Median house price
—
No data available
QLD · Central Highlands Council
Sapphire Central, 4702
Population
1,214
Growth (1 yr)
+0.5%
Growth (5 yr)
-1.6%
Median age
59
Median income
$644/wk
Employment rate
26.3%
Languages at home
3.2%non-English
Most common: German
2021 Census · usual residence
Desirability score
- National parks
- Green suburb
- High desirability
Suburb profile
Sapphire Central offers a slower smaller community life in Central Highlands Council, with open surrounds and a close-knit community feel. A mature community gives the area a calm, settled social fabric, with multiple generations sharing the same neighbourhood. Life here is grounded in local routine rather than big-city choice.
Local shops are sparse, so a fuller set of amenities usually means travelling to a neighbouring town or regional hub. Green space punches above what many regional towns offer, with parks and playgrounds woven through the suburb. A car helps for most daily errands, with fewer amenities clustered within an easy walk.
Housing is more affordable than in many parts of the state. Tree-lined streets and established homes set the tone, with little pressure to reinvent the neighbourhood.
Desirability sits below average overall, with local dining and lifestyle amenities the main drag compared with similar regional towns. Limited access to some essential local services also trimmed the result.
At a glance
Sapphire Central snapshot
A quick read of housing, growth, livability, and risk
Median rent
—
No data available
Population (Census)
1,214
+0.5% annual growth
Dwelling vacancy
34.5%
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
#430
among Country & regional · Mature
Safety
54th
percentile in state (higher = safer)
Pop. growth
27th
percentile in QLD
Advantage (IRSAD)
1/10
national SEIFA decile
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
- 22.2/100 — Below average
- National rank
- 6569th in Australia
- State rank
- 1457th in QLD
- Peer rank
- #430 among Country & regional · Mature suburbs
- Cohort rank
- #932 among Country & regional suburbs
- Data confidence
- 62%
Data sources & freshness
- Suburb Guide desirability index — Suburb Guide (derived) · current · Updated
Population
Population growth
+0.5% annual · -1.6% over 5 years · 27th percentile in QLD
Growth rates are from ABS Estimated Resident Population at SA2 level. Headcount uses 2021 Census when allocated ERP is too low relative to Census to display reliably.
2021 Census figures
2021 Census
- Population
- 1,214
- Median age
- 59
- Median household income / week
- $644
- Dwelling vacancy
- 34.5%
- Unoccupied private dwellings
- 297 of 861
- Median monthly mortgage
- $867
- Employment rate
- 26.3%
- Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
- 501 / 0 / 0 (+ 53 other)
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 · Updated
The 2026 Census runs in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.
- Estimated Resident Population — Australian 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 Profile — Australian 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)
- 20
- Against the person
- 4
- Against property
- 10
- Rate per 1,000 residents
- 44.8
- Person-crime prevalence
- About 1 in 304 residents
- State safety percentile
- 54th (lower crime is better)
- Increase (daily rate, partial year)
- +1.4%
Most common offence types
- Assault148
- Drug Offences144
- Other Theft (Excl. Unlawful Entry)306
- Traffic And Related Offences226
- Unlawful Entry133
Contributes to desirability score · Safety (18%)
Crime rate and year-on-year trend
Data sources & freshness
- QPS Online Crime Map — Queensland Police Service · Jan 2025 to Dec 2025 → Jan 2026 to Aug 2026; Jan 2026 to Aug 2026 · Updated · Calendar-year aggregates
Family & Lifestyle
Amenities
1 nearby amenities within ~1.5 km
Local character & venue list
Local character
- Limited walkable amenities nearby
- Great for outdoor family life — 4 parks mapped in suburb
- Walkability proxy
- 0/100
- Cafés per 1,000 residents
- 0
- Food & drink per 1,000 residents
- 0
- Parks per 1,000 residents
- 3.29
Other(1)
- Parking
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 insights — Suburb Guide (derived) · current · Updated
- OpenStreetMap amenities — OpenStreetMap contributors · current · Updated
Parks & reserves
5 parks and public open space in this suburb
- Mount Leura Conservation ParkNature reserve
- Rubyvale CommonPark
- Rubyvale SquarePark
- Sapphire CommonPark
- Sapphire Gemfields Wetlands ReservePark
Data sources & freshness
- Parks & reserves — State government + ABS LGA boundaries · current · Updated
Green cover
- Parks & woodland (OSM)
- 4
- 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 — OpenStreetMap contributors · current · Updated
Health access
- Hospitals & GP clinics in suburb
- 1
- Nearest hospital
- Emerald Hospital (43.9 km)
- Nearest hospital type
- Hospital
- Nearest hospital emergency
- Emergency department
- Emergency department in suburb
- Not in suburb
- Gemfields PharmacyPharmacy
Contributes to desirability score · Accessibility (15%)
Hospitals and GP clinics
Data sources & freshness
- Hospitals & clinics — OpenStreetMap + state health datasets · current · Updated
NDIS participation
- NDIS participants (31 March 2026)
- 8
- Participants per 1,000 residents
- 17.9
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
- NDIS participants by SA2 — National Disability Insurance Agency · 2026-Q1 · Updated · Quarterly SA2 counts allocated to suburb boundaries
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
- 33° / 20°
- Rainfall
- 298 mm · ~37 rainy days
Autumn (Mar–May)
- Usual max / min
- 28° / 15°
- Rainfall
- 141 mm · ~18 rainy days
Winter (Jun–Aug)
- Usual max / min
- 22° / 7°
- Rainfall
- 69 mm · ~9 rainy days
Spring (Sep–Nov)
- Usual max / min
- 30° / 15°
- Rainfall
- 141 mm · ~18 rainy days
Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (15%)
Temperature and humidity comfort
Data sources & freshness
- Seasonal climate normals — WorldClim 2.1 · Updated
Future & Planning
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 · current · Updated
Politics & representation
- Federal electorate
- Flynn
- Member of Parliament
- Colin BOYCE (Liberal National Party of Queensland)
- Results from
- 2025 federal election
- Electorate enrolment (2025)
- 117,901
- Turnout (2025)
- 88.6%
- Swing since 2022 (2025)
- -6.4 pp toward Coalition
Two-party preferred (2025)
Coalition 60.2%Labor 39.8%
Estimated suburb voting profile
Estimated from 8 nearby ordinary polling places (up to 134.3 km away).
Coalition 61.5%Labor 38.5%
1.3 percentage points more Coalition-leaning than the electorate
Estimated swing since 2022: -5.3 pp toward Coalition
Nearest polling places
- RubyvaleLabor 39.0% · Coalition 61.0% TPP (2025)8.5 km away
- EmeraldLabor 32.3% · Coalition 67.7% TPP (2025)40.6 km away
- Emerald NorthLabor 40.6% · Coalition 59.4% TPP (2025)41.8 km away
- CapellaLabor 28.7% · Coalition 71.3% TPP (2025)51.3 km away
- TieriLabor 46.9% · Coalition 53.1% TPP (2025)77.7 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
- Federal election results — Australian Electoral Commission · Updated · 2025 election with by-election overlays
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
- SEIFA 2021 (IRSAD / IRSD) — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated
More in Central Highlands Council
Other suburbs in the same local government area.
Comparable suburbs
Similar population and socio-economic profile in other parts of Queensland.