The national average is 1000.

Relative disadvantage (IRSD) Decile 5
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Age profile

Share of Owens Creek's 193 residents in each ABS age band.

0-4 4.8%
5-14 15.5%
15-19 12.3%
20-24 1.6%
25-34 6.4%
35-44 18.2%
45-54 11.2%
55-64 11.8%
65-74 13.9%
75-84 4.3%
85+ 0.0%

Population trend, 2001 to 2025

Estimated resident population of Pioneer Valley, the wider ABS statistical area containing Owens Creek. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Owens Creek itself.

4,997 in 2001 to 9,449 in 2025, up 89%.

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.

Owens Creek 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

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 Owens Creek 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 Owens Creek. 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 Owens Creek lot.

See what's in the $9 report →

Owens Creek planning - frequently asked

Is Owens Creek flood-prone?

Flood mapping covers Owens Creek and less than 1% of the suburb falls within a mapped flood overlay (the council-wide suburb average is 34%). Across the suburb, 3% of the 142 properties we analysed carry some level of mapped flood risk, including 4 rated high risk or historically affected.

Is Owens Creek bushfire-prone?

Around 30% of Owens Creek is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Mackay Regional average of 26%.

What is the zoning in Owens Creek?

The dominant planning zone in Owens Creek is Rural, though the suburb also includes Open space and Conservation.

Does Owens Creek have heritage-listed places?

No heritage-listed places are on record within Owens Creek.

Is Owens Creek hilly or flat?

Owens Creek is gently undulating: the median ground slope is about 8%, and 28% of measured points sit on grades of 15% or steeper. Ground level runs from roughly 72 m to 216 m AHD across the suburb.

What is the typical lot size in Owens Creek?

Across 142 surveyed parcels in Owens Creek, the median lot size is about 232,366 m². There are also 9 registered easements mapped in the suburb.

What is the population of Owens Creek?

At the 2021 Census Owens Creek had 193 usual residents, with a median age of 42 and an average household size of 2.5 people. The wider Pioneer Valley statistical area, which contains Owens Creek, went from 4,997 people in 2001 to 9,449 in 2025, up 89%.

Is Owens Creek an advantaged suburb?

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Owens Creek scores 963 and sits in decile 4 of 10 nationally and decile 5 within Queensland (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).

What is the median household income in Owens Creek?

Median household income in Owens Creek was $1,687 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,937 for the typical suburb in Mackay Regional. Median rent was $165 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,517 a month.

Compare nearby suburbs

Nearby suburbDistanceFlood mappedBushfire-prone
Dows Creek 6.5 km 0% 34%
Gargett 8.2 km 0% 28%
Finch Hatton 10.2 km 7% 56%
Mount Charlton 12.0 km 0% 48%
Mount Martin 12.1 km 0% 34%
Benholme 12.5 km <1% 15%
Pinnacle 13.1 km <1% 69%
Netherdale 17.4 km <1% 66%
Mount Ossa 18.4 km 9% 44%
Mia Mia 18.6 km 0% 36%

See all Mackay Regional suburb profiles →