Menai flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Menai
(Sutherland Shire, NSW) - 13.61 km², mapped from live council and
state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 26 September 2026.
Suburb-wide figures; the free map shows which overlays touch your lot.
Constraint readout
13.61 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Menai's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top. Magenta is where aircraft were observed in the sampled period, brightest below 3,000 ft.
Nearby suburbs, nearest first
Aircraft noise and flight paths over Menai
Two different things, kept apart on purpose. The ANEF contour is the planning instrument - a forecast published per airport that planning schemes use to control noise-sensitive development. Observed overflight is what a sampled aircraft-tracking feed actually recorded over the suburb - where aircraft flew, how low and how often.
Observed overflight - sampled 4 Sep to 26 Sep 2026
typical observed square 6 a day
Night movements: observed, lowest 1,500 ft - night is sampled as often as day, but night traffic is light, so this is a floor and no rate can be put on it.
Traffic is sampled rather than watched continuously, so every figure is a floor: aircraft not captured between samples are not represented. Rates are per 500 m square - the busiest square in the suburb, not a count of flights over the suburb - and a square is only rated where enough traffic was seen to measure it. Altitudes are above mean sea level. Flight paths change with runway use, weather, season and airspace design. This is a record of observed traffic; it is not a noise contour and not a planning control.
Menai at a glance
How Menai is zoned
Buying in Menai? The zoning, flood and bushfire lines on the section 10.7 certificate attached to the contract are mapped controls - see our s10.7 certificate guide.
Across its 13.61 km², Menai is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 3% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 83% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 5 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Deferred Matter. The median lot measures about 631 m² across 3,098 parcels.
Who lives in Menai
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Menai suburb boundary itself, not a wider region.
Socio-economic standing
ABS SEIFA 2021 ranks every Australian suburb. Decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth of the country, decile 10 the least.
Score 1092, and decile 10 within New South Wales. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Menai's 10,419 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Menai - Lucas Heights - Woronora, the wider ABS statistical area containing Menai. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Menai itself.
21,802 in 2001 to 20,917 in 2025, down 4%.
Source: ABS Census 2021 and SEIFA 2021 (Suburbs and Localities), Regional Population (SA2), CC BY 4.0. Small counts are randomly adjusted by the ABS.
Menai data sources and coverage
“Not mapped” means we hold no source layer for this suburb - never an all-clear.
| Dataset | Coverage | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| Flood mapping | Mapped | NSW Government spatial services, NSW ePlanning and published council flood studies |
| Bushfire-prone mapping | Mapped | NSW Government spatial services, NSW ePlanning and published council flood studies |
| Zoning | Mapped | NSW Government spatial services, NSW ePlanning and published council flood studies |
| Heritage and environment | Mapped where published | NSW Government spatial services, NSW ePlanning and published council flood studies |
| Aircraft noise contours (ANEF) | Not held | NSW Government spatial services, NSW ePlanning and published council flood studies, Defence |
| Observed flight paths | Observed | adsb.lol, under the Open Database License |
| Demographics | Available | Australian Bureau of Statistics (2021 Census and SEIFA) |
Profile last materially updated 26 September 2026. See the methodology and full source list. Source data changes over time and critical decisions should be checked with the responsible authority.
Check a specific Menai address
See exactly which overlays touch a single property - the interactive map is free. Need it on paper? A full planning PDF is just $9.
Aircraft have been seen below 3,000 ft over about 34% of Menai. The report's Aircraft Overflight page narrows that to the address itself: how many aircraft a day, how low, and at what heights.
Building or pricing a slab? The $119 geotechnical desktop report covers geology, soils, bores and an indicative AS 2870 site class for a Menai lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Menai planning - frequently asked
Is Menai flood-prone?
About 3% of Menai falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 22%.
Is Menai bushfire-prone?
Around 83% of Menai is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Sutherland Shire average of 46%.
Is Menai under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 34% of Menai, and over about 100% at any altitude up to 10,000 ft, in the period sampled (4 Sep 2026 to 26 Sep 2026). The lowest measured aircraft was at 1,000 ft, with an average of 6,500 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 76 aircraft a day were recorded passing over one 500 m square. Traffic is sampled rather than watched continuously and flight paths change with runway use, weather and season; the ANEF contour is the planning instrument.
What is the zoning in Menai?
The dominant planning zone in Menai is Deferred Matter, though the suburb also includes Environmental Living and National Parks and Nature Reserves.
Does Menai have heritage-listed places?
Menai has 5 heritage-listed places on record.
What is the typical lot size in Menai?
Across 3,098 surveyed parcels in Menai, the median lot size is about 631 m². There are also 18 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
Does Menai have a train station?
There is no train station inside Menai itself. The suburb is served by 117 bus stops.
What is the population of Menai?
At the 2021 Census Menai had 10,419 usual residents, with a median age of 39 and an average household size of 3.0 people. The wider Menai - Lucas Heights - Woronora statistical area, which contains Menai, went from 21,802 people in 2001 to 20,917 in 2025, down 4%.
Is Menai an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Menai scores 1092 and sits in decile 10 of 10 nationally and decile 10 within New South Wales (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in Menai?
Median household income in Menai was $2,575 a week at the 2021 Census, against $2,626 for the typical suburb in Sutherland Shire. Median rent was $560 a week and the median mortgage repayment $2,600 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alfords Point | 2.8 km | 25% | 76% |
| Bangor | 2.9 km | 10% | 73% |
| Barden Ridge | 3.3 km | 2% | 70% |
| Sandy Point | 3.3 km | 48% | 56% |
| Illawong | 3.5 km | 22% | 58% |
| Picnic Point Canterbury-Bankstown |
3.6 km | 25% | 56% |
| Pleasure Point Liverpool |
3.9 km | 21% | 93% |
| Woronora Heights | 4.0 km | 6% | 86% |
| Revesby Heights Canterbury-Bankstown |
4.1 km | 38% | 68% |
| Woronora | 4.5 km | 39% | 81% |