St Helens flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of St Helens
(Fraser Coast Regional, QLD) - 8.8 km², mapped from live council and
state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 12 September 2026.
Suburb-wide figures; the free map shows which overlays touch your lot.
Constraint readout
8.8 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to St Helens'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
Aircraft noise and flight paths over St Helens
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
2% 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 25 and 30 is generally unacceptable for new houses; 20 to 25 is conditionally acceptable with noise attenuation. The contour is a forecast, not a measurement at any one house.
Contours held
- fcrc_noise_anef
St Helens at a glance
Schools in and near St Helens
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
2 schools providing primary years and 1 providing secondary years. A combined school may be counted in both teaching levels.
Nearest school availability
Primary: inside the suburb
Secondary: inside the suburb
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 St Helens is zoned
Selling in St Helens? 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 8.8 km², St Helens is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 85% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 60% is flagged bushfire-prone. The dominant land-use zone is Emerging Communities. The median lot measures about 4,501 m² across 175 parcels.
Who lives in St Helens
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the St Helens 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 916, and decile 3 within Queensland. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of St Helens's 123 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Maryborough (Qld), the wider ABS statistical area containing St Helens. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than St Helens itself.
17,487 in 2001 to 19,255 in 2025, up 10%.
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.
St Helens 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 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 St Helens 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.
Building or pricing a slab? The $119 geotechnical desktop report covers geology, soils, bores and an indicative AS 2870 site class for a St Helens lot.
See what's in the $9 report →St Helens planning - frequently asked
Is St Helens flood-prone?
About 85% of St Helens falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 41%.
Is St Helens bushfire-prone?
Around 60% of St Helens is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Fraser Coast Regional average of 68%.
Is St Helens affected by aircraft noise?
About 2% of St Helens sits inside a published aircraft noise contour, and the highest contour present is ANEF 25 - 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 St Helens?
The dominant planning zone in St Helens is Emerging Communities, though the suburb also includes Rural and Community facilities.
Does St Helens have heritage-listed places?
No heritage-listed places are on record within St Helens.
What is the typical lot size in St Helens?
Across 175 surveyed parcels in St Helens, the median lot size is about 4,501 m². There are also 33 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
What is the population of St Helens?
At the 2021 Census St Helens had 123 usual residents, with a median age of 49 and an average household size of 2.4 people. The wider Maryborough (Qld) statistical area, which contains St Helens, went from 17,487 people in 2001 to 19,255 in 2025, up 10%.
Is St Helens an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), St Helens scores 916 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 St Helens?
Median household income in St Helens was $942 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,124 for the typical suburb in Fraser Coast Regional. Median rent was $260 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,324 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dundathu | 1.9 km | 64% | 82% |
| Island Plantation | 2.6 km | 100% | 23% |
| Maryborough West | 3.8 km | 49% | 90% |
| Maryborough | 4.2 km | 82% | 36% |
| Aldershot | 4.3 km | 52% | 86% |
| Walkers Point | 4.7 km | 90% | 37% |
| Granville | 6.3 km | 85% | 44% |
| Prawle | 7.3 km | 89% | 60% |
| Tinana | 7.6 km | 77% | 55% |
| Walliebum | 8.1 km | 52% | 91% |