West Mackay flood map & planning overlays
West Mackay: 6,536 residents, 15.3% inside noise contours, and 37 flights a day.
Most lots here are flood-mapped. The free check shows how much of one lot the overlay covers.
Free map preview, then PDF reports from $9 - about the price of an iced latte on a public holiday.
A planning-constraint profile of West Mackay
(Mackay Regional, QLD) - 6.47 km², mapped from live council and
state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 7 November 2026.
Constraint readout
6.47 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to West Mackay's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top. Amber hatching is the published aircraft noise (ANEF) contour. 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 West Mackay properties?
Counts of properties, not share of land, across 3,145 analysed West Mackay properties; no individual property result is identified.
Lot-level readout
Flood-risk rating across all 3,145 properties
From LayeredGeo's lot-risk engine: council flood overlays, historical flooding and terrain, resolved to each individual lot in West Mackay.
Aircraft noise and flight paths over West Mackay
The ANEF contour is a published planning forecast and observed overflight is what a sampled tracking feed recorded - neither describes any individual property.
Inside an aircraft noise contour
15% of the suburb's land sits inside a published ANEF or airport-environs contour. Contours vary street by street, so whether a particular lot is inside one needs a property-level check.
Highest contour present
Under AS 2021, land between ANEF 25 and 30 is generally unacceptable for new houses; 20 to 25 is conditionally acceptable with noise attenuation. The contour is a forecast, not a measurement at any one house.
Contours held
- Mackay Regional Council ANEF
Observed overflight - sampled 4 Sep to 7 Nov 2026
typical observed square 2 a day
Night movements: observed, lowest 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.
West Mackay at a glance
Schools in and near West Mackay
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
2 schools providing primary years and 1 providing secondary years. A combined school may be counted in both teaching levels.
Nearest school availability
Primary: inside the suburb
Secondary: inside the suburb
Source: Queensland Government school geographic information. Catchment boundaries can divide a suburb and change over time; use the official catchment finder for a specific address.
How West Mackay is zoned
Selling in West Mackay? 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 6.47 km², West Mackay is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 74% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 2% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 2 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Open space. The terrain is largely flat, and the median lot measures about 809 m² across 3,044 parcels.
Who lives in West Mackay
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the West Mackay 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 965, and decile 5 within Queensland. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of West Mackay's 6,536 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of West Mackay, the wider ABS statistical area containing West Mackay. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than West Mackay itself.
6,069 in 2001 to 6,443 in 2025, up 6%.
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.
West Mackay 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 | the relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data |
| Bushfire-prone mapping | Mapped | the relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data |
| Zoning | Mapped | the relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data |
| Heritage and environment | Mapped where published | the relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data |
| Aircraft noise contours (ANEF) | Inside a held contour | the relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data, Defence |
| Observed flight paths | Observed | adsb.lol, under the Open Database License |
| Demographics | Available | Australian Bureau of Statistics (2021 Census and SEIFA) |
| School availability | Available | Queensland 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 West Mackay 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 100% of West Mackay. 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 West Mackay. 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).
Building or pricing a slab? The $119 geotechnical desktop report covers geology, soils, bores and the indicative soil reactivity range to expect for a West Mackay lot.
West Mackay planning - frequently asked
Is West Mackay flood-prone?
About 74% of West Mackay falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 36%. Across the suburb, 86% of the 3,145 properties we analysed carry some level of mapped flood risk. Published flood models are held over parts of West Mackay; the free check on the Flood Model Report page says whether one reaches a given address.
Is West Mackay bushfire-prone?
Around 2% of West Mackay is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Mackay Regional average of 26%.
Is West Mackay affected by aircraft noise?
About 15% of West Mackay sits inside a published aircraft noise contour, and the highest contour present is ANEF 25 - under AS 2021, land above ANEF 25 is generally considered unacceptable for new houses, and 20-25 conditionally acceptable with noise attenuation. ANEF contours are forecasts published per airport and used to control noise-sensitive development; they are not a measurement at any one house, and a property can sit under a flight path and outside every contour.
Is West Mackay under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 100% of West Mackay, in the period sampled (4 Sep 2026 to 7 Nov 2026). The lowest measured aircraft was at 500 ft, with an average of 500 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 34 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 West Mackay?
The dominant planning zone in West Mackay is Open space, though the suburb also includes Low density residential and Medium density residential.
Does West Mackay have heritage-listed places?
West Mackay has 2 heritage-listed places on record.
Is West Mackay hilly or flat?
West Mackay is largely flat: the median ground slope is about 1%. Ground level runs from roughly 6 m to 12 m AHD across the suburb.
What is the typical lot size in West Mackay?
Across 3,044 surveyed parcels in West Mackay, the median lot size is about 809 m². There are also 187 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
Does West Mackay have a train station?
There is no train station inside West Mackay itself. The suburb is served by 18 bus stops.
What is the population of West Mackay?
At the 2021 Census West Mackay had 6,536 usual residents, with a median age of 42 and an average household size of 2.3 people. The wider West Mackay statistical area, which contains West Mackay, went from 6,069 people in 2001 to 6,443 in 2025, up 6%.
Is West Mackay an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), West Mackay scores 965 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 West Mackay?
Median household income in West Mackay was $1,696 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,937 for the typical suburb in Mackay Regional. Median rent was $320 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,595 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Mackay | 2.2 km | 86% | 3% |
| Foulden | 2.3 km | 100% | 0% |
| Mackay | 2.5 km | 98% | 0% |
| Mount Pleasant | 3.4 km | 30% | 2% |
| Cremorne | 3.5 km | 100% | 0% |
| East Mackay | 3.6 km | 92% | 1% |
| Racecourse | 3.7 km | 68% | 2% |
| North Mackay | 3.9 km | 81% | <1% |
| Ooralea | 4.0 km | 60% | 0% |
| Paget | 4.6 km | 81% | 6% |