How Do I Find the Flood Level for My Property?
Trying to understand the flood level for your property? We break down where to find reliable flood information across major South East Queensland councils and what the data actually means.
If you are buying, building, renovating a home, or developing a property in South East Queensland, one of the first questions you may have is:
“What is the flood level for my property?”
It sounds like a simple question, but there is no single Queensland-wide database that gives a definitive answer for every property.
Each council provides flood information differently. Some offer detailed online reports for free. Others provide general mapping but require a property-specific search for more technical information.
And importantly, the flood level shown by Council is not the same thing as the depth of water at your house.
In this article, we explain where to find flood information for properties across six major South East Queensland council areas, what information each council provides, and some of the important limitations to be aware of.
Flood levels are usually expressed in metres AHD, or Australian Height Datum. AHD is Australia’s standard system for measuring elevation relative approximately to mean sea level.
For example, if the 1% AEP flood level at your property is:
8.5 m AHD
that does not mean there will be 8.5 metres of water on the property. If the ground level at the house is 8.0 m AHD, the approximate flood depth would be:
8.5 – 8.0 = 0.5 metres
So, to understand what flooding may mean for a building, you often need both:
Council information may give an indication of these levels, but accurate design or construction levels may still require a survey.
For Brisbane properties, a good starting point is Council’s Flood Awareness Map and FloodWise Property Report.
The Flood Awareness Map allows you to search an address or Lot/Plan and identify the types of flooding that may affect the property.
From there, you can generate a Technical FloodWise Property Report.
Brisbane City Council – FloodWise Property Report →
The FloodWise Property Report can contain information such as:
The flood extent shown on the first page of the FloodWise report does not necessarily show overland flow flooding.
Overland flow may instead appear elsewhere in the report as a Property Development Flag or Flood Planning Area.
So the absence of coloured flood shading over a house does not necessarily mean there are no flood-related constraints.
Also keep in mind that some ground and floor levels in the report are indicative rather than survey-accurate.
Moreton Bay provides two particularly useful resources:
City of Moreton Bay – Flood Mapping →
City of Moreton Bay – Flood Check Property Report →
The Flood Viewer allows you to explore flooding associated with:
For an individual property, the Flood Check Property Report is generally more useful than looking at the map alone.
Depending on the site, it can include flood sources, expected depths, ground levels, floor levels and flood-immunity information.
The Planning Scheme Flood Hazard Overlay is used for planning and development regulation.
The Flood Viewer and Flood Check reports are intended to provide Council’s more current flood information.
That distinction matters because newer development, earthworks or updated flood modelling may not immediately be reflected in statutory planning overlays.
Moreton Bay also provides a separate Flood Check Development Report for development-related flood planning information.
Ipswich provides free online flood mapping for an initial check.
Ipswich City Council – Flood Mapping →
This includes historical flood information and mapping associated with Ipswich City Plan 2025.
Historical flood mapping is useful for understanding what has happened in previous events, but it should not automatically be treated as the flood planning level for future development.
For more technical development information, Council provides a Development Flood Property Report.
Ipswich City Council – Property and Rates Searches →
This report can provide information including estimated ground levels, flood risk and development levels relevant to building and development.
So, broadly:
Checking whether a property has flooded before?
Start with the free mapping.
Designing, building or lodging a Development Application?
The formal property report is likely to be more useful.
For Logan properties, the main starting point is the Logan Flood Portal.
Logan City Council – Flood Information and Flood Portal →
The portal allows you to search a property and obtain information from Council’s accepted flood studies.
Depending on the location, this may include:
• flood level
• flood depth
• velocity
• flood hazard.
One particularly useful feature is the ability to obtain flood information for a specific point.
That can be valuable for large or sloping properties because one flood result for an entire allotment may not explain what is happening at the proposed building location.
Flood studies may be newer than the flood mapping contained in a statutory planning scheme.
So if you are checking general flood risk, the latest portal information may be very useful.
If you are preparing a Development Application, you also need to establish which planning instrument and flood provisions currently apply.
Redlands is slightly different again because flood information is spread across several Council resources.
For property and planning information, Council directs users to Development.i and Red-e-Map. Development.i can generate property information, while Red-e-Map shows City Plan zones, overlays and other mapping.
Council also provides dedicated creek flood awareness mapping.
Redland City Council – Creek Flood Mapping →
The current creek flood maps show the modelled extent and depth of a 1% AEP creek flood event across much of the city.
The important Redlands limitation
The creek flood mapping relates specifically to creek flooding.
Council warns that a property outside the creek flood mapping may still be affected by overland flow or local stormwater flooding.
This is an important distinction because looking at one flood map alone may not identify every flood mechanism affecting a site.
Coastal properties need another check
Redlands also has separate storm tide mapping.
Council’s Flood and Storm Tide Hazard Overlay contains statutory storm tide information, while Council also publishes separate non-statutory future storm tide mapping. Property-specific information can be viewed through Development.i and Red-e-Map.
For Redlands properties, it is therefore particularly important to understand which type of flooding you are checking: creek flooding, overland flow, or storm tide.
For Gold Coast properties, start with Council’s flood mapping.
City of Gold Coast – Flood Maps
Council provides several flood mapping products, including flood-depth and flood-risk awareness information.
For property-specific building or development information, Council also provides a Flood Level Search.
City of Gold Coast – Flood Level Search
This can provide a Designated Flood Level in metres AHD and, where available, estimated ground-level information.
The Flood Level Search does not show the flood extent across the whole property.
It should therefore be read together with the flood mapping.
Also remember that regional or riverine flood information does not necessarily capture every flood mechanism. Local stormwater runoff, overland flow, storm tide and coastal processes may need to be considered separately.
Council flood levels are usually generated using computer flood models, not by physically measuring floodwater at every house.
These models use information such as:
The results are extremely useful, but they are still modelled estimates.
Accuracy at an individual property can be affected by factors such as:
That is why Council flood information is excellent for screening and understanding flood risk, while detailed design may require survey information or further hydraulic assessment.
One of the most common mistakes people make is to find that the coloured flood shading does not reach the house and conclude, “The property doesn’t have a flood problem.”
That may not tell the whole story.
Other questions may include:
Two properties beside each other can therefore have quite different development constraints.
Council’s online flood information is an excellent place to start.
Further advice may be worth considering if you are:
A flood engineer can combine Council flood information with survey data, modelling and the relevant planning requirements to help determine what the flood risk actually means for the property.
The key point is:
Seeing your property on a flood map does not automatically mean you cannot build or develop it. It means the flood risk needs to be properly understood before decisions are made.
If you have found flood information for your property but are unsure what it means for building, development or purchasing decisions, our team can help you understand the next steps.
