On Cairns' doorstep, palm trees skirt around small coves and beachfront homes sell for millions.

A short drive away, over a very steep hill, Joanne Fourmile sleeps on a block of foam on the floor behind her cousin's living room sofa.

The 41-year-old shares a three-bedroom home in Yarrabah with nine others while being treated for breast cancer.

Ms Fourmile lives in Queensland's largest Indigenous community, on the lands of the Gunggandji and Yidinji people, where overcrowding is chronic.

It's one of 34 First Nations communities across the state that struggle with housing issues.

But as mayor Darryl Sexton explains, Yarrabah is at the mercy of state and federal governments to do anything about it.

"We are all on a low income here. We can't afford to buy our own home," he says.

Life on the waiting list

Joanne Fourmile applied for housing eight years ago.

In the meantime, her four-year-old daughter sleeps in another room with a cousin, while her 11-year-old son lives with his grandmother in another home.

"I wish I could have my own space just for me and my kids," she says.

She lays a lot of blame with the local council's housing department and feels she's not moving up the waiting list, despite her persistent enquiries.

Ms Fourmile's cousin, Carmelita Street, lives in the same house, caring for her mother and brother, as well as several children.

In her 41 years, Ms Street has never had her own bedroom.

"I do get stressed. I do get angry. But we help each other out," she says.

A dire system

Yarrabah is one of 34 discrete and remote communities in Queensland.

Many began as mission towns, where people were forced to move to, and most still come under separate legislation such as Deed of Grant in Trust (DOGIT), where councils are trustees of land but don't own it.

That's why there is very little private ownership of land.

According to 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data, about 2,500 people call Yarrabah home, but the mayor and the local health director cite local medical records showing 4,000 is a more accurate population estimate.

Fewer than 370 people were listed as having a job.

The ABS data showed of the 502 houses in Yarrabah, the council manages almost 400.

The balance was made up of 52 "improvised homes, tents or sleepers out", 51 owned outright and three with a mortgage.

Fourteen houses were listed as empty.

Cr Sexton, a Gungganyji man and plumber by trade, describes Yarrabah's housing situation as "dire".

He says it is not uncommon for up to 25 people to be living in a house.

"It's a serious and sad situation we find ourselves living in," he says.

There are about 380 families on the waiting list for accommodation – some of whom have been waiting up to 30 years.

Cr Sexton says applications involving children, illness, domestic violence, recently released prisoners, and those living with overcrowding are prioritised.

Building plans

The council plans to build up to 250 homes on vacant land, known as Balamba Development — 150 of them by 2028.

It has received $5 million from the Queensland government to complete headworks and start on 20 homes.

Queensland's Housing Minister Meaghan Scanlon said the Labor government was also funding $2.35 million for Yarrabah council to build five homes and $14 million for another 12 homes and an extension.

"We've got many, many more in the pipeline," she said.

"Thankfully, we now have a new federal government who is actually interested in investing in housing, but will continue to work with communities to make sure they get the funding support that they need."

State opposition leader David Crisafulli said an LNP government would create a pathway to home ownership for Aboriginal people.

"I do believe [home ownership] is the first step towards people feeling empowered, having ownership, having aspiration, and having the ability to achieve," Mr Crisafulli said.

"We're going to give that opportunity to all of the Indigenous communities, we'll work with the councils who are keen to pursue that."

Although it's an extra 50 per cent of the town's current housing stock, it won't be enough.

"We are doing our best to push for more funding for more homes, for more land, and working with traditional owners," Cr Sexton says.

"It won't alleviate the overcrowding, but it will give a little bit of relief."

Health risks

At Yarrabah's locally controlled health service, Gurriny Yealamucka, time is of the essence as medical staff deal with disease outbreaks, including a recent cluster of meningococcal B.

Clinic data shows there's an average of 10 people per household.

Clinical services director Jason King explains overcrowding can cause poor health outcomes, from conditions like rheumatic heart disease and acute post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis.

"This is a health problem that we just don't see outside of Aboriginal communities, and it's directly linked to overcrowding," he says.

"Housing is linked to school attendance. If you're overcrowded, you can't sleep well, children can't get to school."

Dr King says issues accessing the little fresh food available locally are exacerbated by overcrowding.

"People are doing their level best with what they've got," he says.

"This is not about people crying poor. This is people asking for a standard of living that everybody should expect and is a mere human right."

Queensland Aboriginal Health Council chairman Matthew Cook says greater investment in housing is long overdue.

"They have human rights that extend to them as much as it does anyone living in capital cities and that government must make sure that policy and investment actually reflects that," he says.

"If it's simply just more talk, more slogans, more 'we're gonna', the reality is that we won't close the gap.

"But the worst thing is we're going to fail Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander people again for decades to come."