Building Activity, Australia

Latest release

Provides estimates of value of building work and number of dwellings commenced, completed, under construction and in the pipeline

Reference period
September 2023
Released
17/01/2024
  • Next Release 10/04/2024
    Building Activity, Australia, December 2023
  • Next Release 17/07/2024
    Building Activity, Australia, March 2024
  • Next Release 9/10/2024
    Building Activity, Australia, June 2024
  • View all releases

Key statistics

In seasonally adjusted terms:

  • Total dwelling commencements fell 10.4% to 37,116 dwellings.
  • New private sector house commencements fell 9.7% to 22,741 dwellings.
  • New private sector other residential commencements fell 11.2% to 13,485 dwellings.
  • The value of total building work done fell 0.1% to $34.3b.

Number of dwellings commenced

Number of dwellings commenced, seasonally adjusted
 Sep qtr 23
no.
Jun qtr 23 to Sep qtr 23
% change
Sep qtr 22 to Sep qtr 23
% change
New private sector houses22,741-9.7-21.9
New private sector other residential13,485-11.2-9.6
Total sector total dwellings37,116-10.4-17.4
Number of dwellings commenced, trend
 Sep qtr 23
no.
Jun qtr 23 to Sep qtr 23
% change
Sep qtr 22 to Sep qtr 23
% change
New private sector houses23,228-7.1-19.8
New private sector other residential14,741-4.00.9
Total sector total dwellings38,928-5.9-12.8

The total number of dwelling units commenced in Australia fell 10.4% to 37,116 dwellings in the September quarter, in seasonally adjusted terms. Private sector other residential buildings drove the decline, falling 11.2% to 13,485 dwellings and have fallen 9.6% since September 2022. Private sector house commencements fell 9.7% to 22,741 dwellings, following a fall of 6.5% in the June quarter and are down 21.9% through the year.

Dwellings under construction fell 3.1% to 231,387 dwellings in the September quarter. New houses accounted for 97,120 of the dwellings under construction.

Number of dwellings completed

Number of dwellings completed, seasonally adjusted
 Sep qtr 23
no.
Jun qtr 23 to Sep qtr 23
% change
Sep qtr 22 to Sep qtr 23
% change
New private sector houses27,9803.7-0.4
New private sector other residential15,15619.54.3
Total sector total dwellings44,0938.21.2
Number of dwellings completed, trend
 Sep qtr 23
no.
Jun qtr 23 to Sep qtr 23
% change
Sep qtr 22 to Sep qtr 23
% change
New private sector houses27,7351.3-0.1
New private sector other residential14,134-4.5-4.1
Total sector total dwellings42,828-0.6-1.3

The total number of dwelling units completed in Australia rose 8.2% to 44,093 dwellings in the September quarter, in seasonally adjusted terms. Private sector other residential buildings drove the increase, rising 19.5% to 15,156 dwellings and are 4.3% higher for the year. Private sector new house completions rose 3.7% to 27,980 dwellings, following a fall of 2.2% in the June quarter and are down 0.4% for the year.

Value of work done

Value of work done, seasonally adjusted chain volume measures (a)
 Sep qtr 23
$m
Jun qtr 23 to Sep qtr 23
% change
Sep qtr 22 to Sep qtr 23
% change
New residential building17,732.21.05.2
Alterations and additions to residential building3,038.84.23.0
Non-residential building13,559.2-2.41.3
Total value of work done34,330.2-0.13.4
Value of work done, trend chain volume measures (a)
 Sep qtr 23
$m
Jun qtr 23 to Sep qtr 23
% change
Sep qtr 22 to Sep qtr 23
% change
New residential building17,714.01.55.6
Alterations and additions to residential building3,000.40.90.2
Non-residential building13,771.20.54.8
Total value of work done34,496.61.04.8

(a) Reference year for Chain Volume Measures is 2021-2022

The value of total building work done fell 0.1% to $34.3b in the September quarter, in seasonally adjusted terms. The decrease was driven by non-residential building work done, which decreased by 2.4% to $13.6b and follows an increase of 1.6% in the June quarter. Work done on new residential building rose 1.0% to $17.7b and is 5.2% higher for the year. Work done on alterations and additions to residential buildings rose 4.2% to $3.0b.

Data downloads

Time series spreadsheets

Data files

File contents

The Building Activity: Australia data cube contains original current price data at finer levels of building type than is available in the time series spreadsheets.

The Building Activity: Australia pivot table contains the following data items
Data itemClassification
State/TerritoryAll States and Territories
Reference quarterQuarterly (September 2001 to current)
Sector of ownershipPrivate, Public, Total
Type of buildingHouses
 Semi-detached, row or terrace houses, townhouses - One storey
 Semi-detached, row or terrace houses, townhouses - Two or more storeys
 Semi-detached, row or terrace houses, townhouses - Total
 Apartments - In a one or two storey block
 Apartments - In a three storey block
 Apartments - In a four to eight storey block
 Apartments - Nine or more storeys
 Apartments - Total including those attached to a house
 Total other residential
 Total residential
 Retail and wholesale trade buildings
 Transport buildings
 Offices
 Commercial buildings n.e.c
 Commercial buildings - Total
 Factories and other secondary production buildings
 Warehouses
 Agricultural and aquacultural buildings
 Other industrial buildings n.e.c.
 Industrial buildings - Total
 Education buildings
 Religious buildings
 Aged care facilities
 Health buildings
 Entertainment and recreation buildings
 Short term accommodation buildings
 Other non-residential n.e.c.
 Other non-residential - Total
 Total non-residential
 Dwellings excluding new residential
 Dwellings excluding houses
 Total
Type of workNew
 Total alterations and additions (incl. refurbishment and conversion)
 Total
Data itemsValue of work done during quarter ($m)
 Value of work yet to be done ($m)
 Value of work in pipeline ($m)
 Value of work not yet commenced ($m)
 Value of work commenced ($m)
 Value of work completed ($m)
 Value of work under construction ($m)
 Dwelling units not yet commenced (no.)
 Dwelling units commenced (no.)
 Dwelling units completed (no.)
 Dwelling units under construction (no.)
Data files

Data Explorer datasets

Caution: Data in the Data Explorer is currently released after the 11:30am release on the ABS website. Please check the reference period when using Data Explorer.

Building Activity by state - value of building work and number of dwellings commenced, completed, under construction and in the pipeline.

About this issue

This publication updates the preliminary estimates released in Construction Work Done, Australia. The data in this publication are based on a response rate of approximately 85% of the value of building work done during the quarter, which is lower than the long term response rate average. The data are subject to revision when returns from the following quarter are processed. Final data for the September 2023 quarter will be released in the next release of this publication, Building Activity, Australia on 10 April 2024.

Several time series spreadsheets contain 'np' (not available for publication) annotations from the September quarter 2012 onwards. This is due to confidential data being contained in these series.

Enquiries

For enquiries about these and related statistics, contact the Customer Assistance Service via the ABS website Contact Us page. The ABS Privacy Policy outlines how the ABS will handle any personal information that you provide to us.

Changes this release

Revisions

Compared to the estimate published in Building Activity, Australia June 2023 released on 18 October 2023:

  • the total value of work done in Australia during the June 2023 quarter has been revised upwards by $646.5m or 1.6% (original, current price). 
  • the total value of work commenced in Australia during the June 2023 quarter has been revised upwards $1.4b or 3.8% (original, current price). This was driven by an upwards revision to total residential commencements of $741m (+3.3%). Total non-residential commencements was revised up $683m or 4.7%. 
  • the number of dwelling unit commencements in the June 2023 quarter has been revised upwards by 1,206 dwellings or 3.0% (original).

Chain volume reference year updated

A new base year, 2021-22, 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 2021-22, 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.

Sample redesign

The Building Activity sample design has been refreshed to account for population changes and construction cost inflation. Changes to the sample design were derived from analysis of population counts and distribution, as well as construction cost changes between 2012-2022. The survey sample size is similar to previous samples and the scope and coverage has not changed. The sample allocation and stratification thresholds have been modified to better represent the population and has resulted in a small increase in the contribution of modelled units. The redesign is not expected to have a noticeable impact on estimates. Refer to the methodology for more information.

Article archive

The following data cubes provide additional insights into Building Activity and are updated annually. Refer to the Data Downloads section of the relevant Building Activity release.

June quarter:

  • Building Activity Average Dwelling Commencement Times
  • Building Activity Average Dwelling Completion times
  • Building Activity Abandonment Rates for New Dwellings

December quarter:

  • Building Activity Average Cost
  • Building Activity Average Floor Area

Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 8752.0.

Methodology

Scope

Building activity in Australia on approved work greater than $10,000, including: 

  • new building construction
  • alterations and additions to existing buildings
  • non-structural renovation and refurbishment
  • installation of integral building fixtures

Geography

Data available for:

  • Australia
  • States and territories
  • select series at Greater Capital City Statistical Area (GCCSA).

Source

Building Activity Survey.

The survey sample is selected from approved building jobs notified to the ABS Building Approvals, Australia collection.

Collection method

Survey responses from builders and other individuals and organisations engaged in building activity, compiled from:

  • online forms
  • paper forms
  • telephone calls
  • approval information

Concepts, sources and methods

Buildings are classified according to the ABS Functional Classification of Buildings, January 2021.

History of changes

  • Trend series were reinstated in the September 2022 release.
  • Concurrent seasonal adjustment was reinstated in the September 2022 release.
View full methodology
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