# Free government property data in Queensland: what each map shows

Queensland Globe, QTopo, QImagery, FloodCheck and the State's planning maps are free to use. Here is what each one shows, how it is searched and what none of them can tell you.

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Before anyone pays for a building inspection, a title search or a town planner's hour, a surprising amount about a Queensland property can be learned for nothing. The State Government publishes maps that show how a property sits in its surroundings, what the land looked like decades ago, how steep it is, which State planning interests apply to it and what the Valuer-General's figure for the land is.

The difficulty is that this information is spread over several websites built by different agencies for different purposes, each with its own limits. This guide goes through the main free State tools one at a time: what each shows, how it is searched, what the government's own pages say about its accuracy, and what it cannot tell a buyer, a seller or an agent. It finishes with an order for using them on a single address and with the cautions that apply to every map.

<div class="keyfacts">
<div><b>900,000+</b><span>historical aerial photographs in QImagery</span></div>
<div><b>1930s</b><span>decade the QImagery collection starts</span></div>
<div><b>8 frames</b><span>free high-resolution downloads per QImagery request</span></div>
</div>
<p class="src">Source: Queensland Government, QImagery page, last updated 24 February 2026.</p>

## What free covers, and where it stops

Government property information in Queensland falls into two groups. Mapping is largely free. Records that prove something about one particular lot mostly are not.

The free group is the subject of this guide. It includes the State's general mapping site, its topographic maps, its archive of aerial photographs, its flood data viewer, its planning maps and its map of mining and exploration interests. All of them open in a web browser. The Queensland Government's page listing its online maps describes the main ones as free to use, and its QTopo page says topographic maps can be viewed, downloaded, shared or printed at no cost to the public.

The paid group is led by the title search, the registry record of who owns a lot and what is registered against it, and by the registered survey plan that gives the lot's dimensions. Those are bought, not browsed. So, on the State's own account, is the most current valuation data: the government's guide to the valuation layer on Queensland Globe says that up-to-date information is purchased through its business centres.

The division matters because the free maps and the paid records answer different questions. A map can show that a block is steep, that it was a paddock within living memory and that a State planning interest is mapped over it. Only the title shows that there is an easement along the back fence in favour of the neighbour. Good research uses the free material to decide which paid searches and which professional opinions are worth ordering. It does not replace them.

<figure class="fig"><figcaption><b>Seven free State tools and what each is for</b><span>As described on Queensland Government pages</span></figcaption>
<div class="scroll"><table class="tbl">
<thead><tr><th>Tool</th><th>What it shows</th><th>What it cannot tell you</th></tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr><td>Queensland Globe</td><td>Spatial data in layers, including aerial imagery, property, valuations and soil.</td><td>Who owns the land, or where a boundary runs on the ground.</td></tr>
<tr><td>Globe land valuations topic</td><td>Property ID and the Valuer-General's current and new valuations.</td><td>What the property would sell for. Units are not shown separately.</td></tr>
<tr><td>QTopo</td><td>Topographic maps: terrain, waterways, roads and other natural and built features.</td><td>Levels precise enough to design or build from.</td></tr>
<tr><td>QImagery</td><td>Historical aerial photographs from the 1930s onwards.</td><td>What happened between two photographs.</td></tr>
<tr><td>FloodCheck</td><td>Regional flood mapping, historic flood lines and flood studies.</td><td>The flood position of one property.</td></tr>
<tr><td>SPP and DA mapping systems</td><td>State planning interests and State assessment triggers.</td><td>The council zone, or whether a proposal will be approved.</td></tr>
<tr><td>GeoResGlobe</td><td>Mining and exploration data, including permits and geology.</td><td>Anything about ownership of the surface.</td></tr>
</tbody>
</table></div>
<p class="src">Source: Queensland Government pages for each service. The right-hand column is this guide's reading of their limits.</p></figure>

## Queensland Globe, the map most searches start from

Queensland Globe is the State Government's general online mapping site. The government describes it as a way to explore spatial data including aerial imagery, property, valuations and soil, to view and combine layers, and to make customised maps that can be downloaded and shared. It is free.

For property purposes it is the place to answer the first question of any search: which piece of land is this, exactly? The Globe has a Search function to find a property and an Identify tool that brings up the details recorded against whatever is clicked. In the valuation layer, for example, Identify returns the real property description, which is the formal lot and plan reference for the land, along with its area, its locality and its local government.

That reference is worth writing down before going any further. Street addresses can be shared, renumbered or ambiguous on a corner block, and several of the other tools search more reliably on the lot and plan than on the address. QImagery, for one, accepts a lot on plan as a search term.

The second thing the Globe does well is show the land in context. Laying the property layer over the imagery shows roughly how the parcel sits against the fences, driveways and buildings that can be seen from above. It can reveal that what is being sold as one property is made up of more than one lot, or that a long driveway is narrower than it looks from the street. These are prompts for questions, not findings.

The third is layering. Because many datasets can be switched on over the same base map, the Globe lets a reader see at a glance things that would otherwise take several separate searches, and print or share the result.

<div class="callout"><span class="mono">Read this first</span><h4>A line on screen is not a boundary on the ground</h4>
<p>A web map shows the shape of a parcel. It does not survey it. The State's planning mapping carries a blunt disclaimer that it makes no representations or warranties about accuracy, reliability, completeness or suitability, and the same caution is sensible for every layer discussed here. Fixing a boundary on the ground is surveying work.</p>
</div>

## The land valuations layer, in brief

The Globe has a land valuations topic. The government's guide to it, last updated on 11 March 2026, says each valued property is labelled with its Property ID in white, its current valuation in gold and any new valuation in green, and that the 2026 valuations are shown. Identify adds the valuation dates, the number of lots, the area, the valuation rate and the method used. Two limits are stated: no data is given for individual units in a community titles scheme, and the information for some properties may not be current because properties change during the year. The figure is a value for the land and should not be read as a guide to price.

## QTopo and the shape of the land

QTopo is the State's topographic mapping service. The government describes it as an online mapping solution giving access to topographic information across all of Queensland, showing natural and built features such as terrain, waterways and roads. The page describing it was last updated on 5 September 2024.

It can be used in three ways. The maps can be explored on screen. Pre-generated map sheets can be downloaded. Or a reader can make a custom high-resolution map of a chosen area and save it as a PNG or PDF file. The default scale for a custom map is 1:10,000, and other scales can be chosen in the advanced settings. The page adds a practical note that the quality of a printed map will depend on the printer, its settings and the paper.

For a suburban house on a flat block a topographic map adds little. For anything on a slope, on acreage or on the edge of town it answers questions that imagery cannot. Tree canopy hides the ground in an aerial photograph. A topographic map draws it.

Reading one is simple once the principle is clear. A contour line joins points at the same height, so the closer the lines sit together, the steeper the ground. A block crossed by tightly packed contours is a harder building site than a level one. A run of V shapes pointing uphill marks a gully, which is where water will collect and run in heavy rain. A house site at the foot of a long slope will receive that slope's runoff.

Topographic maps also show how a rural property is reached. A track on the map is not proof of a legal right to use it, which is a question for the title and the survey plan. But the absence of any formed road to a lot is a reason to ask that question early.

The limit is precision. A general topographic map is not a level survey. Where exact heights matter, as they do for a floor level on flood-affected land or for drainage design on a slope, the heights have to be measured on the site.

QTopo has a historical cousin. The same page notes that scans of historical topographic maps dating from 1862 to 2012 are available online through the State's Open Data portal. For an old property, an early map can show a creek line, a road alignment or a land use that has since disappeared from view.

## QImagery, the block as it used to be

QImagery is the State's online library of aerial photographs. The government's page, last updated on 24 February 2026, describes a collection of more than 900,000 high-resolution historical aerial photographs dating from the 1930s onwards, which can be searched and viewed by location.

A search can be made by locality, address, postcode, lot on plan or latitude and longitude. High-resolution frames can be downloaded free in JPEG format, up to eight frames in a single request. For most property questions eight is plenty: one frame per decade tells the story of a site.

Old photographs answer questions that no current record does. They show what was on the land before its present use: a farm, an orchard, a service station, a quarry, a workshop or a tip. An earlier use of that kind is a reason to look further into the condition of the soil, and a photograph is often the first hint that there was one.

They also date the buildings. Laying the frames side by side shows roughly when the house appeared, when the extension, deck, carport, shed or pool followed, and whether a retaining wall or a filled gully is recent. That timeline can be set against the council's approval records. A structure that first appears in a period for which no approval can be found is worth a question to the seller.

Earthworks show clearly from above. Fresh fill, cut batters and a watercourse that has been piped or diverted are usually easier to see in a photograph taken at the time than on the ground years later under lawn.

The page is frank about one limit. The photographs may not be accurately positioned on the map. Each is placed using its centroid, the central point of the frame, and the government says this is to help with discovery only. Positional accuracy has been improved, and users can submit a request to correct the alignment of an image. In practice this means a property may not be at the centre of the frame that the search returns, and the same building has to be found by eye in each photograph, using roads and creeks as landmarks.

The other limits follow from what a photograph is. Flights were not made every year, so there are gaps between frames. And a picture shows that something existed on a day. It does not say why, or what was done about it afterwards.

## FloodCheck, in brief

FloodCheck Queensland is the State's interactive flood map. Its page, last updated on 26 February 2024, describes flood mapping products and data developed to improve understanding of flood behaviour on a regional scale, including historic flood lines from 1893, 1974, 2010 and 2011, floodplain extent mapping, flood studies and technical reports. It is aimed at councils and flood practitioners, though open to everyone. The page says FloodCheck may not include all current flood information, and it points anyone with a question about a particular property to local government flood maps and data.

## The State's planning maps

Two State mapping systems deal with planning. Both are public, and the government page that introduces them was last updated on 10 November 2023.

The first is the State Planning Policy Interactive Mapping System, usually shortened to SPP IMS. The State Planning Policy sets out what the government calls matters of state interest, and the mapping system shows them spatially as layers. Its stated purpose is to help local government, the community and industry understand and interpret where and how the State's interest policies apply. The page notes that some matters of state interest have several layers and others have no mapping at all, so an empty map is not the whole policy.

The second is the Development Assessment Mapping System, or DAMS. It serves a narrower purpose: it helps a user identify development assessment triggers and referrals under the Planning Regulation 2017. In plain terms, it shows where a development proposal brings the State into the assessment. The layers mentioned on the page include Queensland waterways for waterway barrier works and the mapping used by the State Assessment and Referral Agency.

Neither system is the council's planning scheme. The zone that applies to a lot, and the local overlays laid over it, are found in the scheme of the council concerned, which each council publishes in its own way. The State systems show the layer above that: the State's interests, and the points at which a proposal would be referred to it. For a buyer the practical use is as an early warning. A State layer across the back of a block is a reason to ask a planner what it means for an extension, a subdivision or a second dwelling before a price is settled.

Two features of the State systems are worth knowing. The first is the disclaimer quoted above: the State makes no representations or warranties about the accuracy, reliability, completeness or suitability of the mapping and disclaims liability for losses arising from inaccurate or incomplete data. The second is that the maps change. The government offers a subscription service that notifies users of mapping updates, which is a reminder that a layer seen today may be redrawn.

A planning map states where a rule applies. It does not say how a particular application will be decided, and it does not confirm that the buildings already on the land were lawfully built. Those are questions for a town planner or a building certifier, and for the council's records.

## GeoResGlobe and what lies beneath

A second State globe is for resources. GeoResGlobe, the government says, lets users explore Queensland's mining and exploration data, including permits, geology and resource activity. Like Queensland Globe, it is free, and its layers can be viewed, combined and made into customised maps.

For most suburban buyers it is of no interest. For rural land it can matter. It shows whether a property lies within an area where a resource permit has been granted or where resource activity is recorded. Interests of that kind are a separate matter from who owns the surface, and a map of them is a starting point for questions, not an answer to what a permit holder may do.

## An order for checking one address

The tools make most sense used in sequence, each narrowing what the next needs to answer.

<figure class="fig"><figcaption><b>A desk check of one property, in five passes</b></figcaption>
<ol class="steps five">
<li><b>Identify the land</b><span>Find the property on Queensland Globe and note the lot and plan reference, the area and the council.</span></li>
<li><b>Look at the shape</b><span>Compare the parcel with the imagery, then check slope and waterways on QTopo.</span></li>
<li><b>Read the rules</b><span>Open the council's planning scheme for the zone, then the State planning maps for State interests.</span></li>
<li><b>Check the hazards</b><span>Start with the council's flood mapping, and use FloodCheck for the regional picture.</span></li>
<li><b>Look back in time</b><span>Download a run of QImagery frames for former uses, fill and the age of each structure.</span></li>
</ol></figure>

An hour spent this way does not finish the research. It produces a list of specific questions: why are there two lots, what was the shed in the old photograph, what does the State layer over the back corner require, where does the gully run? Those questions are what make the paid searches and professional inspections that follow more useful, because the person ordering them knows what to ask for.

The same hour is useful to a seller and to an agent. A seller who has looked at the old photographs and the planning layers knows which questions a careful buyer is likely to raise. An agent who has done so is less likely to describe a property in a way the public maps contradict.

## Reading every map with care

Four habits apply across all of these services.

Check the date. Each of these services is updated on its own cycle, and the government's pages say so in different ways. The valuation layer warns that some properties may not be current. FloodCheck warns that it may not include all current information. The planning systems send out update notices. A layer that looks current may be several years old.

Check the scale. Statewide datasets are compiled for statewide purposes. FloodCheck describes itself as regional and sends property questions to councils for that reason. A boundary drawn from regional mapping can cut across a suburban lot in a way that reflects the mapping method more than the ground.

Treat absence with caution. A lot that shows no layer has not been certified free of anything. The State's planning page notes that some matters have no corresponding mapping, and an aerial photograph archive can only show the days on which an aircraft flew over.

Keep the map and the record apart. A map is evidence of what an agency believed when it drew the layer, offered without warranty. A title, a survey, a certificate or an approval is the record itself.

> Free maps are best at telling you which questions to ask. The answers that bind anyone are still found in the title, the survey and the council's own records.

None of this is advice about a particular property. What these tools offer is a common, public starting point that is open to buyers, sellers, tenants and agents alike, at no cost beyond the time it takes to learn how to read them.