Portsmith flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Portsmith
(Cairns Regional, QLD) - 15.56 km², mapped from live council and
state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 10 September 2026.
Suburb-wide figures; the free map shows which overlays touch your lot.
Constraint readout
15.56 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Portsmith's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top. Amber hatching is the published aircraft noise (ANEF) contour.
Nearby suburbs, nearest first
How common is mapped flood risk across Portsmith properties?
Overlay percentages say how much land is constrained; these figures say how many properties are actually touched in a suburb-wide analysis of 622 Portsmith properties. No individual property result is identified on this page.
Lot-level readout
Flood-risk rating across all 622 properties
From LayeredGeo's lot-risk engine: council flood overlays, historical flooding and terrain, resolved to each individual lot in Portsmith.
Aircraft noise and flight paths over Portsmith
Two different things, kept apart on purpose. The ANEF contour is the planning instrument - a forecast published per airport that planning schemes use to control noise-sensitive development. Observed aircraft traffic is a separate question from the contour.
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 20 and 25 is conditionally acceptable for houses, usually with noise attenuation built in. The contour is a forecast, not a measurement at any one house.
Contours held
- Cairns Regional Council ANEF
Portsmith at a glance
Schools in and near Portsmith
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 schools providing primary years and 0 providing secondary years. A combined school may be counted in both teaching levels.
Nearest school availability
Primary: 0.49 km from the suburb boundary
Secondary: 0.40 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 Portsmith is zoned
Selling in Portsmith? 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 15.56 km², Portsmith is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 100% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 1% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 2 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Conservation. The terrain is largely flat, and the median lot measures about 1,408 m² across 613 parcels.
Who lives in Portsmith
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Portsmith 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 902, and decile 2 within Queensland. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Portsmith's 314 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Gordonvale - Trinity, the wider ABS statistical area containing Portsmith. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Portsmith itself.
6,364 in 2001 to 11,413 in 2025, up 79%.
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.
Portsmith 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 |
| Demographics | Available | Australian Bureau of Statistics (2021 Census and SEIFA) |
| School availability | Available | Queensland Government |
Profile last materially updated 10 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 Portsmith 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 Portsmith. 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 Portsmith lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Portsmith planning - frequently asked
Is Portsmith flood-prone?
About 100% of Portsmith falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 55%. Across the suburb, 100% of the 622 properties we analysed carry some level of mapped flood risk, including 621 rated high risk or historically affected.
Is Portsmith bushfire-prone?
Around 1% of Portsmith is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Cairns Regional average of 23%.
Is Portsmith affected by aircraft noise?
About 3% of Portsmith sits inside a published aircraft noise contour, and the highest contour present is ANEF 20 - under AS 2021, land between ANEF 20 and 25 is conditionally acceptable for houses, usually with noise attenuation in the build. 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.
What is the zoning in Portsmith?
The dominant planning zone in Portsmith is Conservation, though the suburb also includes Strategic Port Land and Medium Impact Industry.
Does Portsmith have heritage-listed places?
Portsmith has 2 heritage-listed places on record.
Is Portsmith hilly or flat?
Portsmith is largely flat: the median ground slope is about 1%. Ground level runs from roughly 1 m to 3 m AHD across the suburb.
What is the typical lot size in Portsmith?
Across 613 surveyed parcels in Portsmith, the median lot size is about 1,408 m². There are also 180 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
Does Portsmith have a train station?
There is no train station inside Portsmith itself. The suburb is served by 4 bus stops.
What is the population of Portsmith?
At the 2021 Census Portsmith had 314 usual residents, with a median age of 35 and an average household size of 1.9 people. The wider Gordonvale - Trinity statistical area, which contains Portsmith, went from 6,364 people in 2001 to 11,413 in 2025, up 79%.
Is Portsmith an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Portsmith scores 902 and sits in decile 2 of 10 nationally and decile 2 within Queensland (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in Portsmith?
Median household income in Portsmith was $749 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,618 for the typical suburb in Cairns Regional. Median rent was $280 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,760 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| White Rock | 2.9 km | 93% | 9% |
| East Trinity | 3.3 km | 41% | 45% |
| Bungalow | 3.5 km | 100% | 2% |
| Woree | 3.7 km | 74% | 28% |
| Westcourt | 4.4 km | 100% | <1% |
| Parramatta Park | 4.4 km | 100% | 10% |
| Cairns City | 4.7 km | 65% | 0% |
| Glen Boughton | 5.4 km | 54% | 80% |
| Manunda | 5.7 km | 99% | 40% |
| Earlville | 5.8 km | 46% | 29% |