Oatlands is a leafy upscale residential suburb 3.5 km north of Parramatta CBD. Around 5,833 residents at the 2021 Census. Median age 42. Median household weekly income $2,292. Roughly 61 per cent of dwellings are separate houses. Nearly half have 4 or more bedrooms. Family households make up around 81 per cent of the total. Average lot size sits between 700 and 1,200 square metres on R2-zoned land. Many blocks run beyond 2,000 square metres.

Here is what asbestos removal and partial demolition look like in Oatlands, NSW. The suburb was built out heavily post-WWII. By the early 1960s the area, then called West Dundas, had shifted from rural and golf-course land into densely populated residential streets. The suburb was officially defined in 1991 and renamed Oatlands in 1993. The dominant housing era is late-1950s through 1980s. NSW Government estimates that around 1 in 3 NSW houses built or renovated between 1945 and 1990 contain asbestos. Asbestos was not fully banned in Australia until 31 December 2003. The practical assumption on any pre-1990 Oatlands demolition is that asbestos is present in eaves, fibro sheds, bathroom and laundry linings, fences and roof or flue components.

Median house values above $2.6 million on oversized blocks make the economic case for full knock-down-rebuild instead of renovation. Custom-home builders describe Oatlands as ideal for high-spec homes and duplexes. Dual-occupancy approvals are increasing alongside full rebuilds. Pool removals are common on the upscale blocks topographically above the golf course. Detached garages, fibro sheds and rear workshops on the original 1960s-1970s lots also come down regularly to make room for new builds.