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Construction Work Done, Australia, Preliminary

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Provides preliminary estimates of value of total construction work done, building work done and engineering construction work done

Reference period

March 2024

Released

29/05/2024

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Key statistics

In seasonally adjusted terms in the March quarter:

Total construction work done fell 2.9% to $64,032.5m
Building work done fell 3.7% to $33,315.1m
Engineering work done fell 2.1% to $30,717.4m

The trend estimate for total construction work done fell 0.3%.

Value of construction work done

Value of construction work done, chain volume measures, seasonally adjusted estimates (a)
	Mar qtr 24 ($m)	Dec qtr 23 to Mar qtr 24 (%)	Mar qtr 23 to Mar qtr 24 (%)
Building	33,315.1	-3.7	-2.0
Residential	19,581.4	-1.2	-2.8
Non-residential	13,733.7	-7.0	-0.9
Engineering	30,717.4	-2.1	6.2
Total construction	64,032.5	-2.9	1.8

Reference year for Chain Volume Measures is 2021-22.

Value of construction work done, chain volume measures, trend estimates (a)
	Mar qtr 24 ($m)	Dec qtr 23 to Mar qtr 24 (%)	Mar qtr 23 to Mar qtr 24 (%)
Building	33,744.8	-1.4	-0.7
Residential	19,613.7	-2.0	-3.4
Non-residential	14,130.8	-0.4	3.2
Engineering	31,127.0	0.8	8.9
Total construction	64,898.8	-0.3	3.7

Reference year for Chain Volume Measures is 2021-22.

Value of construction work done, seasonally adjusted chain volume measures
	Total building ($m)	Engineering construction ($m)
Mar-16	32,300.5	27,789.1
Jun-16	33,279.0	24,994.3
Sep-16	32,075.7	23,948.4
Dec-16	33,040.6	24,080.2
Mar-17	32,781.3	24,921.4
Jun-17	32,943.4	30,067.1
Sep-17	33,411.8	41,007.0
Dec-17	34,076.7	27,545.2
Mar-18	34,457.4	28,386.3
Jun-18	35,251.1	28,060.8
Sep-18	34,937.5	26,295.8
Dec-18	35,101.2	25,391.2
Mar-19	34,998.0	24,483.2
Jun-19	33,447.6	23,941.2
Sep-19	34,163.2	23,941.5
Dec-19	33,249.9	23,761.0
Mar-20	33,617.9	23,753.9
Jun-20	32,617.2	24,918.7
Sep-20	32,277.4	24,075.4
Dec-20	32,833.3	23,604.1
Mar-21	33,158.7	23,916.8
Jun-21	33,753.8	24,934.9
Sep-21	33,453.8	24,384.2
Dec-21	33,364.4	25,257.6
Mar-22	33,548.9	24,857.6
Jun-22	32,455.5	25,249.6
Sep-22	33,304.9	26,681.2
Dec-22	33,355.4	26,984.5
Mar-23	34,003.2	28,910.7
Jun-23	34,463.3	29,656.0
Sep-23	34,490.5	30,287.4
Dec-23	34,577.8	31,387.5
Mar-24	33,315.1	30,717.4

Value of construction work done, seasonally adjusted chain volume measures

["","Total building","Engineering construction"]

[["Mar-16","Jun-16","Sep-16","Dec-16","Mar-17","Jun-17","Sep-17","Dec-17","Mar-18","Jun-18","Sep-18","Dec-18","Mar-19","Jun-19","Sep-19","Dec-19","Mar-20","Jun-20","Sep-20","Dec-20","Mar-21","Jun-21","Sep-21","Dec-21","Mar-22","Jun-22","Sep-22","Dec-22","Mar-23","Jun-23","Sep-23","Dec-23","Mar-24"],[[32300.5],[33279],[32075.700000000001],[33040.599999999999],[32781.300000000003],[32943.400000000001],[33411.800000000003],[34076.699999999997],[34457.400000000001],[35251.099999999999],[34937.5],[35101.199999999997],[34998],[33447.599999999999],[34163.199999999997],[33249.900000000001],[33617.900000000001],[32617.200000000001],[32277.400000000001],[32833.300000000003],[33158.699999999997],[33753.800000000003],[33453.800000000003],[33364.400000000001],[33548.900000000001],[32455.5],[33304.900000000001],[33355.400000000001],[34003.199999999997],[34463.300000000003],[34490.5],[34577.800000000003],[33315.099999999999]],[[27789.099999999999],[24994.299999999999],[23948.400000000001],[24080.200000000001],[24921.400000000001],[30067.099999999999],[41007],[27545.200000000001],[28386.299999999999],[28060.799999999999],[26295.799999999999],[25391.200000000001],[24483.200000000001],[23941.200000000001],[23941.5],[23761],[23753.900000000001],[24918.700000000001],[24075.400000000001],[23604.099999999999],[23916.799999999999],[24934.900000000001],[24384.200000000001],[25257.599999999999],[24857.599999999999],[25249.599999999999],[26681.200000000001],[26984.5],[28910.700000000001],[29656],[30287.400000000001],[31387.5],[30717.400000000001]]]

[]

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a. Reference year for Chain Volume Measures is 2021-22.

The value of total construction work done fell 2.9% in the March quarter, in seasonally adjusted terms. The decrease was driven by building work, which fell 3.7% in the March quarter and is 2.0% lower than the same time last year. Engineering work fell 2.1% and is 6.2% higher than the same time last year.

The trend estimate for total construction work done fell 0.3% in the March quarter.

Value of building work done, seasonally adjusted chain volume measures
	Total residential ($m)	Total non-residential ($m)
Mar-16	21,972.7	10,431.6
Jun-16	22,443.2	10,928.4
Sep-16	22,163.7	10,032.1
Dec-16	22,871.6	10,295.1
Mar-17	21,908.0	10,951.7
Jun-17	21,933.0	11,084.9
Sep-17	21,958.4	11,515.3
Dec-17	22,018.2	12,102.8
Mar-18	22,575.9	11,943.1
Jun-18	23,307.4	12,017.6
Sep-18	23,138.5	11,872.8
Dec-18	22,928.4	12,232.5
Mar-19	22,213.8	12,815.0
Jun-19	21,390.5	12,094.0
Sep-19	21,105.9	13,062.3
Dec-19	20,286.5	12,957.3
Mar-20	20,134.9	13,460.1
Jun-20	19,399.1	13,189.6
Sep-20	19,485.9	12,777.4
Dec-20	20,353.6	12,491.1
Mar-21	20,811.4	12,370.6
Jun-21	20,939.9	12,824.7
Sep-21	20,747.6	12,716.3
Dec-21	20,415.7	12,948.5
Mar-22	20,620.1	12,932.6
Jun-22	19,456.2	12,985.5
Sep-22	19,751.1	13,553.8
Dec-22	20,176.1	13,179.3
Mar-23	20,141.7	13,861.5
Jun-23	20,432.2	14,031.1
Sep-23	20,661.4	13,829.2
Dec-23	19,814.9	14,762.9
Mar-24	19,581.4	13,733.7

Value of building work done, seasonally adjusted chain volume measures

["","Total residential","Total non-residential"]

[["Mar-16","Jun-16","Sep-16","Dec-16","Mar-17","Jun-17","Sep-17","Dec-17","Mar-18","Jun-18","Sep-18","Dec-18","Mar-19","Jun-19","Sep-19","Dec-19","Mar-20","Jun-20","Sep-20","Dec-20","Mar-21","Jun-21","Sep-21","Dec-21","Mar-22","Jun-22","Sep-22","Dec-22","Mar-23","Jun-23","Sep-23","Dec-23","Mar-24"],[[21972.700000000001],[22443.200000000001],[22163.700000000001],[22871.599999999999],[21908],[21933],[21958.400000000001],[22018.200000000001],[22575.900000000001],[23307.400000000001],[23138.5],[22928.400000000001],[22213.799999999999],[21390.5],[21105.900000000001],[20286.5],[20134.900000000001],[19399.099999999999],[19485.900000000001],[20353.599999999999],[20811.400000000001],[20939.900000000001],[20747.599999999999],[20415.700000000001],[20620.099999999999],[19456.200000000001],[19751.099999999999],[20176.099999999999],[20141.700000000001],[20432.200000000001],[20661.400000000001],[19814.900000000001],[19581.400000000001]],[[10431.6],[10928.4],[10032.1],[10295.1],[10951.700000000001],[11084.9],[11515.299999999999],[12102.799999999999],[11943.1],[12017.6],[11872.799999999999],[12232.5],[12815],[12094],[13062.299999999999],[12957.299999999999],[13460.1],[13189.6],[12777.4],[12491.1],[12370.6],[12824.700000000001],[12716.299999999999],[12948.5],[12932.6],[12985.5],[13553.799999999999],[13179.299999999999],[13861.5],[14031.1],[13829.200000000001],[14762.9],[13733.700000000001]]]

[]

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[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"$m","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"($m)","table_units":"($m)","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":null,"precision":"1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

a. Reference year for Chain Volume Measures is 2021-22.

The value of building work fell 3.7% in the March quarter, in seasonally adjusted terms. The decrease was driven by a fall in non-residential building work, which decreased 7.0% in the March quarter and is 0.9% lower than at the same time last year. Residential building work fell 1.2% in the March quarter, 2.8% lower than at the same time last year.

The trend estimate for total building work done fell 1.4% in the March quarter.

Value of construction work done, seasonally adjusted chain volume measures
State/Territory	Mar qtr 24 ($m)	Dec qtr 23 to Mar qtr 24 (%)	Mar qtr 23 to Mar qtr 24 (%)
New South Wales	18,997.9	-1.7	1.1
Victoria	16,199.0	-2.5	-5.1
Queensland	12,366.7	-1.6	3.0
South Australia	3,789.5	-5.0	0.4
Western Australia	9,967.8	-2.7	16.4
Tasmania	1,038.1	-2.0	3.1
Northern Territory	746.5	-14.9	-1.1
Australian Capital Territory	996.4	-4.5	2.7

Reference year for Chain Volume Measures is 2021-22.

Total construction work done fell in in all states and territories.

Data downloads

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Data files

TABLE 01. Value of Construction Work Done, by Sector, Chain Volume Measures, Australia
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TABLE 02. Value of Construction Work Done, by Sector, Current Prices, Australia
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TABLE 03. Value of Building Work Done, by Sector, Chain Volume Measures, Australia
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TABLE 04. Value of Building Work Done, Chain Volume Measures, States and Territories, Original
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TABLE 05. Value of Building Work Done, Chain Volume Measures, States and Territories, Seasonally Adjusted
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TABLE 06. Value of Building Work Done, by Sector, Current Prices, Australia
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TABLE 07. Value of Building Work Done, by Sector, Current Prices, States and Territories, Original
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TABLE 08. Value of Construction Work Done, Chain Volume Measures, States and Territories
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TABLE 09. Value of Construction Work Done, Current Prices, States and Territories, Original
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TABLE 10. Engineering Construction Work Done, by Type of Construction, Australia, Original
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TABLE 11. Engineering Construction Work Done, by Type of Construction, States and Territories, Original
Download xlsx [176.36 KB]

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Data Cubes

Data files

Relative standard errors, building work done - Australia
Download xlsx [46.89 KB]
Relative standard errors, building work done - states and territories
Download xlsx [48.53 KB]
Relative standard errors, total construction work done - states and territories
Download xlsx [47.39 KB]
Relative standard errors, engineering construction work done - Australia
Download xlsx [47.44 KB]
Relative standard errors, engineering construction work done - states and territories
Download xlsx [48.27 KB]

About this issue

This publication provides an early indication of trends in building and engineering construction activity. The data are preliminary estimates with a response rate of approximately 80% of surveyed construction entities during the quarter. This is lower than the average response rate and places the data at increased risk of revision when results are updated in Engineering Construction Activity, Australia on 26 June 2024 and in Building Activity, Australia on 17 July 2024.

Mining projects tend to be complex in structure and comprise a number of different investment activities including exploration, engineering construction, plant and equipment and buildings. A feature article released in the March 2012 issue of Private New Capital Expenditure and Expected Expenditure, Australia provides a summary of the conceptual basis of the relevant ABS publications that measure investment in Australia, using a hypothetical mining project to illustrate how this investment is reflected in ABS data.

This release includes revisions to both the Building Activity and Engineering Construction Survey. Building Activity data have been revised back to December 2016 and Engineering Construction data have been revised back to December 2020. A feature article has been included in the December 2015 Building Activity, Australia publication explaining potential sources of revisions in more detail.

Seasonal adjustment for leap years

The extra leap year day in 2024 is unlikely to impact seasonally adjusted statistics released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) for February 2024 and March quarter 2024. This is because the impact of an additional leap year day is analysed as part of the seasonal adjustment process, which includes the impact of trading days. The impact of the extra leap year day will be evident in the original (non-seasonally adjusted) series. For further information please refer to this note.

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.

Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 8755.0.

Methodology

Scope

Building activity in Australia on approved work greater than $10,000.
All engineering construction work undertaken in Australia.

Geography

Data available for:

Australia
States and territories

Source

Building Activity Survey
Engineering Construction Survey

Collection method

Sample of contractors likely to conduct engineering construction activities, selected from the ABS business register each quarter.
Survey responses from builders and other individuals and organisations engaged in building activity.

Concepts, sources and methods

Engineering Construction:

Building Activity:

ABS Functional Classification of Buildings, January 2021.

History of changes

Trend series were reinstated in the September 2022 release.
Concurrent seasonal adjustment for building activity was reinstated in the September 2022 release.

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APA

Construction Work Done, Australia, Preliminary

APA

Key statistics

Value of construction work done

Data downloads

All time series workbooks

TABLE 01. Value of Construction Work Done, by Sector, Chain Volume Measures, Australia

TABLE 02. Value of Construction Work Done, by Sector, Current Prices, Australia

TABLE 03. Value of Building Work Done, by Sector, Chain Volume Measures, Australia

TABLE 04. Value of Building Work Done, Chain Volume Measures, States and Territories, Original

TABLE 05. Value of Building Work Done, Chain Volume Measures, States and Territories, Seasonally Adjusted

TABLE 06. Value of Building Work Done, by Sector, Current Prices, Australia

TABLE 07. Value of Building Work Done, by Sector, Current Prices, States and Territories, Original

TABLE 08. Value of Construction Work Done, Chain Volume Measures, States and Territories

TABLE 09. Value of Construction Work Done, Current Prices, States and Territories, Original

TABLE 10. Engineering Construction Work Done, by Type of Construction, Australia, Original

TABLE 11. Engineering Construction Work Done, by Type of Construction, States and Territories, Original