March key figures
Value of work done, chain volume measures
| Mar qtr 20 | Dec qtr 19 to Mar qtr 20 | Mar qtr 19 to Mar qtr 20 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| $m | % change | % change | |
| Trend estimates(a) | |||
| Value of work done | 29 217.2 | -1.1 | -5.5 |
| New residential building | 15 090.9 | -2.8 | -12.7 |
| Alterations and additions to residential building | 2 323.5 | 1.4 | 1.8 |
| Non-residential building | 11 790.5 | 0.7 | 3.9 |
| Seasonally adjusted estimates(a) | |||
| Value of work done | 29 194.4 | -0.5 | -7.1 |
| New residential building | 15 199.8 | -1.0 | -12.8 |
| Alterations and additions to residential building | 2 334.0 | 2.1 | 3.1 |
| Non-residential building | 11 660.7 | -0.3 | -0.6 |
a. Reference year for chain volume measures is 2017-18
Building work done
- The trend estimate of the value of total building work done fell 1.1% in the March quarter.
- The seasonally adjusted estimate of the value of total building work done fell 0.5% to $29,194.4m following a fall of 3.3% in the December quarter.
New residential building work done
- The trend estimate of the value of new residential building work done fell 2.8% in the March quarter. The value of work done on new houses fell 1.3%, while new other residential building fell 4.8%.
- The seasonally adjusted estimate of the value of new residential building work done fell 1.0% to $15,199.8m. Work done on new houses rose 2.1% to $8,726.1m, while new other residential building fell 4.9% to $6,473.6m.
Non-residential work done
- The trend estimate of the value of non-residential building work done rose 0.7% in the March quarter.
- The seasonally adjusted estimate of the value of non-residential building work done in the quarter fell 0.3% following a fall of 1.9% in the December quarter.
Dwelling units commenced
| Mar qtr 20 | Dec qtr 19 to Mar qtr 20 | Mar qtr 19 to Mar qtr 20 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| no. | % change | % change | |
| Trend estimates | |||
| Total dwelling units commenced | 43 312 | 1.2 | -6.4 |
| New private sector houses | 24 985 | 0.3 | -8.3 |
| New private sector other residential building | 17 638 | 3.1 | -2.7 |
| Seasonally adjusted estimates | |||
| Total dwelling units commenced | 44 434 | 3.8 | -1.6 |
| New private sector houses | 25 229 | 1.2 | -10.7 |
| New private sector other residential building | 18 521 | 7.7 | 13.6 |
Total dwellings
- The trend estimate for the total number of dwelling units commenced rose 1.2% in the March quarter following a fall of 0.1% in the December quarter.
- The seasonally adjusted estimate for the total number of dwelling units commenced rose 3.8% to 44,434 dwellings in the March quarter following a rise of 4.5% in the December quarter.
New private sector houses
- The trend estimate for new private sector house commencements rose 0.3% in the March quarter following a fall of 1.5% in the December quarter.
- The seasonally adjusted estimate for new private sector house commencements rose 1.2% to 25,229 dwellings in the March quarter following a fall of 0.2% in the December quarter.
New private sector other residential building
- The trend estimate for new private sector other residential building commencements rose 3.1% in the March quarter following a rise of 2.4% in the December quarter.
- The seasonally adjusted estimate for new private sector other residential building rose 7.7% to 18,521 dwellings in the March quarter following a rise of 13.8% in the December quarter.
Significant revisions this issue
Compared to the estimate published in Building Activity, Australia December 2019 (cat. no. 8752.0) released on 15 April 2020:
- the total value of work done in Australia during the December 2019 quarter has been revised upwards by $557.3m or 1.8%.
- the total value of work commenced in Australia during the December 2019 quarter has been revised upwards $1,636.7m or 6.0%. This was driven by an upward revision to total residential commencements of $1,148.0m (7.0%), and an upward revision to total non-residential commencements of $488.8m (4.5%).
- the number of dwelling unit commencements in the December 2019 quarter has been revised upwards by 986 dwellings or 2.3%.
Data note
For the March Building Activity release each year, the ABS publishes revisions that have been made to Building Activity data prior to the December quarter. In this release, revisions have been provided back to September 2015. A feature article has been included in the December 2015 Building Activity, Australia (cat no. 8752.0) publication explaining potential sources of revisions in more detail.
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.
The ABS is currently monitoring for potential impacts from the Coronavirus (COVID-19) on construction activity statistics and will continue to do so for the period of the pandemic.
Quality assurance of March quarter data did not identify any impact to headline statistics. The designation of construction as an essential service enabled activity to progress despite social distancing restrictions implemented from late March. Since it takes some time to approve and commence an application for building construction work, there will be a lag between any change in demand, the number of applications and subsequent impacts on new work.
The ABS is actively managing the potential risks from COVID-19 to data collection operations. The ABS appreciates the support of survey respondents in continuing to provide the data to compile this publication.
Inquiries
For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070. The ABS Privacy Policy outlines how the ABS will handle any personal information that you provide to us.