Building Activity, Australia

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Provides estimates of value of building work and number of dwellings commenced, completed, under construction and in the pipeline

Reference period
June 2023
Released
18/10/2023

Key statistics

In seasonally adjusted terms:

  • Total dwelling commencements fell 11.8% to 40,720 dwellings.
  • New private sector house commencements fell 6.6% to 25,162 dwellings.
  • New private sector other residential commencements fell 19.6% to 14,529 dwellings.
  • The value of total building work done rose 0.3% to $31.5b.

This release includes data on average commencement times, average completion times and abandonment rates for new dwellings in the Data downloads section. For more information about these data please see the June 2019 feature articles in the Article archive section.

Number of dwellings commenced

Number of dwellings commenced, seasonally adjusted
 Jun qtr 23
no.
Mar qtr 23 to Jun qtr 23
% change
Jun qtr 22 to Jun qtr 23
% change
New private sector houses25,162-6.6-17.4
New private sector other residential14,529-19.6-11.9
Total sector total dwellings40,720-11.8-15.4
Number of dwellings commenced, trend
 

Jun qtr 23
no.

Mar qtr 23 to Jun qtr 23
% change
Jun qtr 22 to Jun qtr 23
% change
New private sector houses25,446-4.4-15.1
New private sector other residential15,8194.10.9
Total sector total dwellings42,348-1.2-9.6

The total number of dwelling units commenced in Australia fell 11.8% to 40,720 dwellings in the June quarter, in seasonally adjusted terms. Private sector other residential buildings drove the decline, falling 19.6% to 14,529 dwellings and have fallen 11.9% since June 2022. Private sector house commencements fell 6.6% to 25,162 dwellings, following a fall of 2.5% in the March quarter and are down 17.4% through the year.

Dwellings under construction fell 1.4% to 237,779 dwellings in the June quarter. New houses accounted for 101,820 of the dwellings under construction.

Number of dwellings completed

Number of dwellings completed, seasonally adjusted
 Jun qtr 23
no.
Mar qtr 23 to Jun qtr 23
% change
Jun qtr 22 to Jun qtr 23
% change
New private sector houses27,213-1.6%-3.1%
New private sector other residential13,379-20.1%0.3%
Total sector total dwellings41,669-7.5%-1.2%
Number of dwellings completed, trend
 

Jun qtr 23
no.

Mar qtr 23 to Jun qtr 23
% change
Jun qtr 22 to Jun qtr 23
% change
New private sector houses27,183-0.3%-3.0%
New private sector other residential14,810-5.1%12.8%
Total sector total dwellings42,897-2.0%2.2%

The total number of dwelling units completed in Australia fell 7.5% to 41,669 dwellings in the June quarter, in seasonally adjusted terms. Private sector other residential buildings drove the decline, falling 20.1% to 13,379 dwellings and are 0.3% higher for the year. Private sector new house completions fell 1.6% to 27,213 dwellings, following a rise of 3.9% in the March quarter and are down 3.1% for the year.

Value of work done

Value of work done, seasonally adjusted chain volume measures (a)
 Jun qtr 23
$m
Mar qtr 23 to Jun qtr 23
% change
Jun qtr 22 to Jun qtr 23
% change
New residential building15,904.71.25.5
Alterations and additions to residential building2,556.7-5.0-8.5
Non-residential building13,068.00.26.5
Total value of work done31,529.40.34.6
Value of work done, trend chain volume measures (a)
 Jun qtr 23
$m
Mar qtr 23 to Jun qtr 23
% change
Jun qtr 22 to Jun qtr 23
% change
New residential building15,866.60.42.1
Alterations and additions to residential building2,601.8-1.0-5.9
Non-residential building13,060.41.25.4
Total value of work done31,536.70.62.7

(a) Reference year for Chain Volume Measures is 2020-2021

The value of total building work done rose 0.3% to $31.5b in the June quarter, in seasonally adjusted terms. The rise was driven by new residential building work done, which increased by 1.2% to $15.9b and follows a decrease of 0.4% in the March quarter. Work done on non-residential building rose 0.2% to $13.1b and is 6.5% higher for the year. Work done on alterations and additions to residential buildings fell 5.0% to $2.6b.

Data downloads

Time series spreadsheets

Data files

File contents

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 reference period when using Data Explorer.

Building Activity by state - value of building work and number of dwellings commenced, completed, under construction and in the pipeline.

About this issue

This publication updates the preliminary estimates released in Construction Work Done, Australia. The data in this publication are based on a response rate of approximately 85% of the value of building work done during the quarter, which is lower than the long term response rate average. The data are subject to revision when returns from the following quarter are processed. Final data for the June 2023 quarter will be released in the next release of this publication, Building Activity, Australia on 17 January 2024.

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.

Enquiries

For enquiries about these and related statistics, contact the Customer Assistance Service via the ABS website Contact Us page. The ABS Privacy Policy outlines how the ABS will handle any personal information that you provide to us.

Changes this release

Revisions

Article archive

The following data cubes provide additional insights into Building Activity and are updated annually. Refer to the Data Downloads section of the relevant Building Activity release.

June quarter:

  • Building Activity Average Dwelling Commencement Times
  • Building Activity Average Dwelling Completion times
  • Building Activity Abandonment Rates for New Dwellings

December quarter:

  • Building Activity Average Cost
  • Building Activity Average Floor Area

Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 8752.0.

Methodology

Scope

Building activity in Australia on approved work greater than $10,000, including: 

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

Geography

Data available for:

  • Australia
  • States and territories
  • select series at Greater Capital City Statistical Area (GCCSA).

Source

Building Activity Survey.

The survey sample is selected from approved building jobs notified to the ABS Building Approvals, Australia collection.

Collection method

Survey responses from builders and other individuals and organisations engaged in building activity, compiled from:

  • online forms
  • paper forms
  • telephone calls
  • approval information

Concepts, sources and methods

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

History of changes

  • Trend series were reinstated in the September 2022 release.
  • Concurrent seasonal adjustment was reinstated in the September 2022 release.
View full methodology
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