8752.0 - Building Activity, Australia, Dec 2007  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 18/04/2008   
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GLOSSARY

Accommodation

Buildings primarily providing short-term or temporary accommodation, and includes the following categories:

  • Self-contained, short term apartments (e.g. serviced apartments)
  • Hotels (predominantly accommodation), motels, boarding houses, cabins
  • Other short term accommodation n.e.c. (e.g. migrant hostels, youth hostels, lodges).

Aged care facilities

Building used in the provision or support of aged care facilities, excluding dwellings (e.g. retirement villages). Includes aged care facilities with and without medical care.

Agriculture/aquaculture

Buildings housing, or associated with, agriculture and aquaculture activities, including bulk storage of produce (e.g. shearing shed, grain silo, shearers’ quarters).

Alterations and additions

Building activity carried out on existing buildings. Includes adding to or diminishing floor area, altering the structural design of a building and affixing rigid components which are integral to the functioning of the building.

Alterations & additions to residential buildings

Alterations and additions carried out on existing residential buildings, which may result in the creation of new dwelling units. See also 'Conversions, etc.' below.

Building

A building is a rigid, fixed and permanent structure which has a roof. Its intended purpose is primarily to house people, plant, machinery, vehicles, goods or livestock. An integral feature of a building’s design, to satisfy its intended use, is the provision for regular access by persons.

Commenced

A building is commenced when the first physical building activity has been performed on site in the form of materials fixed in place and/or labour expended (this includes site preparation but excludes delivery of building materials, the drawing of plans and specifications and the construction of non-building infrastructures, such as roads).

Commercial

Buildings primarily occupied with or engaged in commercial trade or work intended for commercial trade, including buildings used primarily in wholesale and retail trades, office and transport activities.

Completed

A building is completed when building activity has progressed to the stage where the building can fulfil its intended function.

Conversions, etc.

A conversion is building activity which converts a non-residential building to a residential building, e.g. conversion of a warehouse to residential apartments. Conversion is considered to be a special type of alteration. 'Conversions, etc.' are the number of dwelling units created as part of alterations and additions to, or conversions of, existing residential or non-residential buildings and as part of the construction of non-residential building. 'Conversions, etc.' are shown separately in tables 22 and 25 and are included in the total number of dwelling units shown in these tables. However, while the value of conversions is included in the value of alterations and additions to residential buildings, the value of new dwelling units associated with non-residential buildings is included in the value of non-residential buildings.

Dwelling unit

A dwelling unit is a self-contained suite of rooms, including cooking and bathing facilities and intended for long-term residential use. Units (whether self-contained or not) within buildings offering institutional care, such as hospitals, or temporary accommodation such as motels, hostels and holiday apartments, are not defined as dwelling units. The value of units of this type is included in the appropriate category of non-residential building.

Educational

Buildings used in the provision or support of educational services, including group accommodation buildings (e.g. classrooms, school canteens, dormitories).

Entertainment and recreation

Buildings used in the provision of entertainment and recreational facilities or services (e.g. libraries, museums, casinos, sporting facilities).

Factories

Buildings housing, or associated with, production and assembly processes of intermediate and final goods.

Health

Buildings used in the provision of non-aged care medical services (e.g. nurses quarters, laboratories, clinics).

House

A house is a detached building predominantly used for long-term residential purposes and consisting of only one dwelling unit. Thus, detached ‘granny flats’ and detached dwelling units (such as caretakers’ residences) associated with non-residential buildings are defined as houses for the purpose of these statistics.

Industrial

Buildings used for warehousing and the production and assembly activities of industrial establishments, including factories and plants.

New

Building activity which will result in the creation of a building which previously did not exist.

Non-residential building

A non-residential building is primarily intended for purposes other than long term residential purposes. Note that, on occasions, one or more dwelling units may be created through non-residential building activity. The number of these dwelling units are included in 'Conversions, etc.' in tables 21 and 23. However, the value of these dwelling units cannot be separated out from that of the non-residential building which they are part of, therefore the value associated with these remain in the appropriate non-residential category.

Number of dwelling unit commencements and completions

For other residential building, these statistics present the number of dwelling units in such buildings (and not the number of buildings). For example, if a new building with 25 apartments is commenced, then 25 is included in the number of dwelling unit commencements under 'new other residential building'. Residential building activity involving a number of residential buildings of the same type of building and which are being built on the same site are sometimes grouped. Thus, when a project involving the construction of, say, a group of 10 houses is commenced in the sense that work has started on the first one or two houses, then all 10 houses may be counted as commencements in the statistics. Conversely, it is not until the tenth house is completed that all 10 houses are included in the number of dwelling unit completions.

Offices

Buildings primarily used in the provision of professional services or public administration (e.g. offices, insurance or finance buildings).

Other residential building

An other residential building is a building other than a house primarily used for long-term residential purposes and which contains (or has attached to it) more than one dwelling unit (e.g. includes blocks of flats, home units, attached townhouses, villa units, terrace houses, semidetached houses, maisonettes, duplexes, apartment buildings, etc.).

Religious

Buildings used for or associated with worship, or in support of programs sponsored by religious bodies (e.g. church, temple, church hall, dormitories).

Residential building

A residential building is a building predominantly consisting of one or more dwelling units. Residential buildings can be either houses or other residential buildings.

Retail/wholesale trade

Buildings primarily used in the sale of goods to intermediate and end users.

Transport

Buildings primarily used in the provision of transport services, and includes the following categories:
  • Passenger transport buildings (e.g. passenger terminals)
  • Non-passenger transport buildings (e.g. freight terminals)
  • Commercial car parks (excluded are those built as part of, and intended to service, other distinct building developments)
  • Other transport buildings n.e.c.

Under construction

A building is regarded as being under construction at the end of a period if it has been commenced but has not been completed, and work on it has not been abandoned.

Value of building commenced or under construction

This represents the anticipated completion value based, where practicable, on estimated market or contract price of building jobs excluding the value of land and landscaping. Site preparation costs are included. Where jobs proceed over several quarters the anticipated completion value reported on the return for the first (commencement) quarter may be amended on returns for subsequent (under construction) quarters as the job nears completion.

Value of building completed

This represents the actual completion value based, where practicable, on the market or contract price of jobs including site preparation costs but excluding the value of land and landscaping.

Value of building work done during the period

This represents the estimated value of building work carried out during the quarter on jobs which have commenced.

Value of building work yet to be done

This represents the difference between the anticipated completion value and the estimated value of work done on jobs up to the end of the period for jobs which have commenced.

Warehouses

Buildings primarily used for storage of goods, excluding produce storage.