Construction Work Done, Australia, Preliminary

Latest release

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

Reference period
September 2025
Released
26/11/2025
  • Next Release 25/02/2026
    Construction Work Done, Australia, Preliminary, December 2025
  • Next Release 27/05/2026
    Construction Work Done, Australia, Preliminary, March 2026
  • Next Release 26/08/2026
    Construction Work Done, Australia, Preliminary, June 2026
  • View all releases
Release date and time
26/11/2025 11:30am AEDT

Key statistics

In seasonally adjusted terms in the September quarter:

  • Total construction work done fell 0.7% to $79,278.2m
  • Building work done rose 4.0% to $43,261.8m
  • Engineering work done fell 5.8% to $36,016.3m

The trend estimate for total construction work done rose 0.7% to $78,191.4m.

Value of construction work done

 

Value of construction work done, chain volume measures, seasonally adjusted estimates (a)
 Sep qtr 25 ($m)Jun qtr 25 to 
Sep qtr 25 (%)
Sep qtr 24 to 
Sep qtr 25 (%)
Building43,261.84.06.5
Residential26,672.04.28.5
Non-residential16,589.83.73.5
Engineering36,016.3-5.8-1.2
Total construction79,278.2-0.72.9
  1. Reference year for Chain Volume Measures is 2023-24.

 

Value of construction work done, chain volume measures, trend estimates (a)
 Sep qtr 25 ($m)Jun qtr 25 to 
Sep qtr 25 (%)
Sep qtr 24 to 
Sep qtr 25 (%)
Building42,809.12.05.2
Residential26,390.71.97.0
Non-residential16,401.12.02.4
Engineering35,407.4-0.6-2.6
Total construction78,191.40.71.5
  1. Reference year for Chain Volume Measures is 2023-24.

a. Reference year for Chain Volume Measures is 2023-24.

The value of total construction work done fell 0.7% to $79,278.2m in the September quarter, in seasonally adjusted terms. Engineering work fell 5.8% in the September quarter and is 1.2% lower than the same time last year. Building work done rose 4.0% in the September quarter and is 6.5% higher than the same time last year.

The trend estimate for total construction work done rose 0.7% in the September quarter.

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.

a. Reference year for Chain Volume Measures is 2023-24.

The value of building work rose 4.0% in the September quarter, in seasonally adjusted terms. Non-residential building increased by 3.7% and residential building increased by 4.2% in the September quarter. Non-residential building work done is 3.5% higher than at the same time last year. Residential building work done is 8.5% higher than at the same time last year.

The trend estimate for total building work done rose 2.0% in the September quarter.

Value of construction work done, seasonally adjusted chain volume measures
State/TerritorySep qtr 25 ($m)Jun qtr 25 to 
Sep qtr 25 (%)
Sep qtr 24 to 
Sep qtr 25 (%)
New South Wales23,064.74.55.7
Victoria19,372.54.0-2.5
Queensland16,097.24.35.9
South Australia5,261.23.514.0
Western Australia12,129.4-1.4-1.2
Tasmania1,149.3-1.6-3.3
Northern Territory968.1-77.1-2.4
Australian Capital Territory1,174.8-2.517.3
  1. Reference year for Chain Volume Measures is 2023-24.

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

Data downloads

Data downloads

Data files
Data files

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 80% of surveyed construction entities during the quarter. These estimates are subject to revision when results are updated in Engineering Construction Activity, Australia on 21 January 2026 and in Building Activity, Australia on 21 January 2026.

Enquiries

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Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 8755.0.

Changes this release

Chain volume reference year updated

A new base year, 2023-24, has been introduced in the chain volume estimates resulting in revisions to growth rates in subsequent periods. In addition, the chain volume estimates have been re-referenced to 2023-24, preserving additivity in the quarters after the reference year. Re-referencing affects the levels of, but not the movements in, chain volume estimates. For further information, see the methodology.

Annual seasonal review

The annual review of seasonal factors has been completed with no significant changes made to the seasonal adjustment of Building Activity. Engineering Construction Activity reinstated the seasonally adjusted series of engineering work done in Northern Territory from December quarter 2020. Further information can be found in the linked methodology.

Building Activity modelling update

The Building Activity survey contains an indirect, modelled component for jobs with low approval values. Jobs are selected to be modelled based on the following upper thresholds:

  • less than $65,000 for alterations and additions to residential, and new other residential.
  • less than $75,000 for new houses.
  • less than $325,000 for non-residential building.

The factors used in Building Activity modelling have been updated this quarter to better reflect construction cost changes. The updated factors caused a slight change to the June 2025 Building Activity estimates, however this had minimal impact to the final Building Activity revision since first published in Construction Work Done, June 2025. Revisions to the June 2025 Building Activity estimates includes changes from the model factor update and standard sources of revisions, such as imputes changing to response and changes to responses. For more information on revisions and modelling, refer to the methodology.

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.
View full methodology
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