8731.0 - Building Approvals, Australia, Aug 2019 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 01/10/2019   
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1 October 2019

MEDIA RELEASE
Embargoed 11:30am (AEDT)
Dwelling approvals fall in August

The number of dwellings approved fell 3.9 per cent in August 2019, in trend terms, and has fallen for 21 months, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today.

"The fall continues to be driven by private dwellings excluding houses, which decreased by 9.2 per cent in August," said Daniel Rossi, Director of Construction Statistics at the ABS. "Private sector houses also fell, by 1.0 per cent."

Across the states and territories, dwelling approvals decreased in August in the Australian Capital Territory (27.7 per cent), Northern Territory (8.7 per cent), New South Wales (5.4 per cent), Victoria (4.0 per cent), Queensland (2.3 per cent), South Australia (0.9 per cent), Tasmania (0.4 per cent) and Western Australia (0.2 per cent), in trend terms.

In trend terms, approvals for private sector houses fell in Western Australia (4.3 per cent), Queensland (1.7 per cent), South Australia (1.6 per cent) and Victoria (1.0 per cent), but rose in New South Wales (0.9 per cent).

The seasonally adjusted estimate for total dwellings approved fell 1.1 per cent in August, driven by a 2.4 per cent decrease in private houses. Private dwellings excluding houses rose 3.1 per cent in seasonally adjusted terms.

The value of total building approved rose 1.1 per cent in August, in trend terms, and has risen for eight months. The value of residential building fell 2.9 per cent, while non-residential building rose 5.7 per cent in trend terms.

"The value of non-residential building approved has risen for 12 months, to a record high of $4.8 billion. The rise in August was driven by approvals for health buildings in New South Wales," said Mr Rossi.

Further information is available in Building Approvals, Australia (cat no. 8731.0).

Media note:
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