QLD · Barcaldine Council
Alpha, 4724
Current weather
19°CClear sky
64% humidity · 11.5 km/h wind · 24.8° / 13.3° today · 0 mm rain
Updated
Desirability score
- Rural
- Green space
- Established
- Residential
- Amenities
Suburb profile
Alpha is a quieter smaller community in Barcaldine, where peace, space and a country-town pace still dominate. Far from the capital hubbub, it offers genuine distance, local character and room to live at a slower pace. Tree-lined streets and leafy pockets give the suburb a noticeably green, settled character.
Established families and long-term residents give the suburb a settled feel, with plenty of young families in the mix. Life here is grounded in local routine rather than big-city choice, and that is part of the charm. Parks, reserves and open space make it genuinely outdoor-friendly for walks, sport and weekend downtime.
Homes offer solid value for the lifestyle on offer. Tree-lined streets and established homes set the tone, with little pressure to reinvent the neighbourhood.
The desirability score is below average, weighed down by weaker local dining and lifestyle amenities and housing affordability against similar regional towns, even with growth momentum and parks and green space holding up better. Limited access to some essential local services also trimmed the result.
Population
- Population
- 559
- Median age
- 44
- Median household income / week
- $1,547
- Dwelling vacancy
- 21%
- Unoccupied private dwellings
- 53 of 252
- Median monthly mortgage
- $650
- Employment rate
- 69.8%
- Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
- 11 / 6 / 0
Contributes to desirability score · Community (5%)
Employment, household income and age diversity (2021 Census)
Data sources & freshness
- 2021 Census — General Community Profile — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Period: 2021 · Updated on site · 2021 Census release
The 2026 Census runs in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.
Crime & safety
- Total offences (Jan 2026 to Jul 2026)
- 20
- Against the person
- 6
- Against property
- 5
- Rate per 1,000 residents
- 35.8
- Person-crime prevalence
- About 1 in 93 residents
- State safety percentile
- 41.3th (lower crime is better)
- Increase (daily rate, partial year)
- +47.7%
Reported offences are running lower than the same point last year.
Reported offences by period
Most common offence types
- Drug Offences1
- Good Order Offences6
- Liquor (Excl. Drunkenness)2
- Other Theft (Excl. Unlawful Entry)5
- Traffic And Related Offences6
Contributes to desirability score · Safety (18%)
Crime rate and year-on-year trend
Data sources & freshness
- QPS Online Crime Map — Queensland Police Service · Period: Jan 2025 to Dec 2025 → Jan 2026 to Jul 2026; Jan 2026 to Jul 2026 · Updated on site · Calendar-year aggregates
Schools & preschools
- Schools & preschools
- 1
- Median school ICSEA
- 879
- Alpha State SchoolCombined
Contributes to desirability score · Education (15%)
School and preschool counts, median school ICSEA
Data sources & freshness
- ACARA school locations — Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority · Period: 2025 · Updated on site · Annual ACARA release
- School ICSEA scores — Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority · Period: 2025 · Updated on site · Annual ACARA release
Planning & development
Development applications from QLD coordinated projects (lodged 2020–2026).
2 planning-related records
Other· 2 proposals
- Kevin's Corner ProjectCombined open-cut and underground coal mine with an ultimate capacity of 30 million tonnes per annum.Completed EIS project
- South Galilee Coal MineA 15 - 20 million tonnes per annum open-cut and underground coal-mining operation.Completed EIS project
Contributes to desirability score · Future Growth (7%)
Development and planning activity
Data sources & freshness
- QLD coordinated projects — Queensland Department of State Development · Period: 2020–2026 · Updated on site · State coordinated projects register (not council DAs)
Amenities
No OpenStreetMap amenities mapped for this suburb yet.
Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (15%)
Food, shopping, recreation and sport (OpenStreetMap)
Data sources & freshness
- OpenStreetMap amenities — OpenStreetMap contributors · Period: current · Updated on site · Weekly refresh
Parks & reserves
3 parks and public open space in this suburb
- Bimblebox Nature RefugeNature reserve
- Lioness ParkPark
- Settlers ParkPark
Data sources & freshness
- Parks & reserves — State government + ABS LGA boundaries · Period: current · Updated on site
Health access
- Hospitals & GP clinics
- 3
- Emergency department
- On site
- Alpha Emergency Hubhospital
- Alpha PharmacyShakespeare Streetpharmacy
- Alpha Private SurgeryBurns Streetdoctor
Contributes to desirability score · Accessibility (15%)
Hospitals and GP clinics
Data sources & freshness
- Hospitals & clinics — OpenStreetMap + state health datasets · Period: current · Updated on site
Socio-economic (SEIFA)
- IRSAD decile (2021)
- 5/10
- IRSD decile (2021)
- 5/10
SEIFA indexes from ABS 2021. Decile 10 = most advantaged / least disadvantaged in Australia.
Contributes to desirability score · Community (5%)
Socio-economic advantage (IRSAD decile)
Data sources & freshness
- SEIFA 2021 (IRSAD / IRSD) — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Period: 2021 · Updated on site · 2021 SEIFA release
Hazards
- Bushfire planning zone
- No overlay at centroid
Bushfire overlay checked at suburb centroid via Queensland Bushfire Prone Area mapping.
Contributes to desirability score · Safety (18%)
Bushfire hazard overlays
Data sources & freshness
- Hazard planning overlays — State government hazard layers · Period: current · Updated on site
Green cover
- Parks & woodland (OSM)
- 16
- Parks (OSM)
- 4
OpenStreetMap parks and natural woodland features mapped within the suburb boundary.
Contributes to desirability score · Environment (10%)
Parks and green cover (OpenStreetMap)
Data sources & freshness
- OpenStreetMap green cover features — OpenStreetMap contributors · Period: current · Updated on site · Weekly refresh
Desirability Index
- Desirability score
- 35.5/100 — Below average
- National rank
- 4162nd in Australia
- State rank
- 967th in QLD
- Peer rank
- #320 among Country & regional · Established suburbs
- Cohort rank
- #523 among Country & regional suburbs
- Data confidence
- 75%
Data sources & freshness
- Suburb Guide desirability index — Suburb Guide (derived score) · Period: current · Updated on site · Derived from source metrics
Recent changes
- Drug Offencescrime1
- Good Order Offencescrime6
- Liquor (Excl. Drunkenness)crime2
- Other Theft (Excl. Unlawful Entry)crime5
- Traffic And Related Offencescrime6
- Alpha Emergency Hubhealthhospital
- Alpha PharmacyhealthShakespeare Streetpharmacy
- Alpha Private SurgeryhealthBurns Streetdoctor
- Bimblebox Nature Refugegovernmentnature_reserve
- Lioness Parkgovernmentpark
Data sources & freshness
- QPS Online Crime Map — Queensland Police Service · Updated on site · Calendar-year aggregates
- Parks & reserves — State government + ABS LGA boundaries · Updated on site
- Hospitals & clinics — OpenStreetMap + state health datasets · Updated on site
More in Barcaldine Council
Other suburbs in the same local government area.
Comparable suburbs
Similar population and socio-economic profile in other parts of Queensland.