West Lakes
South Australia · Charles Sturt, Adelaide - West
Live · ABS ERP June 2025
The median age is 51, higher than the middle South Australia area (42, Census 2021). Children under 15 are 13.2% of residents, against 17.0% in the middle South Australia area (Census 2021).
West Lakes has 2 schools (2 government, 0 non-government; ACARA School Profile 2025) and 8 NQS-rated childcare services (ACECQA register). Population is 15,989 (ABS ERP June 2025).
West Lakes at a glance
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Boundaries: ABS Suburbs & Localities 2021. School pins are ACARA's published locations. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors, © CARTO. Open the full SA map →
How the Family-Fit score is built60/100
Family-Fit score
Method published in fullMixed for families - strongest on childcare & early years, weakest on families already here.
- Schools in the area · 20% of the score
- 59/100
- Childcare & early years · 15% of the score
- 80/100
- Everyday amenities · 15% of the score
- 67/100
- Housing affordability · 15% of the score
- 55/100
- Families already here · 10% of the score
- 36/100
- Socio-economic profile · 10% of the score
- 56/100
SA median 68/100
2 schools in this SA2 · average government-school ICSEA 1043
SA median 70/100
8 NQS-rated services nearby
SA median 78/100
61 parks · no GP mapped (not counted) · 0 supermarkets · 16 playgrounds
SA median 53/100
Paying over 30% of income on housing: 11.6% of mortgage-holding households, 28.5% of renting households
SA median 58/100
13.2% of residents are children aged 0–14 · 35.0% of families are couples with children
SA median 33/100
SEIFA IRSAD decile 6 of 10 nationally
The grey marker on each bar is the median across the 164 South Australia areas we publish a score for (state median overall: 63/100). It is context, not a pass mark.
Not scored here (no published data for this area, so it is left out rather than counted as zero): Getting around. The remaining inputs were rescaled to 100.
How this score is calculated
Each published figure for the West Lakes SA2 is mapped onto 0–100 by fixed thresholds, then weighted. Inputs with no data here are dropped and the rest rescaled - never scored as zero. Every threshold and weight →
School results, crime and flood or bushfire overlays are not graded into this score. Limits of the score →
What families notice
What families notice
- At least one nearby government school has an above-average ICSEA intake profile (1060 vs. 1000 national average).
- 61 parks mapped inside this SA2 (OpenStreetMap).
- We don't have official school-zoning data for SA yet (only VIC, NSW and QLD) - confirm zoning directly with the school or department.
- We don't yet have official crime data for SA (only NSW and VIC) - that's a data gap on our side, not a claim this area is safe.
- We don't yet have property or rent figures for this area - check a real-estate portal directly for current prices.
Living in West Lakes: family snapshot
Living in West Lakes
A mid-sized suburb. Strong United Kingdom communities here (2021 Census). Many childcare options nearby - 8 NQS-rated services. Mostly detached family homes.
West Lakes compared with South Australia10 measures
| Measure | West Lakes | SA average | Against SA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Children aged 0 to 4 | 4.1% | 5.3% | Lower |
| Children aged 5 to 14 | 9.1% | 11.7% | Lower |
| Couple families with children | 35.0% | 40.7% | Lower |
| One-parent families | 14.4% | 16.7% | Lower |
| Homes owned outright | 45.0% | 33.1% | Higher |
| Homes owned with a mortgage | 29.2% | 36.5% | Lower |
| Homes rented | 22.3% | 27.7% | Lower |
| Separate houses | 60.5% | 78.8% | Lower |
| Flats and apartments | 5.3% | 6.5% | Lower |
| Born overseas | 23.1% | 24.1% | Lower |
Source: ABS Census 2021. The SA figure is the population-weighted average of the 172 SA areas with a published value. "Higher" and "Lower" describe the number only.
About this area and its boundary
West Lakes is a locality in the Charles Sturt area of South Australia. This profile draws on ABS population and Census figures, the ACARA school register and ACECQA childcare ratings for the West Lakes SA2.
15,989 residents - 13.2% are children under 15, median age 51, the largest overseas-born community is United Kingdom (7.1%).
This profile uses the ABS West Lakes statistical area (SA2) - the level Australian government data is published at. SA2 boundaries don’t always match suburb boundaries. It covers the gazetted suburbs of West Lakes, Semaphore Park, West Lakes Shore and Tennyson, drawn separately on the map above.
Property market
No free house sale price or 3-bedroom house rent is published for this area. 22.3% of homes are rented, against 27.7% across South Australia.
Homes and households
Source: ABS Census 2021. Where the shares do not add to 100%, the rest is "other" or "not stated".
Housing cost pressuremortgage and rent against income
Housing cost pressure
In West Lakes, 28.5% of renting households spend more than 30% of their income on rent, and 11.6% of households with a mortgage spend more than 30% on repayments - the ABS's stretched-household threshold (Census 2021).
ABS published figures, not our calculation.
- Mortgage over 30% of income
- 11.6%
- Rent over 30% of income
- 28.5%
SA avg 12%
Share of households WITH a mortgage whose repayments take more than 30% of income. That's 212 of 1,616 households with a stated repayment.
SA avg 30.6%
Share of RENTING households whose rent takes more than 30% of income. That's 399 of 1,272 households with a stated rent.
The two figures cover different households (mortgage-holding vs renting), so never add them. How the ABS counts these → Grey marker: SA average (163 for mortgage and 164 for rent). Census 2021 - housing costs have moved since. Not financial advice.
What's being built herenew homes approved, year by year
What's being built here
200 new homes were approved in West Lakes in the year to June 2025. Councils approved 876 new dwellings here across the 6 years to June 2025 - an approval is permission to build, not a home that exists yet.
Approved in the year to June 2025
Middle SA area: 51
Separate houses
Private sector, over these 6 years
Townhouses & apartments
Private sector, over these 6 years
Counts are for the whole West Lakes statistical area. What these counts include → Dashed line: the median of 162South Australia areas.
Schools and childcare
2 schools are located in the area. 8 childcare services are on the national register, 7 rated Meeting the National Quality Standard or above.
Government schools in West Lakes
Free government schools your child may attend. Exact school zones aren’t mapped for SA yet, so we can’t confirm which one is yours.
A picture of students’ family backgrounds (ICSEA) - not a ranking or a quality score.
We show school intake context and catchments, not exam results. We don’t publish a school ranking.
To look beyond West Lakes, every South Australia school is on the Australian schools and catchment zones map.
Schools in West Lakes
ICSEA reflects student intake context, not teaching quality (1000 = national average). Source: ACARA School Profile 2025. All SA schools →
Childcare: 8 services
National Quality Standard ratings from the ACECQA register, refreshed Oct 2026. Services are matched by suburb name.
Childcare services, ratings and fees8 services
- Exceeding NQSWestport PreschoolCentre-Based Care · 33 places · Semaphore ParkRated Aug 2016 · over 3 years old, check for a more recent assessment
- Meeting NQSGreen Leaves Early Learning West LakesCentre-Based Care · 134 places · West LakesRated Dec 2023
- Meeting NQSWest Lakes Shore Primary School OSHCCentre-Based Care · 100 places · West Lakes ShoreRated Dec 2023
- Meeting NQSCamp Australia - Westport Primary School OSHCCentre-Based Care · 80 places · Semaphore ParkRated Sep 2025
- Meeting NQSGoodstart Early Learning Semaphore ParkCentre-Based Care · 70 places · Semaphore ParkRated Mar 2020 · over 3 years old, check for a more recent assessment
- Meeting NQSWest Lakes Kindergarten & Early Childhood CentreCentre-Based Care · 49 places · West LakesRated May 2025
- Meeting NQSWest Lakes Shore KindergartenCentre-Based Care · 45 places · West Lakes ShoreRated May 2026
- Working Towards NQSEden Academy West LakesCentre-Based Care · 120 places · West LakesRated May 2025
- Centre-based day care
- $13.88/hr
- Outside school hours care
- $8.26/hr
Mean hourly fee across CCS-approved services, December quarter 2025 - Dept of Education, © Commonwealth of Australia, CC BY 4.0. Published at SA3 level (a wider area than this suburb's SA2), so it's an average across Charles Sturt and surrounds, not this specific service list.
Verify locations before visiting. A rating over 3 years old is flagged. What the NQS ratings mean → Childcare places per child, by suburb →
Who lives here
More people aged 65 or over than South Australia overall: 31.2% of residents, against 20.0% statewide.
Ages of people here
Share of residents in each age band, in years. Source: ABS Census 2021.
How the area is changingCensus 2011 to 2021
Each line is drawn on its own scale, so compare the numbers, not the heights. Source: ABS Census 2011, 2016 and 2021.
Census trends against the middle SA areafull charts
Which way this area is moving
The 2011, 2016 and 2021 Censuses for West Lakes, counted on today's boundaries.
Since 2011, West Lakes has grown older.
- People counted
- +1,161 people since 2011
- Median age
- +2 years since 2011
- Children aged 0–14
- +0.9 pts since 2011
- Born overseas
- +1.5 pts since 2011
- Speak another language at home
- +1.1 pts since 2011
Usual residents counted on Census night.
Half the residents are older than this, half younger.
Share of all residents. The clearest signal of families arriving or moving on.
Share of all residents born outside Australia.
Share of residents who stated a language, speaking one other than English at home.
The dashed line is the median across the South Australia areas we profile. How the three Censuses line up →
Where this year's population change came from+0.40% in a year
Where did the gain come from?
+71Reading the streams: overseas arrivals were the dominant force - more came from abroad than the suburb grew on its own.
Ages against the state average, band by band
Ages of people here
9.1% of people here are school-age children (5–14) - fewer than the South Australia average of 11.7%, and 4.1% are under 5. The median age is 51.
- 0–4 years · before school
- 4.1%
- 5–14 years · school age
- 9.1%
- 15–19 years · teens
- 4.4%
- 20–34 years
- 14.2%
- 35–54 years
- 22.8%
- 55–64 years
- 14.2%
- 65 years and over
- 31.2%
SA avg 5.3%
SA avg 11.7%
SA avg 5.6%
SA avg 19.3%
SA avg 25.3%
SA avg 12.8%
SA avg 20%
Share of all residents of West Lakes (ABS Statistical Area 2) at the 2021 Census; the grey marker is the South Australia average. How the bands and averages work →
Households and families
Households and families
49% of families here have children living at home - fewer than the South Australia average of 57%. The largest overseas-born communities are United Kingdom (7.1%), Italy (1.5%) and China (1%). 22% of homes are rented.
Family make-up
Share of all families in the area. A small "other family" group the ABS also counts is not shown.
- Couple with children
- 35%
- One-parent family
- 14.4%
- Couple, no children
- 49.4%
SA avg 40.7%
SA avg 16.7%
SA avg 41%
What people live in
Share of occupied private dwellings. Other and unstated structures are not shown.
- Separate house
- 60.5%
- Semi-detached / townhouse
- 33.9%
- Flat or apartment
- 5.3%
SA avg 78.8%
SA avg 14.2%
SA avg 6.5%
Owned or rented
Share of occupied private dwellings. Other and unstated tenures are not shown.
- Owned outright
- 45%
- Owned with a mortgage
- 29.2%
- Rented
- 22.3%
SA avg 33.1%
SA avg 36.5%
SA avg 27.7%
Figures describe West Lakes (ABS Statistical Area 2) at the 2021 Census; the grey marker is the South Australia average. How these are counted →
Birthplaces, languages and communities
Who lives in West Lakes
Top 5 overseas birthplaces shown · 88.6% born in Australia or a country not in the top five.
- United Kingdom · established by 2016
- 7.1%
- Italy · established by 2016
- 1.5%
- China · established by 2016
- 1%
- Germany · established by 2016
- 0.9%
- Greece · established by 2016
- 0.9%
SA avg 6.3%
SA avg 0.7%
SA avg 1.2%
SA avg 0.2%
SA avg 0.2%
- Nearby
- Largs Bay - Semaphore, Port Adelaide and Royal Park - Hendon - Albert Park also have an established United Kingdom community.
- Settlement pattern
- Of overseas-born residents who stated when they arrived, 11.4% arrived in the last 5 years (2016–2021) (SA avg 16.4%) and 63.6% arrived before 2001 (SA avg 52.5%).
- English at home
- Of residents who speak a language other than English at home and stated their English proficiency, 11.5% report speaking English “not well” or “not at all” (SA avg 13%) - a self-reported ABS figure across all languages combined, not a judgement of any one community.
Figures describe West Lakes (ABS Statistical Area 2) at the 2021 Census. The ABS publishes only the five largest communities per area, so a missing name did not rank in the top five. How these are counted →
Socio-economic index (SEIFA)decile 6 of 10
- Decile (1 lowest, 10 highest)
- Decile 6 of 10
- Where this sits in SA
- top 50% of South Australia areas
A relative comparison of the whole area against all of Australia - not a safety, liveability, or school-quality measure. What IRSAD measures → Source: ABS SEIFA 2021, IRSAD index (SA2).
Getting around and lifestyle
61 parks are mapped in the area, and the nearest emergency department is The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, 4.3 km away in a straight line.
Mapped inside the West Lakes boundary. A zero can mean "not mapped" rather than "not there". Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Train to the city and nearest emergency department
Train to the city
Not publishedSouth Australia publishes its timetable data behind a free developer account we have not yet set up, so we show no travel time here. This is a gap on our side, not a statement about the transport in this area.
Nearest emergency department
MappedThe Queen Elizabeth Hospital · 4.3 km
Straight-line distance from the middle of this area - not a drive time. In an emergency call 000; do not plan around this figure.
Community and recreation
Out with a baby
Public-toilet facilities recorded on the National Public Toilet Map - not every place in the area that will let you change a baby.
About this data
Counts of features tagged in OpenStreetMap inside the West Lakes boundary. “Middle SA area”: the median of 172 South Australia areas. How these counts and times are made →
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors · baby-facility counts from the National Public Toilet Map (Continence Foundation of Australia, funded by the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, CC BY 3.0 AU)
Crime & safety in West Lakes
Official recorded-incident data is only published on this site for NSW and VIC so far - that's a coverage gap on our side, not a claim that West Lakes is safe. SuburbRadar does not rate suburbs as safe or unsafe. More on crime & safety →
Risks
1 of the 1 planning and hazard records we hold show something in this area: traffic noise. 6 more are not published for SA - treat them as not checked.
Traffic noise
Freeway or highway presentGrand Junction Road
Each line is the extent of an official record across the whole West Lakes area - not a risk rating, and a specific address may or may not be affected. Not financial or insurance advice.
All 9 checks and what each one means
Flooding
Not publishedNo free statewide flood overlay is published for SA yet, so we show none. Check the local council's planning maps.
Bushfire
Not publishedWe hold official bushfire mapping for Victoria and New South Wales only - nothing is published here for SA yet. Check the state fire service's mapping.
Heritage controls
Not publishedWe hold official heritage overlay mapping for Victoria and New South Wales only - nothing is published here for SA yet. Check the local council's planning scheme and the state heritage register.
Traffic noise
Freeway or highway presentGrand Junction Road
1 named road through this area carries OpenStreetMap's highest classification - a freeway, motorway or major highway, whatever the road is called locally, alongside 7 named main roads. Roads are counted by name, not by mapped segment. Where a home sits relative to them matters far more than the count - a street two blocks back can be quiet.
Aircraft noise
Not publishedWe hold official aircraft-noise mapping for Victoria and New South Wales only - nothing is published here for SA yet. Check the airport's noise contours and the local planning scheme.
Land contamination checks
Not mappedWe hold official contaminated-land overlay mapping for Victoria only - nothing is published here for SA yet. Check the state environment authority's contaminated land register and the local planning scheme.
Acid sulfate soils
Not publishedWe hold acid sulfate soil mapping for Victoria and New South Wales only - nothing is published here for SA yet. Coastal and estuarine land is where these soils occur; check the state's soil mapping and the local planning scheme.
Recorded crime
Not publishedSA does not release the suburb-level incident counts we republish for New South Wales and Victoria, so we show none here.
Social housing
Census figure6.4% rented from a state or territory housing authority · 0.5% from a community housing provider
Share of occupied private dwellings here with a stated tenure (Census 2021). The middle SA area is 2.4% public and 1.0% community, across 166 areas. Listed because families ask; it is a fact about who owns the homes, not a judgement about the people in them.
About this data
Every line is an official published record for the West Lakes area - we don't rate, score or rank any of them. Where a line is missing, treat it as not checked rather than clear. What each line covers and does not →
Source: ABS Census 2021 (G37 tenure and landlord type) · © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) - road classification
Nearby suburbs
- Largs Bay (Semaphore area) 2.2 km
- Port Adelaide 3.5 km
- Royal Park - Hendon - Albert Park 3.5 km
- Seaton (Grange area) 4.4 km
- Beverley 4.8 km
- Woodville (Cheltenham area) 5.3 km
The six closest profiled areas in South Australia, by distance between area centres.
The suburbs in this area
Everything else on this page is published for West Lakes as a whole - one ABS statistical area covering 4 separate gazetted suburbs. These are the figures published for each of those suburbs on its own.
| Suburb | Residents Census 2021 | Schools |
|---|---|---|
| West Lakes | 6,768 | 0 |
| Semaphore Park | 4,541 | 1 |
| West Lakes Shore | 3,236 | 1 |
| Tennyson | 1,137 | 0 |
Each row is that suburb's own published figure - nothing here is the wider area's number divided up. Resident counts are the Census 2021 usual-resident count for the gazetted suburb, so they will not add up to the population at the top of this page, which is the ABS's later June 2025 estimate for the whole statistical area: a different measure on a different date. Schools are ACARA-registered schools whose published address falls inside the suburb boundary, which is not the same as the school your address is zoned to. No free source publishes suburb-level house medians in South Australia, so no price column is shown - that is our coverage gap, not a statement about the market here. Every other figure on this page - crime & safety, overlays, commute, amenities, projections, the Family-Fit score - is published for the whole statistical area and cannot be separated by suburb.
Other areas in Charles Sturtsorted by growth in one year
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