The Caves flood map & planning overlays

A planning-constraint profile of The Caves (Livingstone Shire, QLD) - 45.02 km², mapped from live council and state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 16 September 2026.

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

Nearby suburbs, nearest first

The Caves at a glance

Parcels 339 Median lot 19,308 m² Mapped easements 23 Schools in suburb 1

Schools in and near The Caves

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: 6.09 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 The Caves is zoned

Rural 81%
Environmental management and conservation 14%
Rural residential 4%
Special purpose 1%
Sport and recreation 0%
Township 0%

Selling in The Caves? 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 45.02 km², The Caves is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 35% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 73% is flagged bushfire-prone. The dominant land-use zone is Rural. The median lot measures about 19,308 m² across 339 parcels.

Who lives in The Caves

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

Population
680
usual residents, 2021
Median age
40
years
Median household income
$1,926
per week, Livingstone Shire suburb typical $1,791
Median rent
$300
per week, Livingstone Shire suburb typical $300
Median mortgage
$1,500
per month
Household size
2.7
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 3
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Score 947, and decile 4 within Queensland. The national average is 1000.

Relative disadvantage (IRSD) Decile 5
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Age profile

Share of The Caves's 680 residents in each ABS age band.

0-4 5.1%
5-14 14.7%
15-19 6.4%
20-24 4.8%
25-34 11.4%
35-44 12.9%
45-54 14.1%
55-64 15.1%
65-74 11.5%
75-84 4.0%
85+ 0.0%

Population trend, 2001 to 2025

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

3,591 in 2001 to 6,002 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.

The Caves 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 16 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 The Caves 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 The Caves lot.

See what's in the $9 report →

The Caves planning - frequently asked

Is The Caves flood-prone?

About 35% of The Caves falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 42%.

Is The Caves bushfire-prone?

Around 73% of The Caves is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Livingstone Shire average of 53%.

What is the zoning in The Caves?

The dominant planning zone in The Caves is Rural, though the suburb also includes Environmental management and conservation and Rural residential.

Does The Caves have heritage-listed places?

No heritage-listed places are on record within The Caves.

What is the typical lot size in The Caves?

Across 339 surveyed parcels in The Caves, the median lot size is about 19,308 m². There are also 23 registered easements mapped in the suburb.

What is the population of The Caves?

At the 2021 Census The Caves had 680 usual residents, with a median age of 40 and an average household size of 2.7 people. The wider Glenlee - Rockyview statistical area, which contains The Caves, went from 3,591 people in 2001 to 6,002 in 2025, up 67%.

Is The Caves an advantaged suburb?

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), The Caves scores 947 and sits in decile 3 of 10 nationally and decile 4 within Queensland (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).

What is the median household income in The Caves?

Median household income in The Caves was $1,926 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,791 for the typical suburb in Livingstone Shire. Median rent was $300 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,500 a month.

Compare nearby suburbs

Nearby suburbDistanceFlood mappedBushfire-prone
Wattlebank 6.2 km 65% 25%
Glendale 7.8 km 47% 19%
Milman 8.8 km 66% 45%
Etna Creek 9.1 km 79% 45%
Barmoya 9.2 km 87% 18%
Sandringham 10.2 km 46% 43%
Rockyview 10.4 km 28% 60%
Yaamba 11.9 km 100% 52%
Glenlee 12.6 km 76% 35%
South Yaamba
Rockhampton Regional
14.1 km 94% 30%

See all Livingstone Shire suburb profiles →