Sunshine (Vic.), VIC
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Sunshine lies about 12 kilometres west of central Melbourne and forms part of the City of Brimbank. The suburb grew up around a railway junction once called Braybrook Junction, and its fortunes were transformed by the industrialist H. V. McKay. In 1906 he moved his agricultural-machinery business from Ballarat to a factory here, which became the Sunshine Harvester Works — for a time the largest manufacturing plant in Australia. In 1907 the residents successfully petitioned to rename the town Sunshine, in honour of McKay's harvesters. That same year a landmark industrial decision, the Harvester Judgement, set a minimum living wage for Australian workers. McKay laid out a model company town, the Sunshine Estate, with parks, street lighting and a library, and Sunshine was soon dubbed the 'Birmingham of Australia'. Post-war migration made it a richly multicultural centre, home to one of the country's largest Maltese communities and a thriving Vietnamese shopping precinct.
Less advantaged than the national average
Sunshine (Vic.) is more socio-economically advantaged than about 33% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 957, where about 1000 is the national average).
A socio-economic measure from ABS Census data — not a measure of how good a suburb is to live in or visit. How we calculate this.
Sunshine (Vic.) at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 9,445
- Median age
- 35
- Median weekly household income
- $1,566
- SEIFA score
- 957
- Coordinates
- -37.7872, 144.8311
Sunshine (Vic.) demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Sunshine (Vic.) using the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census; every percentage is a share of a clearly stated Census count, so each one traces back to the source. At a glance, the largest age group is young adults (25–44) at 37%, 41% of homes are rented, and 51% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 1,534 | 16% |
| Youth (15–24) | 1,090 | 12% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 3,485 | 37% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 2,077 | 22% |
| Seniors (65+) | 1,250 | 13% |
Share of the 9,436 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 912 | 27% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 961 | 29% |
| Rented | 1,361 | 41% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 2,329 | 69% |
| Townhouses & semis | 742 | 22% |
| Flats & apartments | 279 | 8% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 3,360 occupied private dwellings in Sunshine (Vic.).
- Median weekly rent
- $340
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,842
- Average household size
- 2.6 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,806
- Median weekly personal income
- $706
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 4,560 (51%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 5,001 (57%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 57 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 4,811 (63%)
- Labour-force participation
- 60.5%
- Unemployment rate
- 7.7%
- Employed full-time
- 2,489
- Employed part-time
- 1,588
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021 (General Community Profile, by Suburb and Locality). © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. How we group bands and derive each share is set out on our methodology page.
Weather and climate in Sunshine (Vic.)
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Sunshine (Vic.) is January (average daytime high around 26.6°C) and the coolest is July (around 12.9°C). The area receives roughly 658 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 26.6°C | 14.8°C | 57 mm |
| Feb | 25.5°C | 14.2°C | 29 mm |
| Mar | 23.8°C | 13.3°C | 42 mm |
| Apr | 19.9°C | 10.8°C | 57 mm |
| May | 16.1°C | 8.6°C | 53 mm |
| Jun | 13.4°C | 6.8°C | 58 mm |
| Jul | 12.9°C | 6.2°C | 46 mm |
| Aug | 13.6°C | 6.3°C | 52 mm |
| Sep | 16.2°C | 7.3°C | 57 mm |
| Oct | 19.4°C | 8.8°C | 71 mm |
| Nov | 21.5°C | 10.7°C | 70 mm |
| Dec | 24.2°C | 12.5°C | 66 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Common questions about Sunshine (Vic.)
Where is Sunshine (Vic.)?
Sunshine (Vic.) is a suburb of Victoria, Australia.
What is the population of Sunshine (Vic.)?
At the 2021 Census, Sunshine (Vic.) had a population of about 9,445.
Is Sunshine (Vic.) an advantaged area?
Sunshine (Vic.) has an ABS SEIFA score of 957, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 33 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 33% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Sunshine (Vic.)?
Sunshine (Vic.) has average daytime highs of about 19.4°C and overnight lows of about 10°C, with roughly 658 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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