The woman in her 30s, who was not known to the residents, went to the duplex in Tugun in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

The occupants called the police and then got into a fight with the woman before restraining her.

“The homeowner has been awoken by this woman in the rear yard of his premises,” Detective Inspector Chris Ahearn told reporters on Tuesday.

“He’s confronted that woman and detained her and contacted police who have arrived a short time later.”

Queensland police say the woman was unresponsive when officers arrived and paramedics were unable to revive her.

She was declared dead at the scene.

Ahearn said the woman died while being physically detained by the resident.

“It’s people’s right to defend their property and certainly use reasonable force necessary to affect that defence of property,” he told reporters on Tuesday.

“So, like any person who … (finds) an intruder at their house, this person has taken the decision to detain that person.”

The police probe will now focus on the manner the woman was detained and if that contributed to her death.

“Those circumstances are going to be the subject of investigation moving forward.”

Ahearn refused to speculate on the possibility the homeowner could face criminal charges.

“I won’t go into any discussion about whether or not people are being charged. We will conduct an investigation,” he said.

“It will inform us as to the facts of what happened leading up to it and how this one actually died and then we’ll make an assessment from there as to where the investigation goes.”

The homeowners were treated for shock after the woman’s death.

“Obviously, the residents here are devastated by this woman’s death and are cooperating and assisting the police,” Ahearn said.