8731.0 - Building Approvals, Australia, Sep 2017 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 02/11/2017   
   Page tools: Print Print Page Print all pages in this productPrint All
MEDIA RELEASE
2 November 2017
Embargoed: 11.30 am (Canberra time)
Dwelling approvals rise 1.8 per cent in September
146/2017


The number of dwellings approved rose 1.8 per cent in September 2017, in trend terms, and has risen for eight months, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today.

Dwelling approvals increased in September in the Australian Capital Territory (7.9 per cent), Northern Territory (6.5 per cent), Tasmania (4.5 per cent), New South Wales (3.4 per cent), Western Australia (2.0 per cent), South Australia (1.5 per cent) and Victoria (0.7 per cent), but decreased in Queensland (0.5 per cent) in trend terms.

In trend terms, approvals for private sector houses rose 0.7 per cent in September. Private sector house approvals rose in Queensland (1.8 per cent), South Australia (1.2 per cent), Victoria (0.6 per cent) and New South Wales (0.5 per cent), but fell in Western Australia (0.9 per cent).

In seasonally adjusted terms, dwelling approvals increased by 1.5 per cent in September, driven by a rise in private dwellings excluding houses (2.6 per cent), while private house approvals rose 0.6 per cent.

The value of total building approved rose 1.3 per cent in September, in trend terms, and has risen for nine months. The value of residential building rose 1.5 per cent while non-residential building rose 1.0 per cent.

"The value of non-residential building approvals have risen for the past eight months, in trend terms, reaching a record high in September 2017." Bill Becker, the Assistant Director of Construction Statistics at the ABS, said.

"The strength in non-residential building has been driven by approvals in Victoria, where a number of office and education buildings have been approved in recent months."

Further information is available in Building Approvals, Australia (cat no. 8731.0) on the ABS website at https://www.abs.gov.au.

Media note:
  • When reporting ABS data, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or ABS) must be attributed as the source.
  • For media requests and interviews, contact the ABS Communications Section on 1300 175 070 (8.30am - 5pm Mon-Fri).
  • Subscribe to our email notification service and get media releases or products sent to you on release.