QLD · Scenic Rim Council
Kalbar, 4309
Current weather
15°CClear sky
90% humidity · 2.9 km/h wind · 21° / 11.3° today · 0.5 mm rain
Updated
Desirability score
- Green suburb
- High desirability
Suburb profile
In Scenic Rim, Kalbar keeps a rural calm, a smaller community with room to breathe and a strong local rhythm. A strong local centre anchors daily routines, while the surrounding region adds variety for weekends away. Wide horizons and a country quiet give the area a restorative, unhurried atmosphere.
Residents are mostly families and working professionals, with a strong presence of young families throughout. Everyday life leans local, with a handful of trusted shops, a familiar main street and neighbours who know your name. The area offers approachable housing costs alongside a lifestyle that still feels complete.
Tree-lined streets and established homes set the tone, with little pressure to reinvent the neighbourhood.
On the desirability index, the suburb sits around average overall, mainly because local dining and lifestyle amenities and community and employment lag similar regional towns, despite relative strength in housing affordability and transport and access.
Population
- Population
- 1,246
- Median age
- 41
- Median household income / week
- $1,275
- Dwelling vacancy
- 6.4%
- Unoccupied private dwellings
- 30 of 467
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,363
- Employment rate
- 54.6%
- Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
- 39 / 0 / 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)
- 28
- Against the person
- 5
- Against property
- 12
- Rate per 1,000 residents
- 22.5
- Person-crime prevalence
- About 1 in 249 residents
- State safety percentile
- 15.7th (lower crime is better)
- Increase (daily rate, partial year)
- +9.5%
Reported offences are running lower than the same point last year.
Reported offences by period
Most common offence types
- Assault5
- Drug Offences6
- Good Order Offences5
- Other Theft (Excl. Unlawful Entry)22
- Traffic And Related Offences22
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
- 1,016
- Kalbar State SchoolPrimary
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).
1 planning-related records
Other· 1 proposal
- Scenic Rim Agricultural Industrial PrecinctThe project proposes to establish an integrated agricultural industrial processing precinct, with a renewable energy power facility, converting waste to energy, on approximately 40 hectares (ha) of land.Completed IAR 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
15 nearby amenities within ~1.5 km
- Bendigo Community Bank KalbarBank
- The Butcher CoButcher
- Lovett at KalbarCafe
- Kalbar Medical CentreClinic
- Fassifern Community Mens ShedCommunity centre
- Pretty & PamperedHairdresser
- Country Soul CollectiveHouseware
- The EmporiumHouseware
- Kalbar PharmacyPharmacy
- Police StationPolice
Names and addresses from OpenStreetMap. Unnamed venues show as their type (e.g. Cafe).
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
1 parks and public open space in this suburb
- Engelsburg Memorial ParkPark
Data sources & freshness
- Parks & reserves — State government + ABS LGA boundaries · Period: current · Updated on site
Health access
- Hospitals & GP clinics
- 2
- Emergency department
- Not in suburb
- Kalbar Medical Centreclinic
- Kalbar Pharmacypharmacy
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)
- 3/10
- IRSD decile (2021)
- 3/10
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
2 state heritage places
- Wiss Brothers Store & Dwelling (former)State heritage place
- Wiss House (former)State 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)
- 3
- Parks (OSM)
- 2
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
- 50.4/100 — Average
- State standing
- Top 28% of Queensland's suburbs
- National rank
- 1884th in Australia
- State rank
- 423rd in QLD
- Peer rank
- #102 among Country & regional · Established suburbs
- Cohort rank
- #140 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
- Bendigo Community Bank Kalbaramenitiesbank
- Country Soul Collectiveamenitieshouseware
- Fassifern Community Mens Shedamenitiescommunity_centre
- Kalbar Medical Centreamenitiesclinic
- Kalbar Pharmacyamenitiespharmacy
- Kalbar Showgroundsamenitiessanitary_dump_station
- Lovett at Kalbaramenitiescafe
- Police Stationamenitiespolice
- Pretty & Pamperedamenitieshairdresser
- Public toiletsamenitiestoilets
Data sources & freshness
- OpenStreetMap amenities — OpenStreetMap contributors · Updated on site · Weekly refresh
More in Scenic Rim Council
Other suburbs in the same local government area.
Comparable suburbs
Similar population and socio-economic profile in other parts of Queensland.