QLD · Torres Strait Island Council
Saibai Island, 4875
Current weather
26.2°CClear sky
75% humidity · 27.4 km/h wind · 26.8° / 25.4° today · 0.3 mm rain
Updated
Desirability score
- Green suburb
- High desirability
- Café precinct
- Education hub
Suburb profile
In Torres Strait Island, Saibai Island keeps a rural calm, a smaller community with room to breathe and a strong local rhythm. Remote from the metro area in the best sense: quiet streets, big skies and a town that runs on its own timetable. Open skies and rolling countryside set a calm backdrop to everyday routines.
A younger crowd gives the area energy, 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. Housing remains accessible compared with many parts of the state.
This is a mature, settled pocket where the existing streetscape still defines the local character.
On the desirability index, the suburb sits below average overall, with community and employment and local dining and lifestyle amenities the main drags compared with similar regional towns. Limited access to some essential local services also trimmed the result.
Population
- Population
- 340
- Median age
- 25
- Median household income / week
- $922
- Dwelling vacancy
- 25.5%
- Unoccupied private dwellings
- 26 of 102
- Median monthly mortgage
- $0
- Employment rate
- 19.2%
- Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
- 5 / 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)
- 16
- Against the person
- 7
- Against property
- 4
- Rate per 1,000 residents
- 47.1
- Person-crime prevalence
- About 1 in 49 residents
- State safety percentile
- 62.2th (lower crime is better)
- Increase (daily rate, partial year)
- +52%
Reported offences are running lower than the same point last year.
Reported offences by period
Most common offence types
- Assault98
- Drug Offences52
- Good Order Offences43
- Other Property Damage33
- Traffic And Related Offences30
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
Health access
- Hospitals & GP clinics
- 1
- Emergency department
- On site
- Saibai Island Primary Health Care Centrehospital
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)
- 1/10
- IRSD decile (2021)
- 1/10
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
Heritage
1 state heritage place
- Holy Trinity ChurchState heritage place
Data sources & freshness
- State heritage register — State heritage authority · Period: current · Updated on site
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)
- 5
- Parks (OSM)
- 0
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
- 18.3/100 — Below average
- National rank
- 6648th in Australia
- State rank
- 1511th in QLD
- Peer rank
- #520 among Country & regional · Established suburbs
- Cohort rank
- #979 among Country & regional suburbs
- Data confidence
- 62%
Data sources & freshness
- Suburb Guide desirability index — Suburb Guide (derived score) · Period: current · Updated on site · Derived from source metrics
Recent changes
- Assaultcrime98
- Drug Offencescrime52
- Good Order Offencescrime43
- Other Property Damagecrime33
- Traffic And Related Offencescrime30
- Holy Trinity ChurchheritageState heritage place
- Saibai Island Primary Health Care Centrehealthhospital
Data sources & freshness
- QPS Online Crime Map — Queensland Police Service · Updated on site · Calendar-year aggregates
- Hospitals & clinics — OpenStreetMap + state health datasets · Updated on site
- State heritage register — State heritage authority · Updated on site
More in Torres Strait Island Council
Other suburbs in the same local government area.
Comparable suburbs
Similar population and socio-economic profile in other parts of Queensland.