QLD · Bundaberg Council

Avenell Heights, 4670

Est. population · Jun 2025

5,188

Growth (1 yr)

+0.1%

Growth (5 yr)

+1.9%

Median age

47

Median income

$1,066/wk

Employment rate

43.5%

Languages at home

4.4%non-English

Most common: Korean, Italian, Australian Indigenous languages

2021 Census · usual residence

Desirability score

52.3/100
Average

Top 28% of Queensland's suburbs

Verified 73% confidence

How this score is calculated
  • Green suburb
  • High desirability
  • Education hub
  • National parks
What Avenell Heights is known for: Green suburb, High desirability, Education hub, National parks

Suburb profile

Set among the hills of Bundaberg Council, Avenell Heights is a mid-sized suburb with bushland views and a cooler, leafier feel. Neighbouring centres cover more of the weekly rhythm than the distant capital does. The area suits established families and long-term locals, with plenty of young families in the mix.

Weekends tend to revolve around local favourites: a café, a market run, a walk through town. Parks and open space are a real strength relative to many regional towns, easy for walks, sport and weekend downtime. Day-to-day life is more car-oriented here, with buses covering longer trips across the wider area.

Housing is more affordable than in many parts of the state. This is a mature, settled pocket where the existing streetscape still defines the local character.

The overall desirability read is around average, pulled by softer community and employment compared with similar regional towns, though safety remain brighter spots.

At a glance

Avenell Heights snapshot

A quick read of housing, growth, livability, and risk

Median house price

No data available

Median rent

$480/wk

Population (ERP)

5,188

+0.1% annual growth

Dwelling vacancy

5.6%

Census unoccupied dwellings

Livability profile

Desirability pillars vs the peer median (50th percentile)

How it compares

Relative standing using percentiles, ranks, and national deciles

Desirability

#35

among Country & regional · Mature

Safety

47th

percentile in state (higher = safer)

Pop. growth

23rd

percentile in QLD

Advantage (IRSAD)

1/10

national SEIFA decile

School ICSEA

14th

percentile among schools with ICSEA

Population growth

Recent ERP change over 1 and 5 years

Housing mix

Dwelling types from the 2021 Census

Risks & flags

Quick scan — open a section below for full context

Living here

Desirability

Ranks & confidence
Desirability score
52.3/100 — Average
State standing
Top 28% of Queensland's suburbs
National rank
1877th in Australia
State rank
422nd in QLD
Peer rank
#35 among Country & regional · Mature suburbs
Cohort rank
#124 among Country & regional suburbs
Data confidence
73%

Data sources & freshness

  • Suburb Guide desirability indexSuburb Guide (derived) · current · Updated

Housing

All types (Mar 2026)
$480

Median weekly rent from Queensland RTA rental bond data. Figures can be unreliable where few bonds were lodged in the quarter.

Contributes to desirability score · Housing (15%) · Future Growth (7%)

Median price, rental yield and vacancy Recent price momentum

Data sources & freshness

Population

Estimated resident population

5,188(June 2025)

+0.1% annual · +1.9% over 5 years · 23th percentile in QLD

Growth figures & methodology
Annual growth
+0.1%
5-year growth
+1.9%
Change in 1 year
+8
Change in 5 years
+96
Growth rank in QLD
23th percentile

ABS Estimated Resident Population allocated to this suburb from SA2-level data. Not an official ABS suburb count.

Methodology

Figures are allocated from ABS Estimated Resident Population at Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2), using 2021 Census share within overlapping SA2 regions. Where Census data is unavailable, area overlap is used instead.

The dashed chart line is a simple growth-trend estimate to June 2030 (~5,200), extrapolated at +0.0% average annual growth since 2011. It is illustrative only — not an official ABS forecast.

2021 Census figures

2021 Census

Population
5,028
Median age
47
Median household income / week
$1,066
Dwelling vacancy
5.6%
Unoccupied private dwellings
120 of 2,149
Median monthly mortgage
$1,200
Employment rate
43.5%
Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
1,627 / 175 / 231

Contributes to desirability score · Community (5%)

Employment, household income and age diversity (2021 Census)

Data sources & freshness

  • 2021 Census — General Community ProfileAustralian Bureau of Statistics · Updated

    The 2026 Census runs in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.

  • Estimated Resident PopulationAustralian Bureau of Statistics · 2025 · Updated · SA2 ERP allocated to suburb boundaries

Community & culture

No 2021 Census cultural diversity data for this suburb yet.

Data sources & freshness

  • 2021 Census — General Community ProfileAustralian Bureau of Statistics · Updated

    The 2026 Census runs in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.

Crime & safety

Reported offences are running lower than the same point last year.

Offence counts & rates
Total offences (Jan 2026 to Aug 2026)
218
Against the person
40
Against property
106
Rate per 1,000 residents
42
Person-crime prevalence
About 1 in 126 residents
State safety percentile
47.3th (lower crime is better)
Decrease (daily rate, partial year)
-10.9%

Most common offence types

  • Drug Offences594
  • Good Order Offences314
  • Other Property Damage326
  • Other Theft (Excl. Unlawful Entry)1023
  • Traffic And Related Offences494

Contributes to desirability score · Safety (18%)

Crime rate and year-on-year trend

Data sources & freshness

  • QPS Online Crime MapQueensland Police Service · Jan 2025 to Dec 2025 → Jan 2026 to Aug 2026; Jan 2026 to Aug 2026 · Updated · Calendar-year aggregates

Family & Lifestyle

Schools & preschools

Schools within 2 km
4
Median school ICSEA (4 schools)
913.5
Median ICSEA percentile
14th
School list
  • St Mary's Catholic Primary SchoolPrimary · Catholic · ICSEA 995 · 44th percentile · LBOTE 9% · 490 students · Top SEA quarter 10% · 0.5 km awayView on My School →
  • Walkervale State SchoolPrimary · Government · ICSEA 900 · 11th percentile · LBOTE 10% · 350 students · Top SEA quarter 4% · 0.9 km awayView on My School →
  • Thabeban State SchoolPrimary · Government · ICSEA 858 · 5th percentile · LBOTE 2% · 95 students · Top SEA quarter 3% · 1.0 km awayView on My School →
  • Kepnock State High SchoolSecondary · Government · ICSEA 927 · 17th percentile · LBOTE 4% · 1,074 students · Top SEA quarter 3% · 1.8 km awayView on My School →

Contributes to desirability score · Education (15%)

School and preschool counts, median school ICSEA

Data sources & freshness

Childcare

1 childcare service from OpenStreetMap

  • Leading ChildcareElliott Heads Roadkindergarten

Contributes to desirability score · Education (15%)

Childcare centre count

Data sources & freshness

  • Childcare servicesOpenStreetMap · current · Updated

Amenities

30 nearby amenities within ~1.5 km

1 supermarkets · 1 bakeries · 5 places of worship · 1 playgrounds · 1 sports centres · 1 petrol stations

Local character & venue list

Local character

  • Limited walkable amenities nearby
  • Great for outdoor family life8 parks mapped in suburb, 1 playgrounds nearby
Walkability proxy
29/100
Cafés per 1,000 residents
0
Food & drink per 1,000 residents
0.2
Parks per 1,000 residents
1.59
Food & drink(1)
  • Fresh Fields BakeryBakery
Shopping(1)
  • FoodWorksSupermarket
Community(1)
  • Leading ChildcareKindergarten

    146 Elliott Heads Road

Sport & outdoors(10)
  • Archer Court ParkPark

    11 Archer Court, Avenell Heights

  • Boreham ParkPark
  • Harvey Street ParkPark

    29 Harvey Street, Avenell Heights

  • Jaycee ParkPark
  • Marquis Court ParkPark

    1A Marquis Court, Avenell Heights

  • McCarthy Street ParkPark

    74 McCarthy Street, Avenell Heights

  • McGladdery Court ParkPark

    7 McGladdery Court, Avenell Heights

  • McLachlan Drive ParkPark

    14 McLachlan Drive, Avenell Heights

  • Playground
  • Bundaberg RacecourseSports centre
Transport(1)

1 bus stops

Other(10)
  • BWSAlcohol
  • Parking (5)
  • BPPetrol station
  • Bundaberg Bible ChapelPlace of worship

    110 McCarthy Street

  • Citicoast ChurchPlace of worship

    140 Elliott Heads Road

  • Hinkler Seventh Day Adventist ChurchPlace of worship
  • Place of worship (2)
  • Post Box
  • Shelter (2)
  • Pioneer Aged Care FacilitySocial Facility

    Heaps St,

Names and addresses from OpenStreetMap. Unnamed venues show as their type (e.g. Cafe). Transport stops are summarised by type rather than listed individually.

Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (15%)

Food, shopping, recreation and sport (OpenStreetMap)

Data sources & freshness

  • Local amenity insightsSuburb Guide (derived) · current · Updated
  • OpenStreetMap amenitiesOpenStreetMap contributors · current · Updated

Parks & reserves

8 parks and public open space in this suburb

  • Archer Court ParkPark
  • Boreham ParkPark
  • Harvey Street ParkPark
  • Jaycee ParkPark
  • Marquis Court ParkPark
  • McCarthy Street ParkPark
  • McGladdery Court ParkPark
  • McLachlan Drive ParkPark

Data sources & freshness

Green cover

Parks & woodland (OSM)
8
Parks (OSM)
8

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

Places of worship

5 places of worship within ~1.5 km

  • Bundaberg Bible Chapel

    110 McCarthy Street

  • Citicoast Church

    140 Elliott Heads Road

  • Hinkler Seventh Day Adventist Church
  • Place of worship (2)

From OpenStreetMap within ~1.5 km of the suburb centre.

Data sources & freshness

Health access

Nearest hospital
Friendly Society Private Hospital (3.3 km)
Nearest hospital type
Hospital
Nearest hospital emergency
Emergency department

Contributes to desirability score · Accessibility (15%)

Hospitals and GP clinics

Data sources & freshness

NDIS participation

NDIS participants (31 March 2026)
273
Participants per 1,000 residents
52.6

Active NDIS participants allocated from NDIA Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2, ASGS 2016) counts to this suburb boundary. Not an official suburb-level NDIS figure · as at 31 March 2026.

For NDIS spend and service-demand exploration by SA2 or postcode, see the Care Sector Demand Map.

Data sources & freshness

Weather

Typical conditions by season for suburbs in the same ~44 km climate area. Rainfall totals are summed from monthly WorldClim layers; rainy-day counts are approximate.

Summer (Dec–Feb)

Usual max / min
30° / 21°
Rainfall
401 mm · ~50 rainy days

Autumn (Mar–May)

Usual max / min
27° / 17°
Rainfall
232 mm · ~29 rainy days

Winter (Jun–Aug)

Usual max / min
22° / 10°
Rainfall
108 mm · ~14 rainy days

Spring (Sep–Nov)

Usual max / min
27° / 16°
Rainfall
207 mm · ~26 rainy days

Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (15%)

Temperature and humidity comfort

Data sources & freshness

  • Seasonal climate normalsWorldClim 2.1 · Updated

Future & Planning

Roadworks & transport

1 active roadworks / incidents

  • Goodwood Road (Barolin Street) and McCarthy Road intersectionGoodwood Road / Goodwood Road (Barolin Street)26 May 2026 – 17 Aug 2026

Data sources & freshness

  • Road incidents & closuresState road authority open-data feeds · current · Updated

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 overlaysState government hazard layers · current · Updated

Politics & representation

Federal electorate
Hinkler
Member of Parliament
David BATT (Liberal National Party of Queensland)
Results from
2025 federal election
Electorate enrolment (2025)
127,702
Turnout (2025)
89.8%
Swing since 2022 (2025)
+3.8 pp toward Labor

Two-party preferred (2025)

Coalition 56.3%Labor 43.7%

Estimated suburb voting profile

Estimated from 8 nearby ordinary polling places (up to 3.6 km away).

Coalition 47.7%Labor 52.3%

8.6 percentage points more Labor-leaning than the electorate

Estimated swing since 2022: +5.0 pp toward Labor

Nearest polling places

  • WalkervaleLabor 56.1% · Coalition 43.9% TPP (2025)0.7 km away
  • ThabebanLabor 47.4% · Coalition 52.6% TPP (2025)0.9 km away
  • KepnockLabor 50.9% · Coalition 49.1% TPP (2025)2.0 km away
  • BundabergLabor 52.1% · Coalition 47.9% TPP (2025)2.2 km away
  • Bundaberg SouthLabor 49.3% · Coalition 50.7% TPP (2025)2.2 km away

Federal electorate from AEC federal division boundaries (2025 redistribution). Division-level results are official AEC figures from the latest general election, with by-election updates where applicable. The estimated suburb profile blends up to eight nearest ordinary polling booths in the same electorate using inverse-distance weighting from the suburb centroid — an approximation, not official AEC data. Nearest polling places are shown for reference.

Data sources & freshness

Socio-economic

IRSAD decile (2021)
1/10
IRSD decile (2021)
1/10

ABS Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA), 2021 release — the latest available, derived from the 2021 Census. Deciles rank suburbs nationally from 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest).

What do IRSAD and IRSD measure?

IRSAD — Index of Relative Socio-economic Advantage and Disadvantage. Combines indicators of advantage (e.g. high income, skilled occupations) and disadvantage. Higher decile = more advantaged relative to other Australian areas.

IRSD — Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage. Focuses on disadvantage only (e.g. low income, unemployment, limited education). Higher decile = less disadvantage nationally.

A new SEIFA edition typically follows each census; the ABS has not announced a release date beyond 2021.

Contributes to desirability score · Community (5%)

Socio-economic advantage (IRSAD decile)

Data sources & freshness

More in Bundaberg Council

Other suburbs in the same local government area.

Comparable suburbs

Similar population and socio-economic profile in other parts of Queensland.