Areas / Brimbank / Sunshine West

Sunshine West flood map & planning overlays

Sunshine West: 18,552 people and 89 bus stops, both top 3 in Brimbank.

A planning-constraint profile of Sunshine West (Brimbank, VIC) - 9.62 km², mapped from live council and state overlay data. This suburb is moderately constrained.
Profile updated 24 October 2026.

Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Sunshine West'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 Sunshine West

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 24 Oct 2026

Under observed aircraft
98%
of the suburb, at or below 10,000 ft
Below 3,000 ft
66%
of the suburb's area
Lowest measured
500 ft
averaging 4,000 ft
Busiest square
~3 a day
2 a day below 3,000 ft · ±14% · area average
typical observed square 1 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.

Sunshine West at a glance

Parcels 8,776 Median lot 587 m² Mapped easements 2,993 Train Ardeer Station Bus stops 89

How Sunshine West is zoned

Neighbourhood Residential Zone (NRZ1) 32%
General Residential Zone (GRZ1) 25%
Industrial 2 Zone (IN2Z) 20%
Public Park and Recreation Zone (PPRZ) 6%
Industrial 3 Zone (IN3Z) 6%
Transport Zone (TRZ2) 5%

Selling in Sunshine West? The zoning and planning overlays on this page are the controls a Section 32 vendor statement discloses.

Across its 9.62 km², Sunshine West is moderately constrained by planning overlays. About 8% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay. There is 1 heritage-listed site on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Neighbourhood Residential Zone (NRZ1). The median lot measures about 587 m² across 8,776 parcels.

Who lives in Sunshine West

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

Population
18,552
usual residents, 2021
Median age
38
years
Median household income
$1,416
per week, Brimbank suburb typical $1,486
Median rent
$346
per week, Brimbank suburb typical $350
Median mortgage
$1,700
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 2
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Score 906, and decile 1 within Victoria. The national average is 1000.

Relative disadvantage (IRSD) Decile 1
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Age profile

Share of Sunshine West's 18,552 residents in each ABS age band.

0-4 5.6%
5-14 11.1%
15-19 5.3%
20-24 6.5%
25-34 16.5%
35-44 14.0%
45-54 12.2%
55-64 10.6%
65-74 9.3%
75-84 6.7%
85+ 2.2%

Population trend, 2001 to 2025

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

16,700 in 2001 to 18,693 in 2025, up 12%.

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.

Sunshine West data sources and coverage

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

DatasetCoveragePublisher
Flood mappingMappedVicmap Planning and Victorian Government spatial services
Bushfire-prone mappingMappedVicmap Planning and Victorian Government spatial services
ZoningMappedVicmap Planning and Victorian Government spatial services
Heritage and environmentMapped where publishedVicmap Planning and Victorian Government spatial services
Aircraft noise contours (ANEF)Not heldVicmap Planning and Victorian Government spatial services, Defence
Observed flight pathsObservedadsb.lol, under the Open Database License
DemographicsAvailableAustralian Bureau of Statistics (2021 Census and SEIFA)

Profile last materially updated 24 October 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 Sunshine West 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 66% of Sunshine West. 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 the indicative soil reactivity range to expect for a Sunshine West lot.

Sunshine West planning - frequently asked

Is Sunshine West flood-prone?

About 8% of Sunshine West falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 6%.

Is Sunshine West bushfire-prone?

Bushfire mapping covers Sunshine West and little to none of it is mapped as bushfire-prone (the Brimbank average is 15%).

Is Sunshine West under a flight path?

Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 66% of Sunshine West, and over about 98% at any altitude up to 10,000 ft, in the period sampled (4 Sep 2026 to 24 Oct 2026). The lowest measured aircraft was at 500 ft, with an average of 4,000 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 3 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 Sunshine West?

The dominant planning zone in Sunshine West is Neighbourhood Residential Zone (NRZ1), though the suburb also includes General Residential Zone (GRZ1) and Industrial 2 Zone (IN2Z).

Does Sunshine West have heritage-listed places?

Sunshine West has 1 heritage-listed place on record.

What is the typical lot size in Sunshine West?

Across 8,776 surveyed parcels in Sunshine West, the median lot size is about 587 m². There are also 2,993 registered easements mapped in the suburb.

Does Sunshine West have a train station?

Yes - Sunshine West has 1 train station: Ardeer Station. It is also served by 89 bus stops.

What is the population of Sunshine West?

At the 2021 Census Sunshine West had 18,552 usual residents, with a median age of 38 and an average household size of 2.8 people. The wider Sunshine West statistical area, which contains Sunshine West, went from 16,700 people in 2001 to 18,693 in 2025, up 12%.

Is Sunshine West an advantaged suburb?

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Sunshine West scores 906 and sits in decile 2 of 10 nationally and decile 1 within Victoria (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).

What is the median household income in Sunshine West?

Median household income in Sunshine West was $1,416 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,486 for the typical suburb in Brimbank. Median rent was $346 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,700 a month.

Compare nearby suburbs

Nearby suburbDistanceFlood mappedBushfire-prone
Ardeer 2.7 km 10% 0%
Albion 2.7 km 2% 0%
Sunshine 2.8 km 8% 0%
Derrimut 3.1 km 0% 17%
Brooklyn 3.6 km 8% 0%
Laverton North
Wyndham
4.1 km <1% 14%
Tottenham
Maribyrnong
4.3 km 5% 0%
Braybrook
Maribyrnong
4.7 km 3% 0%
Cairnlea 4.8 km 6% 0%
Sunshine North 4.9 km 9% 15%

See all Brimbank suburb profiles →