Building Approvals, Australia

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Provides the number of dwelling units and value of buildings approved

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Reference period
November 2024
Released
7/01/2025
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    Building Approvals, Australia, November 2024
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    Building Approvals, Australia, December 2024
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    Building Approvals, Australia, December 2024
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Key statistics

The November 2024 seasonally adjusted estimate: 

  • Total dwellings approved fell 3.6%, to 14,998.
  • Private sector houses fell 1.7%, to 9,028, while private sector dwellings excluding houses fell 10.8%, to 5,285.
  • The value of total residential building fell 0.5%, to $8.36b.
  • The value of non-residential building rose 18.4%, to $5.96b.

Dwellings approved

November key figures
 Nov 24 (no.)Monthly change (%)Yearly change (%)
Seasonally adjusted 
 Total dwelling units approved14,998-3.63.2
 Private sector houses9,028-1.73.8
 Private sector dwellings excluding houses5,285-10.8-6.4
Trend 
 Total dwelling units approved15,1941.211.2
 Private sector houses9,228-0.57.5
 Private sector dwellings excluding houses5,4002.911.0
  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 3.6%, after rising 5.2% in October. 

The trend estimate for total dwellings approved rose 1.2%, following a 1.5% October increase.

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

The seasonally adjusted estimate for private sector house approvals fell 1.7%, after falling 4.0% in October. Private sector dwellings excluding houses approved fell 10.8%, following a 24.7% increase in October.

The trend estimate for private sector house approvals fell 0.5%, after a 0.2% October decrease. Private sector dwellings excluding houses rose 2.9%, following a 3.6% October increase.
 

Seasonally adjusted summary, by state

Approvals for total dwellings were mixed across the states: Western Australia (18.1%) and Queensland (7.3%) rose. Meanwhile, Victoria (-12.9%), New South Wales (-9.9%), Tasmania (-4.2%), and South Australia (-1.6%) fell, in seasonally adjusted terms.

Approvals for private sector houses fell across most states: New South Wales (-4.0%), Victoria (-3.9%), Western Australia (-2.1%), and South Australia (-1.3%). Queensland was the only state to rise in November (4.3%).

 

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 Wales1,744-4.03,539-9.9
Victoria2,567-3.94,644-12.9
Queensland2,0264.33,2597.3
South Australia895-1.31,104-1.6
Western Australia1,518-2.12,08518.1
Tasmanianana207-4.2
Northern Territorynananana
Australian Capital Territorynananana
Australia9,028-1.714,998-3.6


 

Trend summary, by state

Approvals for total dwellings rose across all states and territories: Australian Capital Territory (8.5%), Northern Territory (5.1%), Western Australia (1.6%), Victoria (1.5%), Tasmania (1.4%), New South Wales (1.4%), Queensland (0.3%), and South Australia (0.3%), in trend terms.

Approvals for private sector houses rose in South Australia (2.2%) and Western Australia (0.3%). Falls were recorded in Victoria (-1.8%), Queensland (-0.9%), and New South Wales (-0.2%).
 

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 Wales1,787-0.23,5171.4
Victoria2,658-1.84,9871.5
Queensland2,015-0.93,2300.3
South Australia9112.21,1210.3
Western Australia1,5710.31,9581.6
Tasmanianana2131.4
Northern Territorynana415.1
Australian Capital Territorynana1288.5
Australia9,228-0.515,1941.2


 

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 approved rose 6.6% (to $14.32b), following a 2.3% fall in October. The value of total residential building fell 0.5% (to $8.36b), comprised of a 0.6% decrease in new residential building (to $7.21b) and a 0.3% rise in alterations and additions (to $1.15b).

The value of non-residential building rose 18.4% (to $5.96b), after a 11.2% decrease in October.

Value of building approved, trend

The trend estimate of the value of total building approved rose 1.2% (to $13.94b), following a 1.3% rise in October. The value of total residential building rose 0.5% (to $8.34b), comprised of a 0.5% increase in new residential building (to $7.18b) and 0.1% rise in alterations and additions (to $1.16b).

The value of non-residential building rose 2.4% (to $5.60b), following a 2.1% increase in October.

Value of building approved, by building type
 Seasonally adjustedSeasonally adjustedTrendTrend
 ($m)Monthly change (%)($m)Monthly change (%)
New residential building7,210-0.67,1850.5
Alterations and additions to residential building1,1490.31,1600.1
Total residential building8,359-0.58,3450.5
Non-residential building5,96318.45,5972.4
Total building14,3226.613,9421.2

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 [52.9 KB]

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

    Download xlsx [58.04 KB]

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.

Dwellings revised by state

In this release, revisions are provided for the time period from July 2023 to October 2024. 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
  2023-242024-25
New South Wales12-118
Victoria1299
Queensland2437
South Australia-7
Western Australia-1513
Tasmania11
Northern Territory--
Australian Capital Territory--1
Total3438

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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.

View full methodology

Media releases