Rathdowney flood map & planning overlays

Rathdowney's bushfire overlay reaches 86.2% of the suburb, 10th in the region.

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A planning-constraint profile of Rathdowney (Scenic Rim Regional, QLD) - 72.19 km², mapped from live council and state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 7 November 2026.

Planning schematicRathdowney

Constraint readout

72.19 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.

Flood overlay 11%

≈ council avg (14%) · #40 of 95 mapped council suburbs

Modelled flood depth held over parts of Rathdowney

See the Scenic Rim flood map by suburb.

Bushfire-prone 86%

1.7× council avg (52%) · #11 of 111 mapped council suburbs

Environmental63%

2.1× council avg (30%) · #13 of 111 in council

Heritage sites 3 Noise corridor 6% Aircraft seen below 3,000 ft 10% Mostly Rural Flood 40th most affected of 95 → Bushfire 11th most affected of 111 →

Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Rathdowney's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top. Magenta is where aircraft were observed in the sampled period, brightest below 3,000 ft.

Nearby suburbs, nearest first

How common is mapped flood risk across Rathdowney properties?

Counts of properties, not share of land, across 251 analysed Rathdowney properties; no individual property result is identified.

Lot-level readout

Properties analysed

251

lot-by-lot flood, slope and elevation

With mapped flood risk

55%

139 of 251 properties

Median ground slope

10%

hilly, measured 50 m around each address · 33% of points 15%+

Ground level

86–320 m

AHD, across the suburb

Flood-risk rating across all 251 properties

No mapped risk 112 Low 1Medium 8High 130

From LayeredGeo's lot-risk engine: council flood overlays, historical flooding and terrain, resolved to each individual lot in Rathdowney.

Has Rathdowney flooded? Flood history and overland flow

Yes. Recorded flood mapping reaches into Rathdowney: 139 of the 251 properties we analysed (55.4%) sit at least partly inside a mapped historical flood extent (Defined Flood Event: 139). The free address check says whether a given lot is inside one.

Suburb-wide totals across 251 analysed properties; they do not identify or describe any individual property.

Recorded historical flood mapping

55.4%

139 analysed properties intersect at least one mapped historical event extent.

Defined Flood Event: 139

Source: Scenic Rim Regional 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.

Aircraft noise and flight paths over Rathdowney

The ANEF contour is a published planning forecast and observed overflight is what a sampled tracking feed recorded - neither describes any individual property.

Observed overflight - sampled 4 Sep to 7 Nov 2026

Under observed aircraft

66%

of the suburb, at or below 10,000 ft

Below 3,000 ft

10%

of the suburb's area

Lowest measured

1,500 ft

averaging 5,000 ft

Busiest square

~0 a day

±32% · area average
typical observed square 0 a day

Night movements: observed, lowest 8,000 ft - night is sampled as often as day, but night traffic is light, so this is a floor and no rate can be put on it.

How this is measured

Traffic is sampled rather than watched continuously, so every figure is a floor: aircraft not captured between samples are not represented. Rates are per 500 m square - the busiest square in the suburb, not a count of flights over the suburb - and a square is only rated where enough traffic was seen to measure it. Altitudes are above mean sea level. Flight paths change with runway use, weather, season and airspace design. This is a record of observed traffic; it is not a noise contour and not a planning control.

Rathdowney at a glance

Parcels 310 Median lot 28,935 m² Mapped easements 29 Schools in suburb 1

Schools in and near Rathdowney

Public school-location data shows availability across the suburb; it does not rate schools or assign any individual 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: 9.27 km from the suburb boundary

Source: Queensland Government school geographic information. Catchment boundaries can divide a suburb and change over time.

Which school zone is a Rathdowney address in? Check an address with our free school zone checker.

How Rathdowney is zoned

Rural 99%

Recreation and Open Space 1%

Township 0%

Community Facilities 0%

Conservation 0%

Selling in Rathdowney? 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 72.19 km², Rathdowney is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 11% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 86% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 3 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Rural. The terrain is hilly, and the median lot measures about 28,935 m² across 310 parcels.

Who lives in Rathdowney

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

Population

320

usual residents, 2021

Median age

years

Median household income

$1,109

per week, Scenic Rim Regional suburb typical $1,562

Median rent

$230

per week, Scenic Rim Regional suburb typical $300

Median mortgage

$1,300

per month

Household size

2.4

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 2

most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Score 925, and decile 3 within Queensland. The national average is 1000.

Relative disadvantage (IRSD) Decile 3

most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Age profile

Share of Rathdowney's 320 residents in each ABS age band.

0-4 1.9%

5-14 16.4%

15-19 2.8%

20-24 2.5%

25-34 6.6%

35-44 9.8%

45-54 12.3%

55-64 18.6%

65-74 18.6%

75-84 6.9%

85+ 3.5%

Population trend, 2001 to 2025

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

9,977 in 2001 to 16,642 in 2025, up 67%.

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.

Rathdowney 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
Observed flight paths	Observed	adsb.lol, under the Open Database License
Demographics	Available	Australian Bureau of Statistics (2021 Census and SEIFA)
School availability	Available	Queensland Government

Profile last materially updated 7 November 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 Rathdowney 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 →

Aircraft have been seen below 3,000 ft over about 10% of Rathdowney. The report's Aircraft Overflight page narrows that to the address itself: how many aircraft a day, how low, and at what heights.

Published flood models are held over parts of Rathdowney. 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 to spin round in your browser (+$9 with the planning report).

Moving here? The Liveability section adds walking times from the address to schools, parks, shops and transport, and the school zones it sits in (+$9 with the planning report).

Building or pricing a slab? The $119 geotechnical desktop report covers geology, soils, bores and the indicative soil reactivity range to expect for a Rathdowney lot.

Rathdowney planning - frequently asked

Is Rathdowney flood-prone?

About 11% of Rathdowney falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 14%. Across the suburb, 55% of the 251 properties we analysed carry some level of mapped flood risk, including 130 rated high risk or historically affected. Published flood models are held over parts of Rathdowney; the free check on the Flood Model Report page says whether one reaches a given address.

Has Rathdowney flooded?

Is Rathdowney bushfire-prone?

Around 86% of Rathdowney is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Scenic Rim Regional average of 52%.

Is Rathdowney under a flight path?

Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 10% of Rathdowney, and over about 66% at any altitude up to 10,000 ft, in the period sampled (4 Sep 2026 to 7 Nov 2026). The lowest measured aircraft was at 1,500 ft, with an average of 5,000 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 0 aircraft a day were recorded passing over one 500 m square. Traffic is sampled rather than watched continuously and flight paths change with runway use, weather and season; the ANEF contour is the planning instrument.

What is the zoning in Rathdowney?

The dominant planning zone in Rathdowney is Rural, though the suburb also includes Recreation and Open Space and Township.

Does Rathdowney have heritage-listed places?

Rathdowney has 3 heritage-listed places on record.

Is Rathdowney hilly or flat?

Rathdowney is hilly: the median ground slope is about 10%, and 33% of measured points sit on grades of 15% or steeper. Ground level runs from roughly 86 m to 320 m AHD across the suburb.

What is the typical lot size in Rathdowney?

Across 310 surveyed parcels in Rathdowney, the median lot size is about 28,935 m². There are also 29 registered easements mapped in the suburb.

What is the population of Rathdowney?

At the 2021 Census Rathdowney had 320 usual residents, with a median age of 52 and an average household size of 2.4 people. The wider Beaudesert statistical area, which contains Rathdowney, went from 9,977 people in 2001 to 16,642 in 2025, up 67%.

Is Rathdowney an advantaged suburb?

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Rathdowney scores 925 and sits in decile 2 of 10 nationally and decile 3 within Queensland (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).

What is the median household income in Rathdowney?

Median household income in Rathdowney was $1,109 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,562 for the typical suburb in Scenic Rim Regional. Median rent was $230 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,300 a month.

Compare nearby suburbs

Nearby suburb	Distance	Flood mapped	Bushfire-prone
Tamrookum Creek	4.6 km	<1%	91%
Barney View	5.6 km	3%	51%
Knapp Creek	7.2 km	1%	36%
Innisplain	9.8 km	36%	42%
Palen Creek	10.8 km	4%	70%
Maroon	10.8 km	2%	64%
Kooralbyn	13.1 km	2%	72%
Running Creek	13.3 km	6%	70%
Mount Barney	13.4 km	2%	93%
Tamrookum	13.4 km	46%	31%

See all Scenic Rim Regional suburb profiles →