MEDIA RELEASE
3 March 2015	Embargo: 11.30 am (Canberra Time)	29/2015

Building Approvals released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show that the number of dwellings approved rose 1.3 per cent in January 2015, in trend terms, and has risen for eight continuous months.

Dwelling approvals increased in January in New South Wales (4.3 per cent), Queensland (2.6 per cent), Tasmania (1.6 per cent) and Victoria (0.5 per cent) but decreased in Northern Territory (10.1 per cent), Australian Capital Territory (5.6 per cent), South Australia (2.3 per cent) and Western Australia (1.3 per cent) in trend terms.

In trend terms, approvals for private sector houses was flat in January. Private sector houses rose in Victoria (1.1 per cent) and Queensland (0.5 per cent) but fell in South Australia (1.6 per cent), Western Australia (1.0 per cent) and New South Wales (0.8 per cent).

The value of total building approved rose 2.5 per cent in January, in trend terms, and has risen for seven months. The value of residential building rose 2.9 per cent while non-residential building rose 1.4 per cent in trend terms.

Further information is available in Building Approvals, Australia (cat no. 8731.0) on the ABS website at https://www.abs.gov.au

Media notes:

• When reporting ABS data, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or ABS) must be attributed as the source.