03 July 2012

Embargo: 11.30 am (Canberra time)

95/2012

ABS Building Approvals show that the number of dwellings approved rose 27.3% in May 2012, in seasonally adjusted terms, following a fall of 7.6% in the previous month.

Dwelling approvals increased in Victoria (31.8%), New South Wales (25.1%), Western Australia (24.8%), South Australia (16.2%) and Queensland (10.3%) but decreased in Tasmania (-12.1%) in seasonally adjusted terms.

In seasonally adjusted terms, approvals for private sector houses rose 8.7% in May. Private sector house approvals rose in South Australia (16.5%), Western Australia (13.2%), Queensland (12.3%), Victoria (6.5%) and New South Wales (3.0%).

The value of total building approved rose 43.4% in May, in seasonally adjusted terms, after falling for 3 months. The value of residential building rose 26.8% while non-residential building rose 71.0%.

The large increase in Dwelling Unit approvals in May 2012 was driven by a number of large private sector projects in New South Wales, Victoria, and the Australian Capital Territory.

The statistics for Western Australia in recent months may have been impacted by the WA Building Act 2011 which came into effect on 2 April 2012. The statistics for Northern Territory have been significantly revised due to the late provision of some approval records.

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

Media Note: Please ensure when reporting on ABS data that you attribute the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or the ABS) as the source.