Methodology & data sources

Overview

LayeredGeo Planning Reports synchronise planning overlay spatial data from QLD, NSW and VIC government ArcGIS FeatureServer services, the NSW ePlanning Portal and Vicmap Planning. All data is stored in a PostGIS database and queried in real time for each address lookup. Data is updated periodically as source services refresh.

Queensland overlay sources

Planning Zone

Sourced from individual council ArcGIS FeatureServer services - Brisbane City Council, Gold Coast, Logan, Moreton Bay, Ipswich, Sunshine Coast, Noosa, Toowoomba, Lockyer Valley, Scenic Rim, Redland, Mackay, Townsville, Cassowary Coast, Gympie and Mount Isa. Zone classification is taken from the zone_prec_desc or equivalent field in the planning scheme dataset.

Flood

Flood overlay data is sourced from BCC, Gold Coast, Logan, Ipswich, Sunshine Coast and other councils that publish flood mapping via ArcGIS REST services. Overlay types include flood risk mapping, overland flow paths, planning scheme flood overlays, coastal and storm tide inundation, historical flood extents and site-specific flood assessment areas. Flood risk level is derived from the flood_risk attribute in source data.

Bushfire

Bushfire hazard overlay data is sourced from council ArcGIS services and the QLD state-wide bushfire prone land layer. Hazard categories (Very High, High, Medium) are derived from source attributes.

Heritage

Heritage overlay data includes local heritage places, heritage character areas, areas adjoining heritage places (from BCC and other councils) and the QLD State Heritage Register. Data is sourced from QLD Government and individual council ArcGIS services.

Noise

Transport noise corridor overlay data is sourced from council ArcGIS services including BCC, Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast. Overlay types include road noise corridors, rail noise corridors, state-controlled road noise corridors and mandatory/voluntary acoustic treatment areas.

Council Environment & Vegetation

Council environmental and vegetation overlay data includes significant native vegetation, waterway and wetland vegetation, urban vegetation management, council vegetation protection overlays, regulated vegetation, riparian wetland setbacks, biodiversity areas, ecological corridors and MLES (Matters of Local Environmental Significance) overlays. Sourced from QLD Government and council ArcGIS services.

MSES

MSES (Matters of State Environmental Significance) overlay data, including koala habitat, is sourced from QLD Government state-wide ArcGIS services. This group is Queensland-specific and is not reported in NSW or VIC.

Geotechnical & Natural Hazards

Landslide and erosion hazard, steep land and related geotechnical constraint layers, sourced from QLD Government and council ArcGIS services.

New South Wales overlay sources

NSW overlay data is sourced state-wide from the NSW ePlanning Portal (mapprod3.environment.nsw.gov.au) and other NSW Government spatial services:

• Planning Zone - NSW LEP zoning layer (LAY_CLASS / LABEL fields)
• Bushfire - Bushfire prone land layer, Vegetation Category 1, 2 and 3 and vegetation buffers (d_Category / Category fields)
• Heritage - EPI heritage, State Heritage Register curtilage polygons
• Flood - Flood planning area layer, the NSW flood extent dataset, and published council and catchment flood studies (Albury, Campbelltown, Coffs Harbour, Fairfield, Hunter, Illawarra, Tweed and others)
• Council Environment & Vegetation - terrestrial biodiversity, biodiversity values, environmentally sensitive land, riparian land and watercourses, key fish habitat, EPI wetlands, drinking water catchment and groundwater vulnerability
• Geotechnical & Natural Hazards - landslide risk, mine subsidence districts, underground coal mining and salinity
• Constraints - acid sulfate soils (LEP), land reservation acquisition, foreshore building lines and scenic protection
• Public Transport - TfNSW GTFS stops, state-wide

Victoria overlay sources

VIC overlay data is sourced state-wide from Vicmap Planning and other Victorian Government spatial services:

• Planning Zone - Vicmap Planning zone layer, covering all Victorian planning schemes
• Flood - Land Subject to Inundation, Floodway, Rural Floodway and Special Building overlays from Vicmap Planning, plus the Victorian Flood Database (DEECA): state-wide modelled extents at 1 in 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 year AEP, and mapped historical flood events
• Bushfire - Bushfire Management Overlay and Bushfire Prone Area
• Heritage - Heritage Overlay, the Victorian Heritage Register and the Victorian Heritage Inventory
• Noise - Airport Environs Overlay
• Council Environment & Vegetation - Environmental Significance, Vegetation Protection and Significant Landscape overlays
• Geotechnical & Natural Hazards - Erosion Management and Salinity Management overlays
• Constraints - Public Acquisition, Environmental Audit and Special Water Supply Catchment overlays, plus the remaining Vicmap planning scheme control families
• Character - Neighbourhood Character Overlay
• Cultural heritage - Areas of Cultural Heritage Sensitivity and Registered Aboriginal Party boundaries
• Public Transport - PTV GTFS stops, with Melbourne trams reported separately from train

Suburb demographics (ABS)

The suburb profile pages carry Census and socio-economic figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, sourced direct from the ABS Data API and published under CC BY 4.0:

• Population, age profile and medians - Census of Population and Housing 2021, General Community Profile tables G01 and G02, published at the Suburbs and Localities (SAL) level.
• Socio-economic indexes - SEIFA 2021 (IRSAD and IRSD), also published at the Suburbs and Localities level, with national and state deciles.
• Population trend - Regional Population, estimated resident population 2001 onwards. This series is published at Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2) and not at suburb level, so the trend shown describes the wider statistical area containing the suburb. The pages name that area rather than presenting the trend as the suburb's own.

Suburbs and Localities is the ABS geography for gazetted localities, so the Census and SEIFA figures are ABS's own published values for the suburb boundary itself. They are not aggregated up from smaller areas by us. Each suburb page is matched to its ABS boundary by spatial overlap against the ASGS 2021 boundaries. Where more than one ABS area overlaps, a boundary carrying the same locality name is preferred, since names repeat across states and the greatest-overlap area is occasionally a neighbour rather than the suburb itself. A differently-named boundary that only clips the locality is rejected and the page carries no demographics rather than the next suburb's.

Two suppressions apply. Medians and the age profile are not shown for suburbs under 50 usual residents, because the ABS randomly adjusts small Census counts to protect confidentiality and the resulting figures are not meaningful at that scale. A SEIFA index is not shown where the ABS could not score enough of the suburb's population for the value to represent it. Census figures date from August 2021 and are not indexed to the present.

Suburb profile aggregates

Suburb profile pages summarise published spatial data within the gazetted suburb boundary. Land-share percentages are calculated from the area of mapped overlay polygons intersecting that boundary. Property counts and medians are suburb-wide aggregates; the pages do not publish property identifiers, addresses, coordinates or individual application records.

Flood history and overland flow

Where suitable Queensland council data is available, historical flood extents and mapped overland-flow categories are aggregated across analysed properties in the suburb. The panel is withheld where fewer than 20 properties have been analysed, and individual event or category counts below five are not shown. These totals cannot establish whether a particular address is affected.

School availability

Queensland school counts are derived from Queensland Government campus locations within the suburb boundary. Nearest-primary and nearest-secondary distances are measured from the suburb boundary, not from a home. A combined school can contribute to both teaching-level counts. The figures are not school ratings and do not represent enrolment-catchment eligibility.

Development activity

For supported Queensland councils, development applications are spatially assigned to a suburb and reported only as rolling 12-month totals and broad application-type counts. Totals and application types with fewer than five records are suppressed, as is the latest submission date for a suppressed total. Addresses, application numbers, descriptions and property-level results are not exposed on suburb pages.

Property market context

Queensland market snapshots use the latest government-published Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2) series matched to the suburb. An SA2 is wider than a suburb and can contain several localities, so every snapshot names the SA2 and must not be read as a suburb-specific price, valuation or statement about an individual property.

Coverage and comparisons

“Not mapped” means LayeredGeo does not hold a source layer covering that suburb; it is not an all-clear. Council averages and rankings exclude suburbs without coverage for the relevant overlay. Nearby-suburb distances are calculated between representative suburb centroids and are approximate straight-line distances.

Spatial query method

For each address lookup, the address is geocoded to a point coordinate (WGS84 / EPSG:4326). A PostGIS ST_Intersects query identifies all overlay polygons that contain or overlap the site point. Where a lot plan identifier is available, the full parcel polygon is used for intersection rather than the centroid point.

All overlay geometry is stored in GDA94 / EPSG:4283 in the PostGIS database. Spatial indices on the geometry column ensure fast lookup for any address in QLD, NSW or VIC.

Data currency

Planning overlays are updated periodically from source services. Data currency varies by council and data type - typically monthly to quarterly for most sources. The QLD, NSW and VIC government ePlanning portals update their data on their own schedules. Planning Reports include the data retrieval date. Users should verify critical overlay decisions against the relevant council's official planning scheme mapping portal.

Limitations and disclaimer

Planning Reports are produced from government-published spatial datasets and are intended as a desktop screening tool only. Overlay boundaries are subject to change through planning instrument amendments. This report does not constitute formal planning advice. Users should verify current overlay status with the relevant council or competent authority prior to making development decisions.

Zoning and the planning scheme overlays are published state-wide in NSW and Victoria. In Queensland each council publishes its own planning scheme mapping, and not all councils do so via open ArcGIS services, so coverage may be limited in some local government areas, particularly outside major urban centres. Where we do not hold mapping for a location, the report states that the item was not assessed rather than reporting a clear result.