Building Activity, Australia

The total number of dwelling units commenced in Australia fell 0.8% to 42,545 dwellings in the September quarter, in seasonally adjusted terms. The fall was driven by private sector other residential dwellings, which fell 7.5% to 14,887 dwellings and follows a fall of 13.2% in the June quarter. Private sector house commencements rose 4.0% to 26,726 dwellings and follows a rise of 0.4% in the June quarter.

The value of total building work done fell 2.8% to $28.8b in the September quarter, in seasonally adjusted terms. The fall was driven by non-residential building work done, which fell 5.5% to $11.5b and follows a fall of 1.4% in the June quarter. New residential building work done fell 2.1% to $14.8b. Work done on new houses fell 0.7% to $8.6b, while new other residential building fell 4.0% to $6.3b.

This publication updates the preliminary estimates released in Construction Work Done, Australia on 25 November 2020. The data in this publication are based on a response rate of approximately 90% of the value of building work done during the quarter. The data are subject to revision when returns from the following quarter are processed. Final data for the September quarter 2020 will be released in the next release of this publication, Building Activity, Australia on 14 April 2021.

Compared to the estimate published in Building Activity, Australia June 2020 released on 14 October 2020:

• the total value of work done in Australia during the June 2020 quarter has been revised upwards by $610.2m or 2.0% (original, current price). 
• the total value of work commenced in Australia during the June 2020 quarter has been revised upwards $1,433.8m or 5.6% (original, current price). This was driven by an upward revision to total non-residential commencements of $1,073.0m (10.6%), and an upward revision to total residential commencements of $360.8m (2.3%).
• the number of dwelling unit commencements in the June 2020 quarter has been revised upwards by 443 dwellings or 1.1% (original).

A new base year, 2018-19, 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 2018-19, 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.

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.

The designation of construction as an essential service enabled activity to progress despite social distancing restrictions implemented from late March. Restrictions on activity in the September quarter were limited to Victoria, where work was able to continue, although at reduced capacity for some projects. 

Federal and state-based incentives are providing support for the detached housing and renovations sectors. Private investment in the non-residential sector remains weak, with falling building approvals since June 2020, although there will be a lag between any change in demand, the number of applications and the subsequent impacts on activity.

The ABS appreciates the support of survey respondents in continuing to provide the data to compile this publication.

The trend series attempts to measure underlying behaviour in construction activity. This measurement will be significantly affected by changes to regular patterns in activity during this time, as the construction industry faces on-going uncertainty. If the trend estimates in this publication were to be calculated without fully accounting for this irregular event, they would likely provide a misleading view of underlying building activity.

It may be some time before the underlying trend in building activity can be accurately estimated. The trend series have therefore been suspended starting from June 2020. The trend series will be reinstated when more certainty emerges in the underlying trend. 

Building Activity uses the concurrent seasonal adjustment method, meaning that seasonal factors are re-estimated each time a new data point becomes available. If not appropriately accounted for, unusual real-world events, such as COVID-19, can distort estimates calculated using this method. From September 2020, seasonal factors for Private sector non-residential building work done in Victoria are being calculated using data up to and including June 2020, then projected from September 2020 onwards. This approach, known as the forward factor method, ensures that the seasonal factors are not distorted by COVID-19 impacts.

For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070. The ABS Privacy Policy outlines how the ABS will handle any personal information that you provide to us.

Building a New Home: Construction Cost Changes, June quarter 2020

Small Area Dwelling Completions, June quarter 2020

Telling storeys - Apartment building heights, December quarter 2019

Characteristics of new residential dwellings - A 15 year summary, December quarter 2019

Abandonment rates for new dwellings, June quarter 2019

Average dwelling commencement times, June quarter 2019

Average dwelling completion times, June quarter 2019

Revisions to building activity statistics, December quarter 2015

Average floor area of new residential dwellings, June quarter 2013

A twenty year history of the cost of building a new house, December quarter 2008

Additional Building and Construction feature articles can be found in Feature Articles by Catalogue Number

This release previously used catalogue number 8752.0.