Short answer
Somerset is the smallest council in South East Queensland by population and almost entirely detached houses (96.8% in 2021). Somerset Regional Council publishes guidance on illegal drug laboratories and directs recent buyers to Queensland Police, who may be able to confirm previous manufacture at a property.
Tenure
- Rented
- 20.7%
- Owned with a mortgage
- 36.8%
- Owned outright
- 38.2%
Dwelling type
- Separate house
- 96.8%
- Townhouse / semi
- 1.7%
- Flat / apartment
- 0.2%
Share of occupied private dwellings. ABS 2021 Census QuickStats, Somerset (LGA36580).
What Somerset Regional Council advises
The council’s environmental health page on illegal drug laboratories says it can advise on finding a qualified person to test for contamination, on the steps to get a site dealt with, and on complying with a public health order the council has issued. It warns that chemical contamination can remain after police have removed chemicals and equipment.
For a property you have recently bought, the council directs you to Queensland Police Service, who may be able to confirm whether manufacturing took place. For rentals it points to the RTA, and for public housing to the state housing department.
Scoping a test on a rural Somerset block
With almost every home a detached house and many on acreage, the outbuildings are the variable. Sheds, workshops, shipping containers that have been fitted out, and caravans that have been lived in each need to be named in the scope. Structures used for living are sampled like a dwelling; working sheds can be screened at representative points.
Older homes in Esk, Toogoolawah and Kilcoy
The older towns have timber houses with long ownership histories. Sampling includes the less visible surfaces — inside built-in cupboards, behind the stove, exhaust fans and ceiling cornices — so the result is not limited to whatever was repainted before sale.
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 Somerset Regional Council. Rental matters sit with the Residential Tenancies Authority.
Suburbs and towns in this council area
Esk · Kilcoy · Lowood · Fernvale · Toogoolawah · Coominya · Linville · Moore · Harlin · Mount Mee
Local questions
Can police tell me if my Somerset property was a drug lab?
Somerset Regional Council says Queensland Police Service may be able to confirm previous illegal drug manufacturing at a recently purchased property.
Does the council test properties?
The council’s page says it can advise on finding a qualified tester and on complying with a public health order; it does not describe testing properties itself.
Sources
- Somerset (LGA36580) — 2021 Census QuickStats — Australian Bureau of Statistics
- Illegal drug laboratories — Somerset Regional Council
- Illicit drug laboratories — Queensland Health
Facts on this page checked against these sources on 29 October 2026.