New capital expenditure down 3.6 per cent in June
Private new capital expenditure (capex) fell 3.6 per cent in the June quarter 2026 (seasonally adjusted, chain volume measures), according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Tom Lay, ABS head of business statistics, said: “June’s fall in investment was the result of a 53.0 per cent drop in spending on information media and telecommunications equipment, after record investment in server racks and processing equipment for data centres saw an increase of 199.6 per cent last quarter.”
“Despite the quarterly fall, total capital expenditure remains 10.7 per cent higher than the same time last year.”
“Buildings and structures investment rose 2.1 per cent driven by continued activity on data centre construction to expand capacity, as well as commencement of new renewable energy projects this quarter.”
New equipment and machinery investment fell 8.9 per cent. This was driven by an 11.3 per cent fall in non-mining equipment and machinery, specifically the 53.0 per cent fall in information media and telecommunications.
Rises in transport, postal and warehousing (+27.8 per cent), construction (+17.7 per cent) and mining (+5.4 per cent) equipment and machinery partially offset the fall.
Capex for buildings and structures rose 2.1 per cent, driven by a 3.3 per cent rise in non-mining industries, while mining (-0.1 per cent) saw a minor fall.
The increase in buildings and structures was driven by spending on large projects in information media and telecommunications (+17.7 per cent) and electricity, gas, water and waste services (+7.8 per cent).
“Investment in data centre construction and expansion projects continues to grow, rising for an eighth straight quarter,” Mr Lay said.
“There was additional strength in buildings and structures capex driven by the commencement of several large wind, solar and battery energy storage system projects.”
The largest falls in total capex were in Victoria (-13.9 per cent) and New South Wales (-2.8 per cent), the two states that had recorded the bulk of data centre equipment investment last quarter.
Figures released today include the final estimate for 2025-26, which saw a rise in total capex of 11.3 per cent (in current prices) compared to 2024-25.
This release also includes the third estimate for planned capex for 2026-27. Businesses revised their expected capex for 2026-27 to be up by 15.5 per cent on the second estimate last quarter.
“Business expectations on future capex increased, driven by continued investment in data centres and renewable energy projects,” Mr Lay said.
More detailed industry and state analysis and further information on the statistical methodology is available in Private New Capital Expenditure and Expected Expenditure, Australia.
The ABS gratefully acknowledges the contributions of businesses across Australia in providing data for this release.
Media notes
- New capital expenditure (capex) refers to the acquisition of new tangible assets and includes major improvements, alterations, and additions.
- All statistical figures in this media release are in seasonally adjusted volume terms unless otherwise noted.
- Seasonal adjustment is the process of estimating and removing seasonal effects to allow comparison of data for adjacent months. See methodology for more details.
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