Short answer
More than nine in ten Scenic Rim homes are detached houses, many on rural blocks with sheds, cabins and parked caravans. On these properties the test scope — which buildings are sampled — matters as much as the method.
Tenure
- Rented
- 21.1%
- Owned with a mortgage
- 36.7%
- Owned outright
- 38.3%
Dwelling type
- Separate house
- 92.1%
- Townhouse / semi
- 6.1%
- Flat / apartment
- 0.3%
Share of occupied private dwellings. ABS 2021 Census QuickStats, Scenic Rim (LGA36510).
Setting the scope on a rural property
A rural purchase often comes with more than one structure: the main house, a machinery shed, a workshop, a cabin, a caravan that has been lived in. A test only covers what it is asked to cover. Walk the property with the plan in hand and list each building you want an answer for. Outbuildings that have been used as sleeping or living space should be sampled as dwellings; working sheds can be screened at a few representative points.
Cabins and farm-stay accommodation
Tamborine Mountain, Canungra and the Boonah district include cabin and farm-stay properties. Buying one means buying a history of many short stays. A screen of each unit, rather than a sample from one, shows whether a problem is isolated or widespread, which changes what the purchase is worth.
Caravans parked on the block
A caravan or relocatable that someone has lived in on a rural block is a small enclosed space, and residue concentrates quickly in small spaces. Include it in the scope by name. Results are reported against the residential figure of 0.5 µg/100cm² because people sleep in them.
Who regulates former drug-lab sites here?
Queensland Health says local governments regulate the health risks of former illicit drug laboratory sites under the Public Health Act 2005. For this area that is Scenic Rim Regional Council. Rental matters sit with the Residential Tenancies Authority.
Suburbs and towns in this council area
Beaudesert · Boonah · Tamborine Mountain · Canungra · Kalbar · Aratula · Harrisville · Rathdowney · Kooralbyn · Peak Crossing
Local questions
Do sheds need to be tested?
Only if they are named in the scope. Sheds used as living space should be tested as dwellings; working sheds can be screened at a few points.
How many samples does a cabin property need?
Screen each cabin individually. One sample from one cabin says nothing reliable about the others.
Sources
- Scenic Rim (LGA36510) — 2021 Census QuickStats — Australian Bureau of Statistics
- Clandestine Drug Laboratory Remediation Guidelines (2011) — Australian Government — Attorney-General’s Department / Australian Crime Commission
- Australian Voluntary Code of Practice: Assessment, remediation and validation — former clandestine drug laboratories and other methamphetamine contaminated properties (2019) — Environmental Health Australia
Facts on this page checked against these sources on 29 October 2026.