Whitfield flood map & planning overlays

A planning-constraint profile of Whitfield (Cairns Regional, QLD) - 5.96 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.

Planning schematicWhitfield

Constraint readout

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

Flood overlay 23%

below council avg (55%) · #53 of 66 mapped council suburbs

Bushfire-prone 31%

1.3× council avg (23%) · #20 of 66 mapped council suburbs

Environmental68%

≈ council avg (67%) · #35 of 66 in council

Heritage sites 2 Noise corridor 12% Aircraft noise (ANEF) 12% Mostly Conservation Flood 53rd most affected of 66 → Bushfire 20th most affected of 66 →

Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Whitfield'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 Whitfield properties?

Overlay percentages say how much land is constrained; these figures say how many properties are actually touched in a suburb-wide analysis of 2,189 Whitfield properties. No individual property result is identified on this page.

Lot-level readout

Properties analysed

2,189

lot-by-lot flood, slope and elevation

With mapped flood risk

33%

714 of 2,189 properties

Median ground slope

largely flat, measured 50 m around each address · 15% of points 15%+

Ground level

4–67 m

AHD, across the suburb

Flood-risk rating across all 2,189 properties

No mapped risk 1,475 Affected 714

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

Aircraft noise and flight paths over Whitfield

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

12%

12% 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

Cairns Regional Council ANEF

Whitfield at a glance

Parcels 2,054 Median lot 793 m² Mapped easements 302 Bus stops 12 Schools in suburb 1 Landslide overlay 66%

Schools in and near Whitfield

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 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: 0.96 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 Whitfield is zoned

Conservation 58%

Low Density Residential 20%

Open Space 7%

Low-medium Density Residential 7%

Environmental Management 5%

Community Facilities 1%

Selling in Whitfield? 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 5.96 km², Whitfield is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 23% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 31% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 2 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Conservation. The terrain is largely flat, and the median lot measures about 793 m² across 2,054 parcels.

Who lives in Whitfield

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

Population

4,262

usual residents, 2021

Median age

years

Median household income

$1,681

per week, Cairns Regional suburb typical $1,618

Median rent

$340

per week, Cairns Regional suburb typical $315

Median mortgage

$1,733

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 7

most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Score 1015, and decile 8 within Queensland. The national average is 1000.

Relative disadvantage (IRSD) Decile 6

most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Age profile

Share of Whitfield's 4,262 residents in each ABS age band.

0-4 3.6%

5-14 13.0%

15-19 5.7%

20-24 3.3%

25-34 11.7%

35-44 12.1%

45-54 16.3%

55-64 13.0%

65-74 10.4%

75-84 6.7%

85+ 4.1%

Population trend, 2001 to 2025

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

8,083 in 2001 to 8,573 in 2025, up 6%.

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.

Whitfield 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 Whitfield 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 over parts of Whitfield. 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 (+$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 Whitfield lot.

See what's in the $9 report →

Whitfield planning - frequently asked

Is Whitfield flood-prone?

About 23% of Whitfield falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 55%. Across the suburb, 33% of the 2,189 properties we analysed carry some level of mapped flood risk, including 714 rated high risk or historically affected.

Is Whitfield bushfire-prone?

Around 31% of Whitfield is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Cairns Regional average of 23%.

Is Whitfield affected by aircraft noise?

About 12% of Whitfield 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 Whitfield?

The dominant planning zone in Whitfield is Conservation, though the suburb also includes Low Density Residential and Open Space.

Does Whitfield have heritage-listed places?

Whitfield has 2 heritage-listed places on record.

Is Whitfield hilly or flat?

Whitfield is largely flat: the median ground slope is about 4%, and 15% of measured points sit on grades of 15% or steeper. Ground level runs from roughly 4 m to 67 m AHD across the suburb.

What is the typical lot size in Whitfield?

Across 2,054 surveyed parcels in Whitfield, the median lot size is about 793 m². There are also 302 registered easements mapped in the suburb.

Does Whitfield have a train station?

There is no train station inside Whitfield itself. The suburb is served by 12 bus stops.

What is the population of Whitfield?

At the 2021 Census Whitfield had 4,262 usual residents, with a median age of 45 and an average household size of 2.3 people. The wider Whitfield - Edge Hill statistical area, which contains Whitfield, went from 8,083 people in 2001 to 8,573 in 2025, up 6%.

Is Whitfield an advantaged suburb?

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Whitfield scores 1015 and sits in decile 7 of 10 nationally and decile 8 within Queensland (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).

What is the median household income in Whitfield?

Median household income in Whitfield was $1,681 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,618 for the typical suburb in Cairns Regional. Median rent was $340 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,733 a month.

Compare nearby suburbs

Nearby suburb	Distance	Flood mapped	Bushfire-prone
Edge Hill	1.7 km	65%	23%
Brinsmead	1.7 km	35%	18%
Stratford	2.0 km	42%	69%
Freshwater	2.2 km	32%	39%
Manoora	2.5 km	94%	20%
Kanimbla	2.8 km	33%	58%
Manunda	3.2 km	99%	40%
Kamerunga	3.8 km	73%	39%
Barron	4.0 km	100%	6%
Aeroglen	4.3 km	74%	10%

See all Cairns Regional suburb profiles →