Building Approvals, Australia

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Provides the number of dwelling units and value of buildings approved

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Reference period
July 2025
Released
1/09/2025
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Release date and time
08/09/2025 11:30am AEST

Key statistics

The July 2025 seasonally adjusted estimate: 

  • Total dwellings approved fell 8.2% to 15,769.
  • Private sector dwellings excluding houses fell 22.3% to 5,943 and private sector houses rose 1.1%, to 9,288.
  • The value of total residential building fell 1.6%, to $9.43b.
  • The value of total non-residential building fell 14.9%, to $6.09b.

Dwellings approved

July key figures
 Jul 25 (no.)Monthly change (%)Yearly change (%)
Seasonally adjusted 
 Total dwelling units approved15,769-8.26.6
 Private sector houses9,2881.10.3
 Private sector dwellings excluding houses5,943-22.312.5
Trend 
 Total dwelling units approved16,1531.212.1
 Private sector houses9,3030.00.1
 Private sector dwellings excluding houses6,4222.434.1
  1. Trend break added to 'Total dwelling units approved' trend series for February 2021

The seasonally adjusted estimate for the number of dwellings approved fell 8.2%, after rising 12.2% in June.

The trend estimate for total dwellings approved rose 1.2%, after a 1.2% June increase. 

  1. Trend break added to 'Private sector houses' trend series for February 2021

The seasonally adjusted estimate for private sector house approvals rose 1.1%, after a 1.9% June fall. Private sector dwellings excluding houses approvals fell 22.3% after gaining 33.5% in June.

The trend estimate for private sector house approvals was flat in July, following a 0.2% June rise. Private sector dwellings excluding houses rose 2.4%, after a 2.0% June increase.

Seasonally adjusted summary, by state

Approvals for total dwellings were mixed in July: New South Wales (-24.6%) and South Australia (-1.3%) fell, while Tasmania (12.2%), Western Australia (11.8%), Queensland (5.9%), and Victoria (0.7%) rose.

Approvals for private sector houses were higher across most states with rises in New South Wales (3.0%), Western Australia (3.0%), Victoria (1.3%), and Queensland (0.8%). South Australia was the only state to fall, down 6.1%. 

Dwellings approved, states and territories, seasonally adjusted
 Private sector housesPrivate sector housesTotal dwelling units approvedTotal dwelling units approved
(no.)Monthly change (%)(no.)Monthly change (%)
New South Wales1,8893.04,227-24.6
Victoria2,9241.34,4000.7
Queensland1,9530.83,4275.9
South Australia788-6.11,256-1.3
Western Australia1,4643.01,98711.8
Tasmanianana20212.2
Northern Territorynananana
Australian Capital Territorynananana
Australia9,2881.115,769-8.2

Trend summary, by state

In trend terms, results across the states and territories were mixed. Approvals for total dwellings rose in New South Wales (3.9%), Tasmania (3.3%), Queensland (2.7%), Australian Capital Territory (2.6%), and Western Australia (0.2%). Meanwhile, falls were recorded in the Northern Territory (-6.5%), South Australia (-1.6%), and Victoria (-1.5%).

Approvals for private sector houses were lower across most states: South Australia (-1.8%), Western Australia (-1.5%), Queensland (-0.6%), and New South Wales (-0.4%). Victoria produced a rise (2.1%), in trend terms. 

Dwellings approved, states and territories, trend
 Private sector housesPrivate sector housesTotal dwelling units approvedTotal dwelling units approved
(no.)Monthly change (%)(no.)Monthly change (%)
New South Wales1,881-0.44,7753.9
Victoria2,8772.14,298-1.5
Queensland1,989-0.63,3202.7
South Australia827-1.81,255-1.6
Western Australia1,468-1.51,9260.2
Tasmanianana1863.3
Northern Territorynana43-6.5
Australian Capital Territorynana3582.6
Australia9,3030.016,1531.2

Value of building approved

  1. Trend break added to 'Total residential' trend series for September 2020 and February 2021.

Value of building approved, seasonally adjusted

The value of total building work approved fell 7.3% to $15.52b, after an 7.1% rise in June. The value of total residential building fell 1.6% (to $9.43b), comprised of a 2.1% fall to new residential value (to $8.18b) and a 1.9% gain in alterations and additions (to $1.25b).

The value of non-residential building decreased 14.9% (to $6.09b), after a 13.5% June rise.

Value of building approved, trend

The trend estimate of the value of total building approved rose 0.3% to $16.38b, after a 0.1% rise in June. The value of total residential building rose 0.1% (to $9.40b), after a 0.3% June increase. New residential building value was flat ($8.16b) and alterations and additions rose 0.6% (to $1.24b).

The value of non-residential building rose 0.5% (to $6.98b), following a 0.1% fall in June. 

Value of building approved, by building type
 Seasonally adjustedSeasonally adjustedTrendTrend
($m)Monthly change (%)($m)Monthly change (%)
New residential building8,184-2.18,1600.0
Alterations and additions to residential building1,2471.91,2360.6
Total residential building9,431-1.69,3960.1
Non-residential building6,093-14.96,9790.5
Total building15,524-7.316,3750.3

Data downloads

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Dwellings approved

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Value of building approved

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Non-residential building approved

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Chain volume measures

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Demolitions

Data files

  • Table 87. Number of dwellings approved for demolition, original, states and territories

    Download xlsx [53.32 KB]

  • Table 88. Number of dwellings approved for demolition, by Greater Capital City Statistical Area - original

    Download xlsx [58.7 KB]

Small area datacubes

Data items

Building Approvals: Data items available by Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS)

Data files
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NSW

Data files
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Vic.

Data files
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Qld

Data files
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SA

Data files
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WA

Data files
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Tas.

Data files
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NT

Data files
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ACT

Data files

Validation table

Building Approvals: Data cube validation table

Data files
Download xlsx [36.83 KB]

Small area approvals (.csv)

Statistical Area Level 2

Data files

Local Government Area

Data files

Demolition approvals (.csv)

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 time period when using Data Explorer.

Help for: Data Explorer Datasets

Building Approvals by Greater Capital Cities Statistical Area (GCCSA) and above - Number and value of approvals, monthly, July 2001 onwards

Building Approvals by Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2) and above - Number and value of approvals, monthly, July 2016 - June 2021

Building Approvals by Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2) and above - Number and value of approvals, monthly, July 2021 onwards

Building Approvals by Local Government Area (LGA 2024) - Number and value of approvals, monthly, 2024/25

Building Approvals by Local Government Area (LGA 2025) - Number and value of approvals, monthly, 2025/26

Dwellings revised by state

In this release, revisions are provided for the time period from July 2024 to June 2025. Further information about potential sources of revisions can be found here: "Revisions to Building Approval Statistics".

Revisions to the total number of dwelling units approved in this issue are:

Dwellings revised
  2024-25
New South Wales122
Victoria74
Queensland62
South Australia-1
Western Australia48
Tasmania-9
Northern Territory-
Australian Capital Territory-
Total296

Post release changes

08/09/2025 - As advertised in the ABS future releases calendar, this additional information release contains all Building Approvals small area data components. This is comprised of the small area excel data cubes, csv files and additional Data Explorer links for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 financial years. 

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Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 8731.0.

Methodology

Scope

Approvals included:

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

Geography

Data available for:

  • Australia
  • States and territories
  • Greater Capital City Statistical Area (GCCSA)
  • Statistical Area Level 4 (SA4)
  • Local Government Areas.

Source

Administrative data collection from local government or other approving authorities.

Collection method

Statistics of building work approved are compiled from:

  • local government authorities and other principal certifying authorities
  • contracts authorised by government authorities
  • media reports and the Building Activity Survey.

Concepts, sources and methods

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

History of changes

Concurrent seasonal adjustment was reinstated from the May 2022 release.

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Media releases