Whitsundays flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Whitsundays
(Whitsunday Regional, QLD) - 8693.17 km², mapped from live council and
state overlay data. This suburb is moderately constrained.
Profile updated 12 September 2026.
Suburb-wide figures; the free map shows which overlays touch your lot.
Constraint readout
8693.17 km² - this suburb is moderately constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Whitsundays's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top.
Nearby suburbs, nearest first
Whitsundays at a glance
Schools in and near Whitsundays
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 0 providing secondary years. A combined school may be counted in both teaching levels.
Nearest school availability
Primary: inside the suburb
Secondary: 0.68 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 Whitsundays is zoned
Selling in Whitsundays? 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 8693.17 km², Whitsundays is moderately constrained by planning overlays. About 2% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 6% is flagged bushfire-prone. The dominant land-use zone is Environmental management and conservation. The median lot measures about 43,115 m² across 141 parcels.
Who lives in Whitsundays
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Whitsundays suburb boundary itself, not a wider region.
Age profile
Share of Whitsundays's 2,281 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Airlie - Whitsundays, the wider ABS statistical area containing Whitsundays. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Whitsundays itself.
8,192 in 2001 to 16,597 in 2025, up 103%.
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.
Whitsundays 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) | Not held | 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 Whitsundays 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 Whitsundays lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Whitsundays planning - frequently asked
Is Whitsundays flood-prone?
About 2% of Whitsundays falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 48%.
Is Whitsundays bushfire-prone?
Around 6% of Whitsundays is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Whitsunday Regional average of 69%.
What is the zoning in Whitsundays?
The dominant planning zone in Whitsundays is Environmental management and conservation, though the suburb also includes Recreation and open space and Tourist accommodation.
Does Whitsundays have heritage-listed places?
No heritage-listed places are on record within Whitsundays.
What is the typical lot size in Whitsundays?
Across 141 surveyed parcels in Whitsundays, the median lot size is about 43,115 m². There are also 3 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
What is the population of Whitsundays?
At the 2021 Census Whitsundays had 2,281 usual residents, with a median age of 29 and an average household size of 2.0 people. The wider Airlie - Whitsundays statistical area, which contains Whitsundays, went from 8,192 people in 2001 to 16,597 in 2025, up 103%.
What is the median household income in Whitsundays?
Median household income in Whitsundays was $1,902 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,499 for the typical suburb in Whitsunday Regional. Median rent was $356 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,790 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coral Sea | 65.3 km | 3% | 5% |
| Keswick Island Mackay Regional |
75.1 km | 5% | 5% |
| Shute Harbour | 96.0 km | 76% | 66% |
| Cape Hillsborough Mackay Regional |
97.0 km | 22% | 56% |
| Cape Conway | 98.0 km | 8% | 78% |
| Dolphin Heads Mackay Regional |
98.2 km | 59% | 1% |
| Shoal Point Mackay Regional |
98.2 km | 68% | 8% |
| Mount Rooper | 98.9 km | 4% | 91% |
| Eimeo Mackay Regional |
99.2 km | 50% | 6% |
| Bucasia Mackay Regional |
99.7 km | 75% | 8% |