Construction Work Done, Australia, Preliminary

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Provides preliminary estimates of value of total construction work done, building work done and engineering construction work done

Reference period
December 2023
Released
28/02/2024

Key statistics

In seasonally adjusted terms in the December quarter:

  • Total construction work done rose 0.7% to $65,440.5m
  • Building work done fell 1.1% to $34,296.9m
  • Engineering work done rose 2.7% to $31,143.5m

The trend estimate for total construction work done rose 1.0%.

Value of construction work done

 

Value of construction work done, chain volume measures, seasonally adjusted estimates (a)
 Dec qtr 23 ($m)Sep qtr 23 to 
Dec qtr 23 (%)
Dec qtr 22 to 
Dec qtr 23 (%)
Building34,296.9-1.13.6
Residential19,724.9-5.2-1.9
Non-residential14,572.05.012.1
Engineering31,143.52.715.0
Total construction65,440.50.78.7
  1. Reference year for Chain Volume Measures is 2021-22.

 

Value of construction work done, chain volume measures, trend estimates (a)
 Dec qtr 23 ($m)Sep qtr 23 to 
Dec qtr 23 (%)
Dec qtr 22 to 
Dec qtr 23 (%)
Building34,567.10.34.0
Residential20,180.0-0.91.4
Non-residential14,369.91.87.7
Engineering31,018.01.812.8
Total construction65,629.21.08.1
  1. Reference year for Chain Volume Measures is 2021-22.

a. Reference year for Chain Volume Measures is 2021-22.

The value of total construction work done rose 0.7% in the December quarter, in seasonally adjusted terms. The increase was driven by engineering work, which rose 2.7% in the December quarter and is 15.0% higher than the same time last year. Building work done fell 1.1% and is 3.6% higher than the same time last year.

The trend estimate for total construction work done rose 1.0% in the December quarter.

a. Reference year for Chain Volume Measures is 2021-22.

The value of building work done fell 1.1% in the December quarter, in seasonally adjusted terms. The decrease was driven by a fall in residential building work, which decreased 5.2% in the December quarter and is 1.9% lower than at the same time last year. Non-residential building work done rose 5.0% in the December quarter, 12.1% higher than at the same time last year.

The trend estimate for total building work done rose 0.3% in the December quarter.

Value of construction work done, seasonally adjusted chain volume measures
State/TerritoryDec qtr 23 ($m)Sep qtr 23 to 
Dec qtr 23 (%)
Dec qtr 22 to 
Dec qtr 23 (%)
New South Wales19,557.7-0.710.1
Victoria16,403.30.21.9
Queensland12,664.81.512.3
South Australia3,937.5-5.24.7
Western Australia9,694.62.414.7
Tasmania1,058.94.98.7
Northern Territory872.99.29.5
Australian Capital Territory1,041.14.312.4
  1. Reference year for Chain Volume Measures is 2021-22.

Total construction work done fell in New South Wales and South Australia, whilst total construction work done rose in all other states and territories.

Data downloads

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About this issue

This publication provides an early indication of trends in building and engineering construction activity. The data are preliminary estimates with a response rate of approximately 70% of surveyed construction entities during the quarter. This is lower than the average response rate and places the data at increased risk of revision when results are updated in Engineering Construction Activity, Australia on 27 March 2024 and in Building Activity, Australia on 10 April 2024.

Mining projects tend to be complex in structure and comprise a number of different investment activities including exploration, engineering construction, plant and equipment and buildings. A feature article released in the March 2012 issue of Private New Capital Expenditure and Expected Expenditure, Australia provides a summary of the conceptual basis of the relevant ABS publications that measure investment in Australia, using a hypothetical mining project to illustrate how this investment is reflected in ABS data.

Enquiries

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Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 8755.0.

Methodology

Scope

  • Building activity in Australia on approved work greater than $10,000.
  • All engineering construction work undertaken in Australia.

Geography

Data available for:

  • Australia
  • States and territories

Source

  • Building Activity Survey
  • Engineering Construction Survey

Collection method

  • Sample of contractors likely to conduct engineering construction activities, selected from the ABS business register each quarter.
  • Survey responses from builders and other individuals and organisations engaged in building activity.

History of changes

  • Trend series were reinstated in the September 2022 release.
  • Concurrent seasonal adjustment for building activity was reinstated in the September 2022 release.
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