Rocklea flood map & planning overlays

A planning-constraint profile of Rocklea (Brisbane City, QLD) - 9.34 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 Rocklea'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 Rocklea properties?

Overlay percentages say how much land is constrained; these figures say how many properties are actually touched in a suburb-wide analysis of 2,137 Rocklea properties. No individual property result is identified on this page.

Aircraft noise and flight paths over Rocklea

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

10%

10% 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

ANEF 30

Under AS 2021, land at ANEF 30 and above is generally unacceptable for new houses and most noise-sensitive uses. The contour is a forecast, not a measurement at any one house.

Contours held

  • Brisbane City Plan Airport Environs ANEF

Rocklea flood history and overland flow

These are suburb-wide totals across 2,137 analysed properties. They show how common each mapped category is across Rocklea; they do not identify or describe any individual property.

Recorded historical flood mapping

97.9%

2,092 analysed properties intersect at least one mapped historical event extent.

  • Historic Flood 1974: 2,091
  • January 2011: 1,947
  • February 2022: 1,669

Mapped overland flow

20.3%

433 analysed properties carry a mapped overland-flow category.

  • Low: 122
  • Medium: 187
  • High: 28
  • Affected: 96

Source: Brisbane City 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.

Rocklea at a glance

Parcels 1,980 Median lot 601 m² Mapped easements 344 Bus stops 13 Schools in suburb 1

Schools in and near Rocklea

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: 0.01 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 Rocklea is zoned

General industry C 26%
Open space 16%
Specialised centre (Brisbane Markets) 10%
General industry B 9%
Rural 9%
Special purpose (Utility services) 7%

Selling in Rocklea? 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 9.34 km², Rocklea is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 100% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 8% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 5 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is General industry C. The terrain is largely flat, and the median lot measures about 601 m² across 1,980 parcels.

Recent development applications in Rocklea

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

Submitted in the past 12 months

43

Latest included submission: 9 September 2026.

Previous 12 months: 33 (30% higher in the latest period).

Common application types

  • Material change of use: 24
  • Building work: 18

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 20 September 2026. Check the official council register.

Who lives in Rocklea

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

Population
1,672
usual residents, 2021
Median age
34
years
Median household income
$1,493
per week, Brisbane City suburb typical $2,122
Median rent
$335
per week, Brisbane City suburb typical $410
Median mortgage
$1,635
per month
Household size
2.3
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 968, and decile 6 within Queensland. The national average is 1000.

Relative disadvantage (IRSD) Decile 3
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Age profile

Share of Rocklea's 1,672 residents in each ABS age band.

0-4 5.7%
5-14 10.0%
15-19 3.7%
20-24 9.9%
25-34 21.4%
35-44 16.9%
45-54 10.3%
55-64 8.8%
65-74 6.2%
75-84 3.0%
85+ 4.1%

Population trend, 2001 to 2025

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

8,802 in 2001 to 10,061 in 2025, up 14%.

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.

Rocklea property market snapshot

Queensland Government publishes this as a SA2 market series for Rocklea - Acacia Ridge, the wider statistical area containing Rocklea. It is not a valuation and is not specific to this suburb or any individual property.

House sales

$869,000

Median sale price from 173 sales over 12 months to March 2026.

Unit sales

$695,000

Median sale price from 51 sales over 12 months to March 2026.

Source: Queensland Government Statistician's Office (QGSO). View the source profile. The same SA2 figure can appear on several suburb pages within that statistical area.

Rocklea 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)Inside a held contourthe relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data, Defence
DemographicsAvailableAustralian Bureau of Statistics (2021 Census and SEIFA)
School availabilityAvailableQueensland Government
Market statisticsAvailable at SA2 levelQueensland Government Statistician's Office (QGSO)
Development applicationsAvailable as suburb totalsBrisbane 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 Rocklea 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 here: a Flood Model Report is available for about 2,100 Rocklea addresses (+$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 Rocklea lot.

See what's in the $9 report →

Rocklea planning - frequently asked

Is Rocklea flood-prone?

About 100% of Rocklea falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 40%. Across the suburb, 100% of the 2,137 properties we analysed carry some level of mapped flood risk, including 943 rated high risk or historically affected.

Is Rocklea bushfire-prone?

Around 8% of Rocklea is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Brisbane City average of 27%.

Is Rocklea affected by aircraft noise?

About 10% of Rocklea sits inside a published aircraft noise contour, and the highest contour present is ANEF 30 - under AS 2021, land above ANEF 25 is generally considered unacceptable for new houses, and 20-25 conditionally acceptable with noise attenuation. 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 Rocklea?

The dominant planning zone in Rocklea is General industry C, though the suburb also includes Open space and Specialised centre (Brisbane Markets).

Does Rocklea have heritage-listed places?

Rocklea has 5 heritage-listed places on record.

Is Rocklea hilly or flat?

Rocklea is largely flat: the median ground slope is about 2%. Ground level runs from roughly 3 m to 12 m AHD across the suburb.

What is the typical lot size in Rocklea?

Across 1,980 surveyed parcels in Rocklea, the median lot size is about 601 m². There are also 344 registered easements mapped in the suburb.

Does Rocklea have a train station?

There is no train station inside Rocklea itself. The suburb is served by 13 bus stops.

What is the population of Rocklea?

At the 2021 Census Rocklea had 1,672 usual residents, with a median age of 34 and an average household size of 2.3 people. The wider Rocklea - Acacia Ridge statistical area, which contains Rocklea, went from 8,802 people in 2001 to 10,061 in 2025, up 14%.

Is Rocklea an advantaged suburb?

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Rocklea scores 968 and sits in decile 4 of 10 nationally and decile 6 within Queensland (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).

What is the median household income in Rocklea?

Median household income in Rocklea was $1,493 a week at the 2021 Census, against $2,122 for the typical suburb in Brisbane City. Median rent was $335 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,635 a month.

Compare nearby suburbs

Nearby suburbDistanceFlood mappedBushfire-prone
Archerfield 1.8 km 85% 1%
Yeerongpilly 2.2 km 81% 0%
Salisbury 2.3 km 30% 16%
Corinda 2.4 km 54% 27%
Moorooka 2.5 km 27% 13%
Tennyson 2.7 km 100% 11%
Coopers Plains 3.4 km 58% 8%
Sherwood 3.4 km 63% 12%
Oxley 3.5 km 59% 25%
Acacia Ridge 4.0 km 40% 3%

See all Brisbane City suburb profiles →