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Building Activity, Australia

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Data download

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

Reference period
December 2023
Released
10/04/2024

Key statistics

In seasonally adjusted terms:

  • Total dwelling commencements rose 1.3% to 38,397 dwellings.
  • New private sector house commencements rose 3.0% to 23,597 dwellings.
  • New private sector other residential commencements fell 2.7% to 13,738 dwellings.
  • The value of total building work done fell 1.0% to $34.2b.

Number of dwellings commenced

Number of dwellings commenced, seasonally adjusted

Number of dwellings commenced, seasonally adjusted
 Dec qtr 23
no.
Sep qtr 23 to Dec qtr 23
% change
Dec qtr 22 to Dec qtr 23
% change
New private sector houses23,5973.0-14.9
New private sector other residential13,738-2.711.4
Total sector total dwellings38,3971.3-6.4

Number of dwellings commenced, trend

Number of dwellings commenced, trend
 Dec qtr 23
no.
Sep qtr 23 to Dec qtr 23
% change
Dec qtr 22 to Dec qtr 23
% change
New private sector houses22,862-4.0-18.4
New private sector other residential13,367-8.9-9.2
Total sector total dwellings37,207-5.7-15.0

Dwellings commenced

Dwellings commenced

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The chart has 1 X axis displaying .
The chart has 1 Y axis displaying no.. Data ranges from 37207 to 67206.
End of interactive chart.

Private dwellings commenced, seasonally adjusted

Private dwellings commenced, seasonally adjusted

Line chart with 2 lines.
The chart has 1 X axis displaying .
The chart has 1 Y axis displaying no.. Data ranges from 12336 to 42595.
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The total number of dwelling units commenced in Australia rose 1.3% to 38,397 dwellings in the December quarter, in seasonally adjusted terms. Private sector houses drove the increase, rising 3.0% to 23,597 dwellings and follows a fall of 14.9% since December 2022. Private sector other residential houses commencements fell 2.7% to 13,738 dwellings, following a fall of 7.2% in the September quarter and are up 11.4% through the year.

Dwellings under construction, original

Dwellings under construction, original

Line chart with 33 data points.
The chart has 1 X axis displaying .
The chart has 1 Y axis displaying no.. Data ranges from 183709 to 243456.
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Dwellings under construction fell 3.3% to 226,035 dwellings in the December quarter. New houses accounted for 89,490 of the dwellings under construction.

Number of dwellings completed

Number of dwellings completed, seasonally adjusted

Number of dwellings completed, seasonally adjusted
 Dec qtr 23
no.
Sep qtr 23 to Dec qtr 23
% change
Dec qtr 22 to Dec qtr 23
% change
New private sector houses29,8304.512.3
New private sector other residential12,116-15.2-25.3
Total sector total dwellings43,332-1.0-1.3

Number of dwellings completed, trend

Number of dwellings completed, trend
 Dec qtr 23
no.
Sep qtr 23 to Dec qtr 23
% change
Dec qtr 22 to Dec qtr 23
% change
New private sector houses29,4573.37.9
New private sector other residential12,389-6.3-22.0
Total sector total dwellings43,0680.6-2.4

Total dwellings completed

Total dwellings completed

Line chart with 2 lines.
The chart has 1 X axis displaying .
The chart has 1 Y axis displaying no.. Data ranges from 40725 to 58788.
End of interactive chart.

Private dwellings completed, seasonally adjusted

Private dwellings completed, seasonally adjusted

Line chart with 2 lines.
The chart has 1 X axis displaying .
The chart has 1 Y axis displaying no.. Data ranges from 11701 to 32947.
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The total number of dwelling units completed in Australia fell 1.0% to 43,332 dwellings in the December quarter, in seasonally adjusted terms. Private sector other residential buildings drove the decline, falling 15.2% to 12,116 dwellings and are 25.3% lower for the year. Private sector new house completions rose 4.5% to 29,830 dwellings, and are up 12.3% for the year.

Value of work done

Value of work done, seasonally adjusted chain volume measures (a)

Value of work done, seasonally adjusted chain volume measures (a)
 Dec qtr 23
$m
Sep qtr 23 to Dec qtr 23
% change
Dec qtr 22 to Dec qtr 23
% change
New residential building16,915.6-4.4-1.5
Alterations and additions to residential building2,739.1-8.1-7.4
Non-residential building14,568.04.912.0
Total value of work done34,222.7-1.03.3

Value of work done, trend chain volume measures (a)

Value of work done, trend chain volume measures (a)
 Dec qtr 23
$m
Sep qtr 23 to Dec qtr 23
% change
Dec qtr 22 to Dec qtr 23
% change
New residential building17,268.5-0.81.9
Alterations and additions to residential building2,816.3-2.6-4.7
Non-residential building14,371.71.87.7
Total value of work done34,469.40.23.7

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

Value of work done, total building, chain volume measures

Value of work done, total building, chain volume measures

Line chart with 2 lines.
The chart has 1 X axis displaying .
The chart has 1 Y axis displaying $m. Data ranges from 31808.3 to 35257.1.
End of interactive chart.

Value of work done, seasonally adjusted chain volume measures

Value of work done, seasonally adjusted chain volume measures

Line chart with 2 lines.
The chart has 1 X axis displaying .
The chart has 1 Y axis displaying $m. Data ranges from 10039 to 20600.3.
End of interactive chart.

The value of total building work done fell 1.0% to $34.2b in the December quarter, in seasonally adjusted terms. The decrease was driven by new residential building, which decreased by 4.4% to $16.9b and follows an increase of 1.0% in the September quarter. Work done on non-residential building rose 4.9% to $14.6b and is 12.0% higher for the year. Work done on alterations and additions to residential buildings fell 8.1% to $2.7b.

This release includes updated data on the average cost and average floor area for new residential dwellings in the Data downloads section. For more information, please refer to the Article archive section. 

Data downloads

Time series spreadsheets

Data files
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 December 2023 quarter will be released in the next release of this publication, Building Activity, Australia on 17 July 2024.

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

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.
View full methodology