FloodWise Property Report: How to check a Brisbane property

Buying in Brisbane? Check the property’s flood report before you commit. Below, we show you how to get Brisbane City Council’s free FloodWise Property Report, read it and check what the results could mean for your home loan and insurance.

You can download the report free from Council. Follow the steps below, then use our worked example to read it.

Open the Brisbane City Council Flood Awareness Map, search the address and select the property. In the overview panel, choose Technical FloodWise Property Report to download it.

If the address does not appear, try the lot and plan details. The report only covers Brisbane City Council properties. For another council area, use the council report and map directory below.

Open Council’s Flood Awareness Map and get the report

Download a fresh report for the property you are considering. Council’s maps and adopted planning information can change; the screenshots below are a worked example.

Buying in Redlands, the Gold Coast or another nearby council area? Brisbane’s FloodWise report will not cover that address. Use the local council’s service instead.

Some councils offer a free report, others provide maps, and some charge for a property search. Choose your council below to find the right starting point.

Elsewhere in Queensland? Use the Queensland Government’s council flood-information directory to find the local service. FloodCheck Queensland is useful for historical studies, but it does not replace a property-specific council check.

Check what the map leaves out. A creek map may exclude water running over the land after heavy rain. Near the coast, also look for storm-tide information. Check access roads as well as the house: a dry floor will not help you get home if the street is cut off.

Council uses flood modelling to estimate the levels water could reach at the property.

Look for these details in the report:

• Flooding risk, including flood planning areas for river and overland flow
• Coastal flooding hazards
• Historic flood levels, where available, including 2011 and 2022
• Other potential water and flooding sources
• Ground levels, any indicative existing floor level and minimum habitable floor requirements

We’ll use this saved report for 31 Cordova Street, Milton to walk through each section. Download a fresh report for any property you’re considering.

A missing graph does not mean the property is flood-free. Check the development flags and the Flood Awareness Map too, particularly for overland flow.

Compare the flood levels with the land and any existing floor level. The minimum habitable floor level is a planning requirement, not necessarily the height of the current house.

Annual Exceedance Probability (AEP) means the chance of a flood reaching a particular size or larger in any year. A 1% AEP means a 1 in 100 chance each year.

Floods of that size can happen in consecutive years.

The heights use a common reference level called Australian Height Datum (AHD). They are not the depth of water inside the house.

This section gives your builder, architect or engineer more detail about the property’s flood levels and planning requirements.

Keep the report beside the Flood Awareness Map when checking historic flooding and overland flow.

These figures show the estimated flood levels for different annual chances. Your builder or engineer uses them when checking the requirements for a new home.

This section identifies flood planning areas that apply to the land. The example lists FPA2a, FPA2b, FPA4 and FPA5. These are planning categories, not a record of every flood that has occurred.

These overlays can affect what you can build or renovate. Ask your certifier or flood engineer what they mean for your plans.

Read Council’s current report guidance. Our saved 2016 technical guide is historical background, not the current planning requirements.

The Flood Awareness Map gives a visual overview of flood likelihood and past events. Use it alongside the report, rather than relying on the suburb name or an old sales listing.

It breaks down the various likelihoods of flooding on your property, ranging from a high likelihood of 5% to a very low likelihood of a 0.05% chance of flooding occurring in any year.

• Very low likelihood (0.05% Annual Chance)
• Low likelihood (0.20% Annual Chance)
• Medium likelihood (1.00% Annual Chance)
• Medium-High likelihood (2.00% Annual Chance)
• High likelihood (5.00% Annual Chance)

This map also shows the flood sources and historic floods.

Your insurer may ask whether the property has been affected by river flooding, creek flooding, storm tide or overland flow.

Historic floods show the water levels that were reached in the January 2011 flood in Brisbane and the January 1974 flood.

Use the tool that matches what you need to check:

You may still be able to get a home loan for a flood-affected property. Your lender needs to accept the property as well as your finances, even if you already have pre-approval.

Flood likelihood matters, but so do the floor levels, valuation and insurance. A Council map category alone cannot tell you how much a bank will lend.

Lenders can treat the same property differently. We check their requirements before you apply.

Read the lender reviews: Westpac and St George.

Some lenders exclude certain flood-affected properties altogether, so a bigger deposit will not always solve it. We can check suitable options, the loan-to-value ratio (LVR) and any extra evidence needed.

Depending on the severity of flooding on the property, the banks can ask for more information than normal. This may include:

• A current flood report and any relevant council or building approvals.
• Evidence of building insurance, including the flood cover the lender requires.
• A valuation or survey confirming relevant flood and floor levels.
• A satisfactory property assessment and enough deposit for that lender.

We have helped clients get home loans for properties with a 2% annual flood likelihood, also called 1 in 50. The property and the lender’s requirements still need to line up. If the risk affects what you are willing to pay, our guide to negotiating a house price explains how to approach the conversation.

Council recorded 177 Brisbane suburbs affected in 2022. That does not mean every property in those suburbs flooded. Council’s flood review records the extent of the event.

Many affected areas are low-lying or near rivers and creeks. Use the suburb list as a starting point, then check the exact address.

For a wider look at each area, explore our Brisbane suburb guides and interactive map or compare the best suburbs in Brisbane by budget and lifestyle. These guides help you shortlist an area; the flood report checks the individual property.

Brisbane has 4 main types of flooding: river, creek, local overland flow and storm tide.

River flooding happens when prolonged rain across the Brisbane River catchments causes water to rise and flow over the banks. Downstream flooding can happen several days after the rain has stopped.

Heavy rain in a creek catchment can make the creek rise quickly, causing flash flooding around nearby creeks and waterways.

It is localised flooding and the most common type of flooding in Brisbane. It happens when water runs across the ground and paths after heavy rain and can happen quickly. Fences and walls can change where the water flows, making its path harder to predict.

This type of flooding happens when winds from a storm push the ocean towards the land, causing much higher-than-normal sea levels. The major risk from a storm tide or storm surge is increased during high tides and generally affects lower-lying areas close to shores and other waterways.

Get an insurance quote for the exact address before you commit to buying. Confirm the flood cover, exclusions and excess, then check that the policy meets your lender’s requirements. Building insurance protects the property; contents insurance covers your belongings.

Australia has a standard insurance definition of flood. Stormwater, runoff and storm surge need separate checking, so do not assume that cover for one means cover for all. Read the policy and ask the insurer about the flood sources shown for the address. The Insurance Council explains the differences.

There is no useful suburb-wide price. Get current quotes for the property using the same cover amount and excess so you can compare them properly. Include the annual premium in your budget alongside the loan repayments.

• Whether flood cover is included and which water-related events are excluded.
• The cost of rebuilding, rather than just the purchase price or loan balance.
• The excess you would need to pay after a claim.
• Any waiting period, and when the lender needs proof of cover.

You can compare different excesses, but make sure you could afford the amount you choose. If the property has been raised or had other resilience work, tell the insurer and ask whether it changes the quote.

If you think the report contains an error, you can ask Council to review it. Explain the issue and provide relevant evidence, such as certified survey levels, as-built plans or a flood assessment from a Registered Professional Engineer of Queensland (RPEQ).

Send the request to FloodPropertyReport@brisbane.qld.gov.au, or follow the postal instructions on Council’s report page. Ask Council what evidence it needs for your situation before commissioning extra work.

Before signing a contract, work through these checks:

• Insurance: Can you get the building and flood cover your lender requires, plus the contents cover you want? How much will it cost each year?
• Previous flooding: How badly was the property damaged, and what type of flooding caused it?
• Repairs and improvements: What work has been done to reduce flood damage, and can the owner provide records?
• Your home loan: Will your bank accept this property? Ask your mortgage broker whether the lender needs an upfront valuation.
• Future flood risk: What do climate projections suggest about future flooding at the property?

Ask the owner what flood-resilience work has been completed and request the records. Council’s current flood-resilient building guidance explains the Flood Resilient Suburbs Program and its earlier homes pilot.

A rebuild or major renovation may need different floor heights, structural design or materials. Check the site’s planning overlays with your certifier or engineer, as well as the National Construction Code requirements.

Council’s building guidance is a useful starting point. Get advice on the site before budgeting for a knockdown-rebuild.

The maps in this guide are for property research, not live emergency warnings. During severe weather, follow official alerts and directions.

• Queensland warnings and alerts
• Bureau of Meteorology warnings
• Translink service updates
• QLD Traffic road conditions

FloodCheck Queensland helps you find historical flood studies, maps and imagery across the state. It is useful background research, but it is not a property-level flood-risk assessment or an emergency warning service.

For an individual property outside Brisbane, check the local council’s current flood information. The Queensland Government explains which flood-mapping tools to use.

Council’s 2022 Flood Review, Table 1, compares the suburbs and properties affected:

Found a property with a flood flag? Send us the address and report. We can check lender options before you commit.

Our Brisbane mortgage brokers can explain the finance checks. For flood engineering or building advice, speak with the appropriate property professional.

• 12 steps to research a house in Brisbane
• What is lenders mortgage insurance
• What is loan to value ratio?
• How to work out your usable equity
• Pay off your 30-year home loan 6 years faster

For the rest of your checks, use our property research guide alongside the flood report.