30 July 2019

MEDIA RELEASE Embargoed 11:30am (AEDT)

The number of dwellings approved in Australia fell by 1.3 per cent in June, in trend terms, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today.

"The trend series for total dwellings has fallen for 19 consecutive months. The decrease in June was driven by private dwellings excluding houses, which fell 2.5 per cent in trend terms," said Daniel Rossi, Director of Construction Statistics at the ABS. "Approvals for private houses were also down 0.8 per cent."

Among the states and territories, total dwelling approvals fell in the Australian Capital Territory (4.7 per cent), Tasmania (3.8 per cent), Western Australia (3.5 per cent), New South Wales (2.9 per cent) and South Australia (0.8 per cent), in trend terms. Increases were recorded in the Northern Territory (5.8 per cent), Victoria (0.4 per cent) and Queensland (0.2 per cent).

Approvals for private sector houses declined 0.8 per cent in trend terms. Declines were recorded across the country, with New South Wales (2.2 per cent), South Australia (0.8 per cent), Western Australia (0.6 per cent) and Queensland (0.4 per cent) all falling. Victoria was the only state to record an increase, up by 0.1 per cent.

In seasonally adjusted terms, total dwellings declined 1.2 per cent in June, driven by falls in Tasmania (11.9 per cent), Western Australia (8.6 per cent), New South Wales (5.4 per cent) and Queensland (1.0 per cent). Victoria recorded a 9.7 per cent increase, while South Australia was flat. Private dwellings excluding houses fell 6.5 per cent, while private house approvals rose 0.4 per cent.

The value of total building approved recorded a 0.4 per cent increase, in trend terms. The value of non-residential building rose 2.0 per cent, while total residential building declined 0.8 per cent.

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

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