New Filming Rules Target Privacy at Public Pools

To protect swimmers and children from hidden camera tech like smart glasses, Brisbane City Council is tightening photography rules at all public pools, including locations in Chermside, Fitzgibbon, Newmarket, and Sandgate.



Consent rules extend across pool grounds

Brisbane City Council is strengthening conditions of entry at its public pools to prohibit photography, video recording and still-image capture without prior consent.

The rules cover mobile phones, action cameras and wearable devices such as smart glasses, and target covert recording, particularly in changerooms where patrons expect privacy.

New signage will be progressively installed over the coming weeks.

Smart glasses put discreet filming in focus

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said recent concerns about smart glasses being used without people’s knowledge or consent had heightened privacy concerns. He said families should be able to use the facilities without worrying that they or their children were being secretly recorded.

Camera-equipped glasses can resemble conventional eyewear while allowing photographs or video to be captured without the user holding a phone or camera. Council says the updated rules are designed to keep pace with more accessible wearable recording technology.

No particular Brisbane pool has been publicly identified as the site of an incident that prompted the changes. Council has described the initiative as a response to broader concerns about covert recording and the growing availability of discreet technology.

Child safety groups support tighter safeguards

Queensland Family and Child Commission principal commissioner Luke Twyford welcomed measures aimed at reducing foreseeable risks to children in public spaces. He said organisations operating services and facilities for children needed to ensure those environments were safe and protected against exploitation.

Digital Rights Watch head of policy Tom Sulston also welcomed the move, citing threats to privacy and dignity posed by smart glasses and similar covert cameras. He called for councils and state and federal governments to consider stronger protections against unwanted recording.

Signs to spell out consent requirement

Proposed signs will advise patrons that recording, photography and still-image capture, including through smart glasses, are not permitted without prior consent. Wearing or carrying smart glasses is not itself prohibited under the announced rules; the restriction applies when the devices are used to capture people without permission.

Separate approval rules already apply to commercial filming and photography using Council-managed assets, including swimming pools. 



Schrinner said the changes would give pool staff clearer rules for responding to inappropriate filming and help protect swimmers’ privacy. Council says the rollout will occur progressively over the coming weeks.

Published 26-Aug-2026

Remembering the Dawn Theatre, Chermside’s Last Single-Screen Cinema

For generations, Chermside residents attended screenings at the Dawn Theatre on Gympie Road. The single-screen cinema operated for nearly eight decades, surviving television, suburban multiplexes and the rise of home entertainment before closing in August 2005.



The theatre has since disappeared from the streetscape, replaced by the Brisbane North Eye Centre. Salvaged materials and architectural references to the former cinema remain in the newer building, while former patrons have continued to recall the theatre and its place in local life.

Silent films marked the beginning of a suburban institution

The cinema opened as Chermside Pictures on 3 November 1928 and was built by Maurice Tilley. Early accounts describe an unconventional theatre with canvas chairs at the rear and wooden garden seats at the front.

Silent black-and-white films were accompanied by live piano music, with a small band later added before sound films arrived around 1930. The venue became known as the Dawn Theatre sometime between 1935 and 1939.

Further improvements were made in the following years. By 1941, a rear gallery with upholstered tip-up seats had been added.

Benefit nights and wartime screenings put the Dawn at the centre of local life

Brisbane City Council heritage material records benefit nights connected with Chermside School, showing the picture theatre also played a role in local fundraising during the district’s early suburban growth. During World War II, the theatre was also used for military-related events and entertainment for residents and service personnel.

Maurice Tilley died in 1942, bringing a change in management. His son, Kenneth Ernest Burton Tilley, returned from military service to manage the theatre, which continued operating through the war and into the postwar period.

A generator, new amenities and a modernised façade kept the cinema operating

Electricity shortages in the late 1940s prompted the installation of a V8-powered generator so screenings could continue. A neighbouring shop was also incorporated into the business and used to sell snacks and refreshments to patrons.

Ownership changed in the early 1950s, with the Fardoulys and Pantges families taking control of the theatre. Further upgrades followed, including renovations, new projection equipment and a modernised façade.

A 1954 report referred to plans for a soundproof “crying room”, designed to allow parents with young children to continue watching a film without disturbing the main auditorium. New amenities and other alterations were also carried out during the period.

Photo Credit: David Gilbert/Facebook

Television and multiplexes reshaped Brisbane cinema-going

Television arrived in Queensland in 1959, contributing to the decline of many neighbourhood picture theatres. Later decades brought new competition from multiplex cinemas, video rental stores, DVDs and increasingly sophisticated home entertainment systems.

The Dawn continued operating as independent cinemas disappeared across Brisbane. A multiplex opened at nearby Westfield Chermside in 2000, about 400 metres from the Dawn.

Other surviving single-screen theatres closed or were demolished during the same period. After the Gaythorne Theatre closed in February 2004, the Dawn was reported as Brisbane’s only remaining single-screen cinema.

Michael Fardoulys later said the cinema would have closed earlier had it not been operated as a family business. The comment reflected the extent to which family ownership remained tied to the theatre’s final years.

The final screening came in August 2005

The Dawn screened its final film, Mr & Mrs Smith, on 9 August 2005. The approximately 450-seat cinema closed one day before the property was due to be auctioned.

The theatre and adjoining property were later sold, and the building was demolished. Portions of its pressed-metal ceiling were salvaged, allowing part of the former cinema’s fabric to survive the redevelopment.

The old picture house survives in the architecture of the eye centre

The Brisbane North Eye Centre was subsequently built on the site, with m3architecture drawing directly on the history of the former cinema. The new building’s large street-facing screen was designed to evoke a theatre curtain, while its interiors incorporated theatrical references through lighting, colour and detailing.

Photo Credit: Google Maps

The reception desk was designed with a cinema “candy bar” reference, while pressed-metal ceiling elements recalling the former theatre were incorporated into the development. Other accounts also record that salvaged ceiling material from the Dawn was reused in two rooms.

The design incorporated domestic and postwar visual cues intended to create a more reassuring environment for eye-surgery patients. For decades, the site housed a cinema; it now houses an ophthalmic medical and day-surgery centre.



Architectural references and surviving materials from the Dawn remain at the redeveloped Gympie Road site, preserving a physical link to one of Chermside’s longest-running entertainment venues.

Published 25-Aug-2026

Chermside Library Records Nearly 500,000 Visits in Latest Brisbane Figures

Brisbane’s libraries recorded more than 5.5 million visits during the 2025-26 financial year, with figures released in August 2026 showing Chermside Library remains one of the city’s busiest branches.


Read: Chermside Library Has the Second-Highest Visits of Any Library in Brisbane — and the Numbers Keep Climbing


Across Brisbane’s 33 libraries and Mobile Library, visits increased by more than 120,000 compared with the previous financial year. The network also recorded more than 9.2 million loans and downloads from its collections and resources, while use of 24/7 library lockers increased by more than 21 per cent. 

Photo credit: Google Maps/Sir Mix

Chermside accounted for a substantial share of that activity. The local branch recorded 498,056 visits during 2025-26, putting it second in Brisbane behind Brisbane Square Library, which recorded 533,012 visits. Garden City followed with 461,614 visits, while Sunnybank Hills and Carindale completed the top five. 

The latest result follows strong visitation recorded at Chermside earlier in 2026. Between July 2025 and March 2026, the branch logged 373,959 visits, making it the second most visited library across Brisbane’s network during that nine-month period. 

That earlier figure was also up by 21,566 visits compared with the same period a year earlier, giving Chermside the largest increase among Brisbane’s individual library branches during that period. 

The most borrowed books

Photo credit: Facebook/Cr Adrian Schrinner

The latest 2025-26 figures also provide a glimpse into what Brisbane readers were choosing from library shelves and digital collections.

Michael Connelly’s crime thriller Nightshade was the most borrowed adult fiction title, followed by Richard Osman’s We Solve Murders and Jane Harper’s Last One Out

In adult non-fiction, The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins topped the list, while Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë was the most borrowed adult e-book. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir was Brisbane’s most borrowed adult audiobook. 

Among younger readers, titles from The Hunger Games, The Baby-sitters Club and Diary of a Wimpy Kid series proved popular. 

A busy local library

Photo credit: Google Maps/Chermside Library

For Chermside, the latest figures add to a broader picture of sustained use at the Hamilton Road branch. Chermside Library is located at 375 Hamilton Road and offers books, digital resources, newspapers, magazines, internet access and meeting rooms. Its collections include Chinese, Italian, Punjabi and Tagalog materials.The branch is open seven days a week, with extended hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays. 

Earlier figures from 2026 had already placed Chermside near the top of Brisbane’s library rankings. The new full-year results show that position was maintained across the entire financial year, with almost half a million visits recorded at the local branch.


Read: Chermside Library and Downfall Creek Centre Offer New Recycling Options


The latest figures place Chermside just behind Brisbane Square in overall visitation across the city’s library network, highlighting the continued level of use at one of Brisbane’s busiest suburban branches.

Published 20-August-2026

The Goodbye Sonya Treloar Never Had — and Why She Supports Hummingbird House

When Sonya Treloar’s premature infant son, Blake, passed away, there was no children’s hospice waiting to offer her family the privacy, time and space needed to absorb their tragic loss. She has recalled saying goodbye to Blake before he was taken away.



Nearly three decades on, that abrupt farewell deeply connects the prominent Brisbane real estate agent to Hummingbird House, Queensland’s only dedicated children’s hospice nestled quietly on Curwen Terrace in Chermside. 

Her tragedy, and the compassionate care she wishes had been available to her own family, now underpin a vital community mission.

“My darling son Blake was born premature. He lived six weeks and then went to heaven,” Ms Treloar said. 

“I never had an opportunity to spend time with him at a fabulous facility like Hummingbird House. 

“The day that he died, I said goodbye and they took him away. Having time to grieve, to hold them, and to be with them after they’ve passed is so important to be able to say your goodbyes properly.”

Photo Credit: Supplied

A Chermside Sanctuary Built on Purpose

For Ms Treloar, supporting the Chermside refuge was never just a charitable gesture—it was a personal calling. 

In the facility’s earliest days, she channelled her professional expertise as a real estate agent to assist founders Paul and Gabrielle Quilliam with property matters as they worked tirelessly to establish the hospice. The Quilliams conceived the idea after becoming foster parents to a child with a life-limiting condition and recognising the need for a children’s hospice in Queensland. 

Their campaign ultimately secured a permanent home at Wesley Mission Queensland’s Wheller Gardens site in Chermside, creating a sanctuary away from clinical hospital wards where families could remain together.

Granting Families the Gift of Time

From its inception, Hummingbird House was designed to recognise that dying is a profound family journey rather than merely a medical event. 

Operating as a licensed private healthcare facility with eight guest suites and five family accommodation units, the house allows relatives to stay for several days following a child’s passing. It gives parents, siblings and extended family time to say goodbye without being rushed—the kind of extended farewell Ms Treloar says she did not have when Blake died at six weeks old in 1996.



Beyond end-of-life and after-death care, the Chermside facility provides short-break stays, crisis and symptom-management stays, family support, allied health services and grief and bereavement support. Its facilities include a hydrotherapy pool and multisensory room.

Turning Personal Heartbreak into Community Action

Ms Treloar is once again turning her personal connection into active community leadership by hosting the annual Pink & Pearls for a Purpose fundraiser in support of Hummingbird House. 

Photo Credit: Pinks & Pearls

Confirmed by Wesley Mission Queensland, the event will take place on Friday, 25 September 2026, at Waters Edge at Portside in Hamilton, running from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm with individual tickets priced at $200 and tables of 10 at $2,000. 


While Ms Treloar cannot alter her own final moments with Blake, her dedication ensures that other Queensland parents navigating the heartbreak of losing a child are granted a gentler, more dignified way to say goodbye.

Published 18-Aug-2026

Chermside Researchers Test Breath-Based Method For Earlier Silicosis Detection

Researchers at The Prince Charles Hospital in Chermside are investigating whether a simple breathing test could help detect silicosis before the disease causes permanent damage to workers’ lungs.



The world-first research is using technology known as PExA, or Particles in Exhaled Air, to collect tiny particles that people naturally breathe out from deep inside their lungs.

Researchers are studying those particles for early signs of silicosis, an incurable lung disease caused by breathing in fine silica dust. The aim is to determine whether changes linked to the disease can be picked up before serious and irreversible lung scarring develops.

Prince Charles Hospital Research Focuses On Earlier Warning Signs

Silicosis is most commonly associated with occupations including construction, mining, tunnelling and stonemasonry.

Silica is found in materials such as soil, sand, natural rock, concrete, tiles and engineered stone. Cutting, drilling or grinding these materials can release fine dust that workers may breathe into their lungs.

Over time, the dust can cause inflammation and scarring. Symptoms can include shortness of breath, a persistent cough, fatigue and chest pain or tightness, while silicosis can also increase the risk of lung infections.

Around 600,000 Australians are believed to be exposed to silica dust at work each year.

One challenge for researchers is finding the disease before permanent damage has occurred. Silicosis is frequently diagnosed only after substantial and irreversible lung scarring has developed.

The Chermside study is examining whether particles collected during a breathing test could provide an earlier warning.

Researchers are comparing the breath samples with blood samples and material collected through a more invasive lung procedure. Samples from people with silicosis are also being compared with those from healthy volunteers as researchers look for differences associated with the disease.

Metro North Health
Photo Credit: Metro North Health

Research Builds On PExA Work Started In 2024

PExA technology was first introduced to Australia in 2024 through research supported by The Prince Charles Hospital Foundation.

Until now, researchers have relied on a machine on loan from Sweden. Industry investment is enabling the purchase of Australia’s first dedicated PExA machine so the research program can continue and expand.

Construction company CPB Contractors has contributed $300,000 over three years towards the next phase of the work.

The research is supported through the Foundation’s Tradie Health Institute, established in 2018 to focus on the health of workers in trade, mining and agriculture.

The wider program also includes research into preventing occupational lung disease, understanding how silicosis develops and investigating possible treatments.

Chermside Team Looks Towards Workplace Testing

Researchers hope the work could eventually lead to a portable form of lung screening that could be taken to high-risk workplaces.

Such a system could potentially allow workers to be monitored before symptoms appear rather than waiting until lung damage becomes more advanced.



The technology is still being investigated and is not yet a routine screening or diagnostic test. Further research and validation will be needed before it could be used in regular clinical care.

Published 13-August-2026

Queensland Healthcare Workers Push To Scrap Hospital Parking Fees

A Queensland parliamentary petition calling for free or heavily subsidised parking for public hospital staff has put the cost of getting to work under the spotlight, with The Prince Charles Hospital in Chermside among the facilities named in the campaign.


Read: The Prince Charles Hospital Expansion Moves Ahead in Chermside


Petition No. 4633-26, titled Abolish paid parking fees for Queensland Public Hospital healthcare staff, raises concerns about the financial strain and safety risks associated with workplace parking fees for doctors, registrars, nurses, paramedics, and allied health workers.

The petition stated that healthcare workers at hospitals across Queensland, including The Prince Charles Hospital, can be required to pay up to $1,700 a year to park at work. It argues the expense places an unreasonable financial burden on essential workers during the cost-of-living crisis.

Photo credit: Google Maps/The Prince Charles Hospital

The issue has a direct connection to Chermside. Parking at The Prince Charles Hospital costs $13 a day, or $65 for a working week, according to figures published by the Together union in May. The same figures stated that visitors at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital pay $48 for more than three hours.

For staff who regularly drive to The Prince Charles Hospital, that daily charge represents an ongoing out-of-pocket expense. The petition’s broader argument is that hospital workers should not have to absorb substantial parking costs simply as a condition of attending their workplace.

Safety concerns for shift workers

Photo credit: Google Maps/Luke

The financial argument is only part of the campaign. Petitioners have also raised concerns about the safety of staff working shifts that begin early or finish late at night. The petition argued that public transport is not always a viable or safe alternative for workers finishing after services have ceased.

Campaigners have separately claimed that some hospital employees park further away to avoid parking fees before walking back to their cars after late or overnight shifts. Those claims form part of the campaign for changes to hospital parking arrangements and should not be taken as evidence that every worker at The Prince Charles Hospital faces the same circumstances.

The issue has already been raised outside the hospital itself. On May 13, health workers held a lunchtime rally near Rode Road in Chermside, close to The Prince Charles Hospital, calling for an end to hospital parking fees. The Together union said workers and patients were dealing with rising costs for groceries, fuel and housing while also being charged to park at hospital sites.

Photo credit: Google Maps/Andres Diaz

The petition is asking Queensland Parliament to review parking policies across public hospitals, reverse recent increases in staff parking fees and consider free or heavily subsidised parking for frontline employees.

For Chermside hospital workers, however, the debate is more immediate. A $13 daily parking charge may look modest in isolation, but repeated across regular shifts it becomes another cost attached to simply getting to work.


Read: What the Hospital Rescue Plan Means for Prince Charles Hospital


The petition remains open until October 26, giving Queensland residents more time to add their names before it proceeds through the parliamentary petition process.

The debate now centres on whether parking at public hospitals should remain an expense carried by healthcare workers, or whether staff providing essential services should receive greater financial relief.

Published 12-August-2026

How Marchant Park Went From War Camp to Community Hub

In the heart of Chermside, Marchant Park looks like any other suburban green space. But more than a century ago, it echoed with the sounds of hooves, boots, and military drills as young men from across Queensland prepared for the First World War.



From Marchant’s Paddock to Military Grounds

Before it became a public park, the land known as Marchant’s Paddock was transformed into “Camp Chermside” during WWI. It was a major training ground where soldiers, including the 2nd Light Horse Regiment, camped, drilled, and broke in horses before heading to war.

Photo Credit: National Library of Australia


Records show Marchant Park was a key training site in Queensland during 1914–1918. Soldiers learned to handle weapons, navigate rough terrain, and work with animals used in war zones. Life was harsh—tents for shelter, long marches in the heat, and basic meals.

Photo Credit: National Library of Australia

A Gift to the People

In 1917, soft-drink maker and philanthropist George Marchant offered to donate the land, on the condition it remain a public park that honoured those who served. The gift was finalised after the war, fulfilling his wish to preserve the site as a lasting tribute to the soldiers who trained there.

Photo Credit: National Library of Australia

Photo Credit: National Library of Australia

Brisbane City Council records show Marchant’s gift came as memorial parks were becoming popular in Australia, spaces that honoured war service while serving the community. Marchant Park became one of Brisbane’s earliest examples.

Preserving a Legacy

Over time, the community added features to honour the park’s military past. The Kedron Shire War Memorial Gates were built in 1924, listing local soldiers, and the park later became part of Seventh Brigade Park—named after a WWI unit that trained in Queensland. These reminders still stand, though many may not know their full meaning.

Photo Credit: National Library of Australia
Photo Credit: National Library of Australia

During World War II, nearby Sparkes’ Paddock became an army camp, and Marchant Park was used for vehicle testing and driver training. The park stayed public land, though soldiers used the George Hastie Cricket Pavilion during that time.

Photo Credit: National Library of Australia

Today, Marchant Park is a place for families, sporting groups, and weekend barbecues. Yet underneath the grass where cricket players now run, history is buried, stories of young men who trained there before being sent far from home.

A Community Connection

Photo Credit: Google Maps

The Chermside & Districts Historical Society has spent years researching the park’s past. Their work, along with articles archived on Trove from 1917, helps paint a full picture of how the park went from military ground to community treasure.



Locals who walk through Marchant Park may not know the full story, but its legacy is woven into the suburb’s identity. From horse drills to playgrounds, the land has changed but the community’s commitment to remembering those who served has stayed the same.

Updated 12-August-2026

Hot Mum Walk Club Adds Weekly Chermside Walk For Local Mums

Hot Mum Walk Club has added Chermside to its regular walk locations, giving local mums a weekly Wednesday meet-up at Table 26 in Westfield Chermside.



The group meets from 9am, with the walk due to start around 9.30am. Organisers say the idea is to make space for connection, movement and coffee-fuelled chats, with room for mums to come on their own, bring little ones or arrive with a support person.

It is a simple format, but one that is easy to follow. Mums meet at Table 26, grab a coffee and then head off together for the walk. The Chermside venue sits on level 1 of Westfield Chermside, near the Woolworths entrance, between Wara Sushi and Chermside Tavern.

A regular catch-up at Westfield Chermside

For local families, the location keeps things practical. Westfield Chermside is already a busy hub for shopping, errands and school-day routines, so the walk fits neatly into an ordinary Wednesday morning.

Photo Credit: HotMumWalkClub

Hot Mum Walk Club describes itself as a safe, welcoming and empowering community for mums. The group says it wants to create space for conversation and connection, whether a mum is flying solo, bringing a pram or coming along with a support person.

The Chermside walk is part of a broader network of Hot Mum Walk Club events around Brisbane and beyond. The organisation says it was created by two local mums who wanted connection, movement and a reason to finish coffee while it was still warm.

Anna’s local welcome for mum life

The Chermside walks are hosted by Anna, who says she is a mum to her five-month-old son, Ernest, and was previously a high school English teacher. She says she likes exploring nature spaces around Brisbane and wanted to help bring more local walks for mums into the area.

Photo Credit: IG/HotMumWalkClub

Anna says she enjoys meeting new people and seeing friendships spark through the group. She also describes herself as someone who likes a flat white, though she says she has recently been enjoying an iced tiramisu.

Her idea of a perfect morning includes finding a new op shop, browsing slowly with a friend and having a coffee in hand. She also says she is always ready to pull out a deck of cards or a tabletop game.



The club’s message to mums is simple. It says no one is left on the sidelines, the chats are real and the coffee is strong. Anna also leaves mums with a line many will recognise from the middle of the night: when you look up at the moon during those 3am feeds, there are millions of other mums right there with you.

Published 5-August-2026

North Brisbane Area Sports Results 24-26 July 2026


AFL

Toyota AFL Premiership

Sun, July 26, 2026 (Gabba, Brisbane • Yuggera – Turrbal) – Toyota AFL Premiership – Men – Round 20

• Brisbane Lions 126   |   Port Adelaide 67


QAFL

QAFL – TPIL Lawyers

Sat, July 25, 2026 (Graham Road / Automall Aspley Oval) – TPIL Lawyers QAFL – Men – Round 16

• Aspley QAFL Seniors 68   |   Redland Victoria Point QAFL Seniors 98


QAFLW

QAFLW – Bond University

Sat, July 25, 2026 (Fankhauser Reserve / Fankhauser Reserve 1) – Bond University QAFLW – Women – Round 14

• Southport QAFLW Seniors 54   |   Aspley QAFLW Seniors 21

Sat, July 25, 2026 (Jack Esplen Oval / Jack Esplen Oval 1) – Bond University QAFLW – Women – Round 14

• Morningside QAFLW Seniors 38   |   Wilston Grange QAFLW Seniors 10



FQPL

Sat, July 25, 2026 (Albert Bishop Park (Virginia United FC)-Field 1) – FQPL1 – Women – Round 15

• Virginia United 1   |   Moreton City Excelsior 0

Sat, July 25, 2026 (Teralba Park (Mitchelton FC)-Field 1) – FQPL1 – Women – Round 15

• Mitchelton FC 3   |   Logan Lightning 1

Sat, July 25, 2026 (Lanham Park (Grange Thistle Soccer Club)-Field 1) – FQPL1 – Women – Round 15

• Grange Thistle 1   |   Caboolture Sports FC 1


NPL Women

Fri, July 24, 2026 (Goodwin Park (Olympic FC)-Field 1) – NPL – Women – Round 24

• Olympic FC 0   |   Brisbane City 3



NBL1 North

Sat, July 25, 2026 (Mackay Basketball Stadium) – NBL1 North – Women – Grand Finals

• Mackay Meteorettes 94   |   Northside Wizards 87



QRL

Sat, July 25, 2026 (Albert Park, Gympie) – QRL – Hostplus Cup – Men – Round 19

• Sunshine Coast Falcons 32   |   Norths Devils 14


Chermside Residents Warned To Watch For Fake Jobs And Money Transfer Scams

Crime Stoppers Queensland is warning Queenslanders to stay alert for organised crime recruitment scams, after launching a new national awareness campaign in Brisbane.



The campaign, called Money Trap, is backed by the Australian Government and aims to help people recognise warning signs before they become involved in suspicious money movements. Crime Stoppers says some people are being approached through fake job offers, social media messages and promises of easy money.

Crime Stoppers Queensland CEO David Hansen said these approaches can look convincing at first.

“Whether it’s a message on social media, an online job advertisement or someone asking to use your bank account, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is,” Mr Hansen said.

Photo Credit: Crime Stoppers Queensland

The campaign is focused on protecting international students and temporary visa holders, but Mr Hansen said the warning applies to everyone.

Local crime data puts the warning into context

The warning comes as crime data for Chermside shows 3,841 offences recorded over the past year, from 23 July 2025 to 22 July 2026.

Photo Credit: QPS Online Crime Map

The largest category was other theft, with 2,046 offences. Other recorded offences included drug offences with 582, good order offences with 222, assault with 179 and traffic and related offences with 165.

The data also shows that 2,055 offences happened between 6am and 2pm, and Thursday recorded the highest number of offences across the week.

Photo Credit: QPS Online Crime Map

The figures do not relate to the Money Trap campaign itself, but they show why residents may want to stay careful about the messages, offers and requests they receive online.

The warning signs to look out for

Crime Stoppers says people should be cautious if they see:

    unsolicited job offers promising easy money

    requests to receive or transfer money through a personal bank account

    requests to share banking details or allow another person to use an account

    pressure to act quickly or keep the arrangement secret

Mr Hansen said people can help protect themselves and others by learning the warning signs, talking about them with family and friends, and reporting suspicious behaviour anonymously.

Photo Credit: Crime Stoppers Queensland

“By learning the warning signs, talking about them with family and friends and reporting suspicious behaviour anonymously, Queenslanders can play an important role in protecting their communities,” he said.

Crime Stoppers says anyone with information about suspicious criminal activity can report it safely and anonymously through its hotline or website.



For Chermside locals, the message is simple: if a job offer, payment request or online message does not feel right, stop and check before you act.

Published 23-July-2026