Almost a hundred protestors have rallied at an auction in Toowoomba to prevent the sale of 37 formerly Aboriginal-owned homes.
The group gathered at the entrance to the auction site, chanting 'hands off the houses' in a bid to disrupt the sale.
NITV News understands the majority of the homes were sold at the auction.
The properties - now worth more than $6 million - were originally owned by the Downs Aborigines and Islanders Company, set up to provide secure housing to the Indigenous community.
But in 2016 ownership was transferred to a private company, Downs Housing, in a deal that has prompted calls for an investigation by Australia's corporate regulator.
The homes went under the hammer after Downs Housing defaulted on the mortgages, leaving more than a hundred vulnerable Indigenous tenants at risk of homelessness.
Paul Waters has lived in his home for 17 years.
He told NITV News the situation was "devastating".
"We pay rent like any other person, we didn’t expect this," said Mr Waters, who quit his job to care for his wife following her stroke.
"My wife’s shattered. It’s not right – we don’t know what’s gonna happen, just got to hope and see."
Queensland Greens MP Michael Berkman described the situation as "another chapter in a long history of dispossession".
Both the state and federal government have resisted calls to buy the homes and convert them to social housing.
Up to a hundred people gathered at the entrance to the auction building. Source: NITV
NITV News understands the tenants are now exploring their legal options.
