SBS’s second series of its controversial hit show Struggle Street is reportedly being filmed in the working class Brisbane suburb of Inala despite the state government refusing permission for the show to go ahead.

The documentary, that follows the tribulations of families in working class suburbs, was decried as “poverty porn” when it aired last year focusing on the Sydney suburb of Mount Druitt. The local Mayor was so furious at the time of the portrayal of his area he had garbage trucks blockade SBS’s Sydney headquarters.

However, the program proved to be a ratings bonanza for the public broadcaster.

News Corp news sites are this morning reporting that film crews have been seen in Inala and have been filming around the local Centrelink offices.

This is despite the Queensland state government and the Brisbane Lord Mayor allegedly refusing permission to film saying the program would “cause damage to the reputation both to the suburb and to the people”.

Brisbane’s The Courier Mail has reported that Inala residents are being encouraged to dob in anyone they see filming.

In May, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said of the show: “We don’t want to see families ridiculed on national television. I don’t think anyone in Queensland wants an SBS crew coming into their suburb regardless of where they live and picking out the negatives and sensationalising it.

“We have a good, strong community out there in Inala and the last thing I want to see is an SBS show in there taking the mickey out of people — it’s not on,” she said.

Struggle Street producers have also reportedly looked at filming in the Melbourne suburb of Sunshine, however, that has not been confirmed.

An SBS spokesperson was quoted in The Courier Mail as saying: “Struggle Street is not a series about specific areas.

“First and foremost, this is a series about the issues of hardship that people and communities can find ­themselves in for a whole range of reasons.

“The areas that we are filming in are areas where challenges reflect universal socio-economic issues and where we can get first-hand stories that help audiences to engage with the broader issues.