8 January 2020

MEDIA RELEASE Embargoed 11:30am (AEDT)

The number of dwellings approved rose 0.8 per cent in November 2019, in trend terms, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today.

"The rise was driven by approvals for private sector dwellings excluding houses, which increased by 2.9 per cent in November," said Daniel Rossi, Director of Construction Statistics at the ABS. "However, private sector houses fell by 0.3 per cent."

Across the states and territories, dwelling approvals rose in South Australia (4.2 per cent), New South Wales (1.6 per cent), Victoria (0.7 per cent) and the Australian Capital Territory (0.3 per cent). Decreases were recorded in the Northern Territory (2.6 per cent), Western Australia (1.9 per cent) and Queensland (0.4 per cent), while Tasmania was flat, in trend terms.

Approvals for private sector houses fell in New South Wales (3.4 per cent), in trend terms. Increases were recorded in Western Australia (1.5 per cent), Queensland (1.1 per cent), South Australia (0.9 per cent) and Victoria (0.2 per cent).

The seasonally adjusted estimate for total dwellings approved rose 11.8 per cent in November, driven by a 22.6 per cent increase in private dwellings excluding houses. Private sector houses also rose, by 6.1 per cent.

The value of total building approved fell 2.6 per cent in November, in trend terms, and has fallen for five months. The value of residential building fell 0.7 per cent, while non-residential building fell 5.0 per cent.

Further information is available in Building Approvals, Australia (cat no. 8731.0).

Media note:

• When reporting ABS data, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or ABS) must be attributed as the source.
• For media requests and interviews, contact the ABS Communications Section on 1300 175 070 (8.30am - 5pm Mon-Fri).
• Subscribe to our email notification service and receive media releases or products sent to you on release.