Rathdowney flood map & planning overlays

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 12 September 2026.

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

Nearby suburbs, nearest first

How common is mapped flood risk across Rathdowney properties?

Overlay percentages say how much land is constrained; these figures say how many properties are actually touched in a suburb-wide analysis of 251 Rathdowney properties. No individual property result is identified on this page.

Rathdowney flood history and overland flow

These are suburb-wide totals across 251 analysed properties. They show how common each mapped category is across Rathdowney; 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.

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. These figures do not rate schools and do not assign a particular address to a catchment.

Inside the suburb boundary

1

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; use the official catchment finder for a specific address.

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
52
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.

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 12 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 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.

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 Rathdowney lot.

See what's in the $9 report →

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 12%. 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.

Is Rathdowney bushfire-prone?

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

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 suburbDistanceFlood mappedBushfire-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% 89%
Tamrookum 13.4 km 46% 31%

See all Scenic Rim Regional suburb profiles →