Building Activity, Australia

Latest release

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

Reference period
June 2024
Released
9/10/2024
  • Next Release 22/01/2025
    Building Activity, Australia, September 2024
  • Next Release 16/04/2025
    Building Activity, Australia, December 2024
  • Next Release 16/07/2025
    Building Activity, Australia, March 2025
  • View all releases

Key statistics

In seasonally adjusted terms:

  • The total number of dwelling units commenced fell 1.1% to 40,293 dwellings.
  • New private sector house commencements rose 1.7% to 25,732 dwellings.
  • New private sector other residential commencements fell 7.4% to 13,756 dwellings.
  • The value of total building work done fell 0.2% to $34.0b.

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 24
no.
Mar qtr 24 to Jun qtr 24
% change
Jun qtr 23 to Jun qtr 24
% change
New private sector houses25,7321.72.6
New private sector other residential13,756-7.4-12.3
Total sector total dwellings40,293-1.1-3.6
Number of dwellings commenced, trend
 Jun qtr 24
no.
Mar qtr 24 to Jun qtr 24
% change
Jun qtr 23 to Jun qtr 24
% change
New private sector houses25,8824.04.2
New private sector other residential14,233-1.1-9.0
Total sector total dwellings40,8441.9-1.6

The total number of dwellings commenced in Australia fell 1.1% to 40,293 dwellings in the June quarter, in seasonally adjusted terms. New private sector other residential commencements drove the decrease, falling 7.4% to 13,756 dwellings, following a rise of 1.4% in the March quarter. Private sector house commencements rose 1.7% to 25,732 dwellings and follows a rise of 5.7% in the March quarter.

There were 221,533 total sector dwellings under construction in the June quarter of which 88,235 were new houses.

Number of dwellings completed

Number of dwellings completed, seasonally adjusted
 Jun qtr 24
no.
Mar qtr 24 to Jun qtr 24
% change
Jun qtr 23 to Jun qtr 24
% change
New private sector houses28,22811.43.5
New private sector other residential15,6910.423.5
Total sector total dwellings44,8537.39.2
Number of dwellings completed, trend
 Jun qtr 24
no.
Mar qtr 24 to Jun qtr 24
% change
Jun qtr 23 to Jun qtr 24
% change
New private sector houses29,297-2.16.1
New private sector other residential15,7474.210.2
Total sector total dwellings45,988-0.27.3

In seasonally adjusted terms, 44,853 dwellings completed in the June quarter. Private new houses accounted for 28,228 dwellings, rising 11.4% from March and an increase of 3.5% since June 2023. Private new other residential completions rose 0.4% from March to 15,691 dwellings.

Value of work done

Value of work done, seasonally adjusted chain volume measures (a)
 Jun qtr 24
$m
Mar qtr 24 to Jun qtr 24
% change
Jun qtr 23 to Jun qtr 24
% change
New residential building17,111.5-0.4-2.4
Alterations and additions to residential building2,836.60.6-1.8
Non-residential building14,081.2-0.20.4
Total value of work done34,029.3-0.2-1.2
Value of work done, trend chain volume measures (a)
 Jun qtr 24
$m
Mar qtr 24 to Jun qtr 24
% change
Jun qtr 23 to Jun qtr 24
% change
New residential building17,034.4-0.6-2.5
Alterations and additions to residential building2,803.6-0.7-4.9
Non-residential building14,181.1-0.71.8
Total value of work done34,016.9-0.7-1.0

(a) Reference year for Chain Volume Measures is 2021-2022

The value of total building work done fell 0.2% to $34.0b in the June quarter, in seasonally adjusted terms. The decrease was driven by new residential building, which fell 0.4% to $17.1b and follows an increase of 0.6% in the March quarter. Work done on non-residential building fell 0.2% to $14.1b and is 0.4% higher for the year. Work done on alterations and additions to residential buildings rose 0.6% to $2.8b. 

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 2024 quarter will be released in the next release of this publication, Building Activity, Australia on 21 January 2025.

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.
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