Areas / Mackay Regional / Sunnyside

Sunnyside flood map & planning overlays

Sunnyside pairs 15 ha lots with a young median age of 37 and 35.3% bushfire mapping.

A planning-constraint profile of Sunnyside (Mackay Regional, QLD) - 44.61 km², mapped from live council and state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 7 November 2026.

Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Sunnyside'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

How common is mapped flood risk across Sunnyside properties?

Counts of properties, not share of land, across 134 analysed Sunnyside properties; no individual property result is identified.

Aircraft noise and flight paths over Sunnyside

The ANEF contour is a published planning forecast and observed overflight is what a sampled tracking feed recorded - neither describes any individual property.

Observed overflight - sampled 4 Sep to 7 Nov 2026

Under observed aircraft
54%
of the suburb, at or below 10,000 ft
Below 3,000 ft
39%
of the suburb's area
Lowest measured
500 ft
averaging 2,500 ft
Busiest square
~0 a day
0 a day below 3,000 ft · ±30% · area average
typical observed square 0 a day

Night movements: observed, lowest 4,500 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.

How this is measured

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.

Sunnyside at a glance

Parcels 141 Median lot 145,344 m² Mapped easements 51 Schools in suburb 0 Landslide overlay 42%

Schools in and near Sunnyside

Public school-location data shows availability across the suburb; it does not rate schools or assign any individual address to a catchment.

Inside the suburb boundary

0

0 schools providing primary years and 0 providing secondary years. A combined school may be counted in both teaching levels.

Nearest school availability

Primary: 6.44 km from the suburb boundary

Secondary: 8.98 km from the suburb boundary

Source: Queensland Government school geographic information. Catchment boundaries can divide a suburb and change over time.

Which school zone is a Sunnyside address in? Check an address with our free school zone checker.

How Sunnyside is zoned

Rural 90%
Open space 10%
Special purpose 0%

Selling in Sunnyside? The lot-level zone is the zoning Part 3 of Queensland's Form 2 seller disclosure statement asks for - see our Form 2 planning data guide.

Across its 44.61 km², Sunnyside is highly constrained by planning overlays. Flood mapping covers the suburb and none of it falls within a mapped flood overlay, and 35% is flagged bushfire-prone. The dominant land-use zone is Rural. The terrain is largely flat, and the median lot measures about 145,344 m² across 141 parcels.

Who lives in Sunnyside

Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Sunnyside suburb boundary itself, not a wider region.

Population
127
usual residents, 2021
Median age
37
years
Median household income
$1,875
per week, Mackay Regional suburb typical $1,937
Median rent
$275
per week, Mackay Regional suburb typical $272
Median mortgage
$2,051
per month
Household size
2.8
people, average

Socio-economic standing

ABS SEIFA 2021 ranks every Australian suburb. Decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth of the country, decile 10 the least.

Advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD) Decile 4
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Score 955, and decile 5 within Queensland. The national average is 1000.

Relative disadvantage (IRSD) Decile 4
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Age profile

Share of Sunnyside's 127 residents in each ABS age band.

0-4 8.2%
5-14 17.2%
15-19 4.5%
20-24 5.2%
25-34 11.2%
35-44 12.7%
45-54 12.7%
55-64 17.9%
65-74 5.2%
75-84 5.2%
85+ 0.0%

Population trend, 2001 to 2025

Estimated resident population of Walkerston - Eton, the wider ABS statistical area containing Sunnyside. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Sunnyside itself.

6,919 in 2001 to 8,749 in 2025, up 26%.

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.

Sunnyside data sources and coverage

“Not mapped” means we hold no source layer for this suburb - never an all-clear.

DatasetCoveragePublisher
Flood mappingMappedthe relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data
Bushfire-prone mappingMappedthe relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data
ZoningMappedthe relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data
Heritage and environmentMapped where publishedthe relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data
Aircraft noise contours (ANEF)Not heldthe relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data, Defence
Observed flight pathsObservedadsb.lol, under the Open Database License
DemographicsAvailableAustralian Bureau of Statistics (2021 Census and SEIFA)
School availabilityAvailableQueensland Government

Profile last materially updated 7 November 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 Sunnyside 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.

See what's in the $9 report →

Aircraft have been seen below 3,000 ft over about 39% of Sunnyside. The report's Aircraft Overflight page narrows that to the address itself: how many aircraft a day, how low, and at what heights.

Published flood models are held over parts of Sunnyside. The free check tells you whether one reaches an address; where it does, a Flood Model Report is +$9 with the planning report.

The Terrain Report shows the fall of the block - contours, cross sections and a 3D model of the lot to spin round in your browser (+$9 with the planning report).

Moving here? The Liveability section adds walking times from the address to schools, parks, shops and transport, and the school zones it sits in (+$9 with the planning report).

Building or pricing a slab? The $119 geotechnical desktop report covers geology, soils, bores and the indicative soil reactivity range to expect for a Sunnyside lot.

Sunnyside planning - frequently asked

Is Sunnyside flood-prone?

Flood mapping covers Sunnyside and less than 1% of the suburb falls within a mapped flood overlay (the council-wide suburb average is 36%). Across the suburb, 4% of the 134 properties we analysed carry some level of mapped flood risk. Published flood models are held over parts of Sunnyside; the free check on the Flood Model Report page says whether one reaches a given address.

Is Sunnyside bushfire-prone?

Around 35% of Sunnyside is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Mackay Regional average of 26%.

Is Sunnyside under a flight path?

Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 39% of Sunnyside, and over about 54% at any altitude up to 10,000 ft, in the period sampled (4 Sep 2026 to 7 Nov 2026). The lowest measured aircraft was at 500 ft, with an average of 2,500 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 0 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 Sunnyside?

The dominant planning zone in Sunnyside is Rural, though the suburb also includes Open space and Special purpose.

Does Sunnyside have heritage-listed places?

No heritage-listed places are on record within Sunnyside.

Is Sunnyside hilly or flat?

Sunnyside is largely flat: the median ground slope is about 3%, and 14% of measured points sit on grades of 15% or steeper. Ground level runs from roughly 15 m to 203 m AHD across the suburb.

What is the typical lot size in Sunnyside?

Across 141 surveyed parcels in Sunnyside, the median lot size is about 145,344 m². There are also 51 registered easements mapped in the suburb.

What is the population of Sunnyside?

At the 2021 Census Sunnyside had 127 usual residents, with a median age of 37 and an average household size of 2.8 people. The wider Walkerston - Eton statistical area, which contains Sunnyside, went from 6,919 people in 2001 to 8,749 in 2025, up 26%.

Is Sunnyside an advantaged suburb?

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Sunnyside scores 955 and sits in decile 4 of 10 nationally and decile 5 within Queensland (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).

What is the median household income in Sunnyside?

Median household income in Sunnyside was $1,875 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,937 for the typical suburb in Mackay Regional. Median rent was $275 a week and the median mortgage repayment $2,051 a month.

Compare nearby suburbs

Nearby suburbDistanceFlood mappedBushfire-prone
Munbura 3.9 km 4% 4%
Oakenden 7.5 km 10% 48%
Balberra 9.8 km 46% 3%
Sarina 10.6 km 8% 33%
Homebush 12.3 km 24% 12%
Chelona 13.6 km 89% 4%
Sandiford 14.3 km 42% <1%
Dunnrock 15.0 km 93% <1%
Rosella 15.7 km 25% 0%
Alligator Creek 15.8 km 16% 22%

See all Mackay Regional suburb profiles →