Australian Construction Industry 2026

The Australian construction industry has undoubtedly been a major contributor to the country’s economic growth. The industry has continued to create employment for hundreds of thousands of employees, contractors, and subcontractors, supports small-scale business operators in various trades and industries, and is expected to continue its growth trend in 2026.

A nationwide housing shortage has driven a surge in demand, leading to heightened construction activity across all Australian states and territories.

Although construction is sensitive to Reserve Bank cash rate decisions, persistent strong housing demand outpacing supply continues to drive robust construction activity nationwide.

We briefly review the building approval data from the ABS reference period March 2026 and the series of economic events that will influence the construction industry in the year.

Dwellings Approved March 2026 Key Figures
		Mar 26 (no.)	Monthly change (%)	Yearly change (%)
Seasonally adjusted
	Total dwelling units approved	17,300	-10.5	9.0
	Private sector houses	10,194	0.9	12.0
	Private sector dwellings excluding houses	6,632	-26.0	3.4
Trend
	Total dwelling units approved	17,657	0.5	13.1
	Private sector houses	10,142	1.1	10.1
	Private sector dwellings excluding houses	7,133	-0.6	16.6

(Source: ABS, May 2026, Building Approvals, Australia – SunX ABS website access 6 May 2026)

The key seasonally adjusted estimated data from the ABS, with the reference period March 2026, shows that dwelling approvals had declined by 10.5% to 17,300.

(Source: ABS, May 2026, Building Approvals, Australia – SunX ABS website access 6 May 2026)

Dwelling Units Approved (a)
	Seasonally adjusted (no.)	Trend (no.)
Mar-11	13,986	13,361
Apr-11	13,912	13,252
May-11	12,797	13,236
Jun-11	12,655	13,192
Jul-11	13,123	13,066
Aug-11	14,766	12,817
Sep-11	12,358	12,485
Oct-11	11,426	12,117
Nov-11	11,700	11,712
Dec-11	11,756	11,357
Jan-12	11,269	11,279
Feb-12	11,697	11,511
Mar-12	11,782	11,900
Apr-12	10,962	12,319
May-12	13,940	12,773
Jun-12	14,986	13,222
Jul-12	11,803	13,616
Aug-12	13,215	13,897
Sep-12	15,451	14,030
Oct-12	14,146	13,986
Nov-12	13,959	13,844
Dec-12	14,013	13,696
Jan-13	12,647	13,553
Feb-13	13,809	13,500
Mar-13	13,342	13,586
Apr-13	15,011	13,820
May-13	14,221	14,173
Jun-13	13,790	14,663
Jul-13	15,015	15,241
Aug-13	15,059	15,868
Sep-13	18,602	16,511
Oct-13	17,484	17,037
Nov-13	17,350	17,315
Dec-13	17,021	17,294
Jan-14	17,736	17,084
Feb-14	16,919	16,801
Mar-14	16,064	16,604
Apr-14	16,257	16,552
May-14	16,825	16,567
Jun-14	16,691	16,720
Jul-14	16,927	17,040
Aug-14	18,648	17,497
Sep-14	16,480	17,999
Oct-14	18,021	18,544
Nov-14	20,351	19,060
Dec-14	20,096	19,498
Jan-15	20,061	19,821
Feb-15	19,829	19,997
Mar-15	20,810	20,002
Apr-15	19,010	19,864
May-15	20,862	19,771
Jun-15	19,349	19,728
Jul-15	19,667	19,732
Aug-15	19,476	19,773
Sep-15	20,234	19,816
Oct-15	21,632	19,792
Nov-15	18,837	19,722
Dec-15	20,048	19,724
Jan-16	18,817	19,753
Feb-16	19,923	19,817
Mar-16	20,517	19,973
Apr-16	20,860	20,241
May-16	20,283	20,460
Jun-16	18,604	20,474
Jul-16	21,425	20,283
Aug-16	21,972	19,845
Sep-16	19,300	19,307
Oct-16	16,594	18,724
Nov-16	18,360	18,215
Dec-16	18,427	17,834
Jan-17	17,038	17,628
Feb-17	19,079	17,592
Mar-17	16,483	17,612
Apr-17	18,241	17,688
May-17	16,895	17,888
Jun-17	18,832	18,328
Jul-17	19,213	18,880
Aug-17	19,331	19,399
Sep-17	19,668	19,744
Oct-17	19,673	19,852
Nov-17	23,033	19,820
Dec-17	17,921	19,640
Jan-18	19,351	19,416
Feb-18	19,264	19,217
Mar-18	19,847	19,073
Apr-18	18,467	18,933
May-18	17,793	18,749
Jun-18	19,648	18,466
Jul-18	18,515	18,025
Aug-18	16,514	17,444
Sep-18	16,757	16,753
Oct-18	17,088	16,090
Nov-18	15,175	15,576
Dec-18	14,285	15,278
Jan-19	14,507	15,177
Feb-19	16,670	15,125
Mar-19	15,295	15,037
Apr-19	14,388	14,870
May-19	14,392	14,581
Jun-19	14,963	14,230
Jul-19	13,386	14,038
Aug-19	13,952	14,077
Sep-19	14,628	14,240
Oct-19	14,175	14,408
Nov-19	14,996	14,581
Dec-19	15,927	14,722
Jan-20	13,366	14,728
Feb-20	16,443	14,630
Mar-20	15,495	14,425
Apr-20	14,894	14,212
May-20	13,432	14,106
Jun-20	12,937	14,230
Jul-20	15,064	14,637
Aug-20	14,646	15,284
Sep-20	16,118	16,021
Oct-20	17,463	16,720
Nov-20	17,836	17,320
Dec-20	18,938	17,817
Jan-21	17,205	18,238
Feb-21	20,048	20,623
Mar-21	23,076	20,714
Apr-21	20,154	20,608
May-21	20,701	20,238
Jun-21	19,778	19,624
Jul-21	18,659	18,919
Aug-21	19,410	18,227
Sep-21	18,311	17,717
Oct-21	16,410	17,383
Nov-21	16,443	17,123
Dec-21	17,083	16,929
Jan-22	14,299	16,781
Feb-22	18,617	16,558
Mar-22	15,055	16,269
Apr-22	15,851	15,999
May-22	16,405	15,862
Jun-22	16,507	15,862
Jul-22	14,219	15,972
Aug-22	17,633	16,105
Sep-22	16,355	16,119
Oct-22	15,635	15,880
Nov-22	14,903	15,412
Dec-22	16,941	14,798
Jan-23	13,076	14,223
Feb-23	13,622	13,810
Mar-23	13,402	13,638
Apr-23	12,915	13,597
May-23	15,153	13,674
Jun-23	13,901	13,812
Jul-23	12,861	13,946
Aug-23	13,718	14,001
Sep-23	13,681	14,010
Oct-23	14,589	13,950
Nov-23	14,459	13,829
Dec-23	13,885	13,684
Jan-24	13,891	13,502
Feb-24	13,235	13,404
Mar-24	13,702	13,459
Apr-24	13,587	13,620
May-24	14,336	13,887
Jun-24	13,486	14,209
Jul-24	15,173	14,578
Aug-24	14,659	14,917
Sep-24	14,914	15,195
Oct-24	16,203	15,403
Nov-24	15,350	15,525
Dec-24	15,592	15,532
Jan-25	17,355	15,497
Feb-25	16,657	15,530
Mar-25	15,872	15,613
Apr-25	14,973	15,771
May-25	15,478	15,921
Jun-25	17,511	16,054
Jul-25	16,088	16,249
Aug-25	15,393	16,433
Sep-25	17,196	16,617
Oct-25	16,033	16,783
Nov-25	18,464	16,974
Dec-25	15,854	17,204
Jan-26	14,767	17,400
Feb-26	19,339	17,572
Mar-26	17,300	17,657
a. Trend break added to ‘Total dwelling units approved’ trend series for February 2021

(Source: ABS, May 2026, Building Approvals, Australia – SunX ABS website access 6 May 2026)

During the same reference period, private sector housing approvals rose 0.9% to 10,194, while private sector dwellings excluding houses fell 26.0% to 6632.

(Source: ABS, May 2026, Building Approvals, Australia – SunX ABS website access 6 May 2026)

Dwellings Approved, By Building Type (a)
	Seasonally adjusted – Private sector houses (no.)	Trend – Private sector houses (no.)	Seasonally adjusted – Private sector dwellings excluding houses (no.)	Trend – Private sector dwellings excluding houses (no.)
Mar-11	8,200	8,213	5,313	4,831
Apr-11	8,161	8,126	5,515	4,813
May-11	8,023	8,030	4,514	4,881
Jun-11	7,979	7,918	4,316	4,938
Jul-11	7,685	7,800	4,991	4,929
Aug-11	7,764	7,700	6,563	4,792
Sep-11	7,776	7,637	4,333	4,551
Oct-11	7,266	7,620	3,957	4,242
Nov-11	7,617	7,613	3,870	3,886
Dec-11	7,693	7,583	3,931	3,593
Jan-12	7,812	7,504	3,237	3,611
Feb-12	7,352	7,389	4,189	3,963
Mar-12	7,513	7,276	4,087	4,467
Apr-12	6,817	7,213	4,046	4,957
May-12	7,289	7,241	6,546	5,382
Jun-12	7,294	7,367	7,503	5,691
Jul-12	7,694	7,538	3,868	5,884
Aug-12	7,695	7,693	5,376	5,977
Sep-12	7,931	7,785	7,332	5,991
Oct-12	7,825	7,809	5,843	5,905
Nov-12	7,714	7,790	5,997	5,778
Dec-12	7,758	7,780	6,042	5,645
Jan-13	7,802	7,802	4,642	5,481
Feb-13	7,776	7,876	5,377	5,349
Mar-13	7,974	7,988	5,128	5,311
Apr-13	8,158	8,119	6,592	5,395
May-13	8,369	8,237	5,437	5,616
Jun-13	8,271	8,342	5,182	6,001
Jul-13	8,538	8,426	6,227	6,501
Aug-13	8,420	8,522	6,323	7,041
Sep-13	8,676	8,678	9,610	7,535
Oct-13	8,711	8,899	8,511	7,847
Nov-13	9,256	9,153	7,778	7,873
Dec-13	9,075	9,394	7,690	7,611
Jan-14	10,203	9,580	7,181	7,217
Feb-14	9,751	9,692	6,947	6,826
Mar-14	9,367	9,736	6,422	6,589
Apr-14	9,753	9,733	6,169	6,545
May-14	9,786	9,710	6,814	6,589
Jun-14	9,672	9,699	6,739	6,762
Jul-14	9,762	9,703	6,942	7,092
Aug-14	9,724	9,723	8,632	7,536
Sep-14	9,549	9,739	6,690	8,012
Oct-14	9,863	9,764	7,963	8,504
Nov-14	9,843	9,793	10,258	8,952
Dec-14	9,717	9,795	9,947	9,351
Jan-15	9,931	9,767	9,647	9,677
Feb-15	9,718	9,716	9,769	9,900
Mar-15	9,627	9,672	10,854	9,970
Apr-15	9,569	9,665	9,118	9,878
May-15	9,562	9,705	11,001	9,782
Jun-15	9,919	9,759	9,192	9,709
Jul-15	9,743	9,812	9,059	9,672
Aug-15	10,107	9,853	9,181	9,687
Sep-15	9,807	9,866	10,121	9,736
Oct-15	9,746	9,864	11,628	9,728
Nov-15	9,670	9,871	9,086	9,664
Dec-15	10,246	9,907	9,632	9,632
Jan-16	9,824	9,965	8,687	9,594
Feb-16	9,847	10,011	9,766	9,601
Mar-16	10,214	10,019	10,092	9,734
Apr-16	10,031	9,976	10,629	10,030
May-16	10,018	9,903	9,951	10,310
Jun-16	9,662	9,824	8,779	10,390
Jul-16	9,608	9,759	11,599	10,247
Aug-16	9,717	9,698	11,768	9,857
Sep-16	9,788	9,646	9,344	9,369
Oct-16	9,571	9,587	6,699	8,857
Nov-16	9,628	9,504	8,421	8,451
Dec-16	9,392	9,412	8,885	8,183
Jan-17	9,148	9,342	7,665	8,066
Feb-17	9,444	9,337	9,417	8,042
Mar-17	9,317	9,419	6,928	7,981
Apr-17	9,500	9,575	8,510	7,903
May-17	9,798	9,767	6,940	7,907
Jun-17	9,959	9,950	8,668	8,159
Jul-17	10,235	10,091	8,668	8,568
Aug-17	10,233	10,165	8,895	9,009
Sep-17	10,115	10,171	9,304	9,344
Oct-17	10,135	10,127	9,197	9,492
Nov-17	10,062	10,101	12,804	9,483
Dec-17	10,202	10,117	7,544	9,287
Jan-18	9,825	10,173	9,235	9,010
Feb-18	10,273	10,246	8,701	8,746
Mar-18	10,504	10,307	9,173	8,552
Apr-18	10,640	10,319	7,633	8,405
May-18	9,889	10,280	7,751	8,255
Jun-18	10,264	10,202	9,106	8,042
Jul-18	10,120	10,090	8,174	7,703
Aug-18	9,982	9,959	6,316	7,248
Sep-18	9,618	9,824	6,806	6,701
Oct-18	10,049	9,668	6,862	6,214
Nov-18	9,346	9,476	5,695	5,913
Dec-18	9,098	9,257	5,050	5,851
Jan-19	9,226	9,056	5,040	5,957
Feb-19	8,926	8,893	7,633	6,063
Mar-19	8,603	8,779	6,454	6,073
Apr-19	8,601	8,727	5,662	5,947
May-19	8,773	8,711	5,390	5,670
Jun-19	8,904	8,690	5,818	5,344
Jul-19	8,610	8,657	4,560	5,190
Aug-19	8,535	8,605	5,296	5,286
Sep-19	8,779	8,544	5,700	5,518
Oct-19	8,180	8,499	5,782	5,739
Nov-19	8,497	8,495	6,317	5,922
Dec-19	8,647	8,530	7,097	6,025
Jan-20	8,548	8,586	4,672	5,964
Feb-20	8,716	8,641	7,574	5,752
Mar-20	8,664	8,683	6,606	5,485
Apr-20	8,841	8,728	5,682	5,209
May-20	8,818	8,820	4,322	4,993
Jun-20	8,425	9,026	4,153	4,892
Jul-20	9,159	9,370	5,651	4,936
Aug-20	9,652	9,845	4,774	5,094
Sep-20	10,527	10,394	5,051	5,270
Oct-20	11,073	10,948	6,019	5,410
Nov-20	11,537	11,435	5,905	5,524
Dec-20	13,154	11,788	5,552	5,686
Jan-21	11,979	11,969	4,822	5,947
Feb-21	13,915	14,065	5,731	6,256
Mar-21	14,337	13,904	8,277	6,516
Apr-21	13,465	13,587	6,442	6,724
May-21	13,744	13,125	6,696	6,812
Jun-21	12,548	12,562	6,854	6,756
Jul-21	12,182	11,942	6,233	6,669
Aug-21	12,061	11,369	7,058	6,565
Sep-21	10,740	10,918	7,352	6,523
Oct-21	10,353	10,610	5,482	6,494
Nov-21	10,396	10,415	5,823	6,401
Dec-21	10,120	10,293	6,701	6,284
Jan-22	9,616	10,189	4,454	6,198
Feb-22	9,743	10,053	7,911	6,088
Mar-22	9,758	9,900	4,968	5,959
Apr-22	9,739	9,776	5,958	5,854
May-22	9,591	9,713	6,495	5,840
Jun-22	9,720	9,702	6,428	5,898
Jul-22	9,589	9,695	4,440	6,026
Aug-22	10,146	9,632	7,248	6,207
Sep-22	9,333	9,471	6,854	6,362
Oct-22	9,218	9,258	5,925	6,341
Nov-22	8,955	9,022	5,608	6,120
Dec-22	8,768	8,801	8,020	5,746
Jan-23	8,533	8,621	4,415	5,369
Feb-23	8,606	8,470	4,752	5,111
Mar-23	8,412	8,351	4,689	5,044
Apr-23	8,209	8,254	4,481	5,074
May-23	8,169	8,207	6,772	5,177
Jun-23	8,162	8,216	5,244	5,313
Jul-23	8,074	8,292	4,582	5,393
Aug-23	8,763	8,413	4,759	5,349
Sep-23	8,321	8,531	5,133	5,243
Oct-23	8,775	8,620	5,623	5,082
Nov-23	8,682	8,677	5,587	4,879
Dec-23	8,898	8,717	4,474	4,668
Jan-24	8,453	8,757	5,201	4,436
Feb-24	8,687	8,817	4,180	4,294
Mar-24	9,242	8,905	4,293	4,297
Apr-24	8,886	9,020	4,404	4,376
May-24	9,132	9,162	5,044	4,512
Jun-24	9,204	9,297	4,063	4,664
Jul-24	9,432	9,391	5,482	4,860
Aug-24	9,491	9,420	4,814	5,079
Sep-24	9,657	9,393	4,629	5,310
Oct-24	9,182	9,315	6,499	5,568
Nov-24	9,178	9,213	5,438	5,811
Dec-24	8,974	9,144	6,342	5,949
Jan-25	9,123	9,123	7,936	6,012
Feb-25	9,246	9,155	7,160	6,072
Mar-25	9,105	9,208	6,416	6,115
Apr-25	9,418	9,256	5,228	6,199
May-25	9,316	9,280	5,920	6,284
Jun-25	9,147	9,289	7,955	6,367
Jul-25	9,436	9,296	6,033	6,538
Aug-25	9,175	9,320	5,867	6,696
Sep-25	9,468	9,372	7,384	6,845
Oct-25	9,405	9,466	6,286	6,945
Nov-25	9,559	9,596	8,437	7,030
Dec-25	9,715	9,741	5,915	7,122
Jan-26	9,910	9,890	4,460	7,160
Feb-26	10,107	10,032	8,967	7,174
Mar-26	10,194	10,142	6,632	7,133
a. Trend break added to ‘Private sector houses’ trend series for February 2021

(Source: ABS, May 2026, Building Approvals, Australia – SunX ABS website access 6 May 2026)

Additionally, over the same reference period and in dollar terms, the value of total residential building fell by 15.8% to AUD10.77b, and the value of total non-residential building fell by 25.3% to AUD5.97b.

For the seasonally adjusted total dwellings data by state for the March 2026 reference, NSW and Tasmania saw increases in approvals, while all the other states saw declines.

For private-sector housing approvals in March 2026, NSW and Queensland saw increases, while all other states saw decreases.

Dwellings Approved, States and Territories (a), Seasonally Adjusted
	Private sector houses	Private sector houses	Total dwelling units approved	Total dwelling units approved
	(no.)	Monthly change (%)	(no.)	Monthly change (%)
New South Wales	2,351	9.5	4,445	3.2
Victoria	2,853	-2.5	5,102	-16.9
Queensland	2,258	7.2	3,910	-6.4
South Australia	816	-6.2	1,278	-2.1
Western Australia	1,632	-8.6	2,158	-15.5
Tasmania	na	na	197	2.6
Northern Territory	na	na	na	na
Australian Capital Territory	na	na	na	na
Australia	10,194	0.9	17,300	-10.5

(Source: ABS, May 2026, Building Approvals, Australia – SunX ABS website access 6 May 2026)

Approvals for private-sector houses, in trend terms by state, saw NSW, Queensland and Victoria with increased approvals in March 2026.

Dwellings Approved, States and Territories (a), Trend
	Private sector houses	Private sector houses	Total dwelling units approved	Total dwelling units approved
	(no.)	Monthly change (%)	(no.)	Monthly change (%)
New South Wales	2,187	3.0	4,282	-0.5
Victoria	2,840	1.2	5,178	1.5
Queensland	2,212	1.0	3,975	0.9
South Australia	846	-0.2	1,274	0.6
Western Australia	1,762	-0.2	2,358	0.4
Tasmania	na	na	209	-1.9
Northern Territory	na	na	46	-11.5
Australian Capital Territory	na	na	337	-3.4
Australia	10,142	1.1	17,657	0.5

(Source: ABS, May 2026, Building Approvals, Australia – SunX ABS website access 6 May 2026)

The seasonally adjusted total value of non-residential building fell 25.3% to AUD5.97b in March 2026, much faster than the total value of residential building, which fell 15.8% to AUD10.77b.

(Source: ABS, May 2026, Building Approvals, Australia – SunX ABS website access 6 May 2026)

Value of Building Approved (a), by Building Type
	Seasonally adjusted – Residential ($m)	Trend – Residential ($m)	Seasonally adjusted – Non-residential ($m)	Trend – Non-residential ($m)
Mar-11	4,102.1	3,969.1	3,898.1	2,328.1
Apr-11	4,068.7	3,936	2,432.7	2,357.2
May-11	3,798.6	3,918.5	2,302.5	2,408.9
Jun-11	3,848.1	3,897.4	2,383	2,471.5
Jul-11	3,735.3	3,856.9	2,542.7	2,530.6
Aug-11	4,396.1	3,784.9	2,808.4	2,557.3
Sep-11	3,649.6	3,696.4	3,081	2,552.9
Oct-11	3,547.2	3,611.3	2,807.5	2,518.8
Nov-11	3,487.1	3,530.3	2,136.8	2,458.9
Dec-11	3,390.6	3,473.4	2,559.3	2,392.6
Jan-12	3,474.9	3,469.8	5,229.3	2,349.7
Feb-12	3,639.4	3,520	2,753.8	2,347.4
Mar-12	3,531.5	3,575.9	2,304.9	2,391.8
Apr-12	3,417.1	3,614.3	2,097	2,460.1
May-12	4,188.6	3,652	3,731	2,545.6
Jun-12	4,346.7	3,701.5	2,922.6	2,627.7
Jul-12	3,529.6	3,775.1	2,774.4	2,683.2
Aug-12	4,182.4	3,869.1	2,766.8	2,708.3
Sep-12	4,608.7	3,963.7	2,474.8	2,710.8
Oct-12	4,051.2	4,031.6	2,962.6	2,700.3
Nov-12	4,043	4,068.7	2,567.1	2,729.8
Dec-12	4,123.4	4,077.7	2,627.6	2,837.4
Jan-13	3,953.8	4,061.8	3,314.7	2,986.3
Feb-13	4,146.8	4,053.5	2,731.5	3,138.5
Mar-13	4,011.7	4,069.5	3,364.9	3,241.5
Apr-13	4,321.9	4,113.7	3,608.8	3,254.4
May-13	4,167.5	4,182.8	3,443.3	3,198.3
Jun-13	4,194.1	4,299.1	2,745.5	3,108.4
Jul-13	4,405.5	4,454.8	2,857.5	3,051.1
Aug-13	4,372.4	4,635.4	3,067.4	3,059.6
Sep-13	5,129.4	4,821.3	2,948.1	3,136
Oct-13	5,129.9	4,978.5	3,692.1	3,280.2
Nov-13	4,969.8	5,069.2	3,163.6	3,388.5
Dec-13	4,996.2	5,073.4	3,466.7	3,378.1
Jan-14	5,187.4	5,025.5	3,300.5	3,239.9
Feb-14	4,981.5	4,961.2	3,300.7	3,023.3
Mar-14	4,820.5	4,935.2	2,942.7	2,787.4
Apr-14	4,769.4	4,955.3	1,780.7	2,593.4
May-14	4,993.7	4,976.2	2,605.8	2,467.2
Jun-14	5,249.1	4,996.3	3,847.3	2,402.9
Jul-14	4,962.5	5,026.7	2,467.4	2,400.1
Aug-14	5,462	5,094.1	2,483.3	2,444
Sep-14	4,613.1	5,207.8	2,437.2	2,509.8
Oct-14	5,124.1	5,380.3	2,280.6	2,579
Nov-14	6,013.3	5,584.4	2,762.8	2,640.9
Dec-14	5,800.8	5,789.8	2,843.6	2,686
Jan-15	6,197.6	5,949.8	3,904.8	2,675.7
Feb-15	5,785.6	6,040.8	2,422.5	2,625.3
Mar-15	6,152.1	6,074.9	2,582.8	2,573.9
Apr-15	5,833	6,067.7	2,302.4	2,561.6
May-15	6,409.1	6,071.6	2,602.7	2,601.5
Jun-15	5,902.2	6,081.6	2,776.8	2,691.9
Jul-15	6,169.6	6,097.9	2,978.9	2,804.5
Aug-15	6,050.3	6,116.9	2,933.9	2,914.2
Sep-15	5,980	6,125.9	2,918.1	3,004.4
Oct-15	6,702.7	6,126.6	2,860.4	3,057.3
Nov-15	6,039.2	6,132.1	3,378.2	3,073.7
Dec-15	6,394.8	6,168.3	3,149.9	3,054.6
Jan-16	5,795.8	6,222.9	3,032	3,023.6
Feb-16	6,307.9	6,288.7	2,908.5	3,022.5
Mar-16	6,414.1	6,375.4	2,725.2	3,034.5
Apr-16	6,907.6	6,494.1	3,392.9	3,114.5
May-16	6,460.2	6,605.2	2,999.9	3,276.3
Jun-16	6,249.4	6,646.7	3,864.5	3,472.2
Jul-16	6,702.5	6,586.3	3,439.8	3,628.9
Aug-16	7,153.9	6,421.7	3,046.2	3,684.3
Sep-16	6,178.4	6,236.9	5,552.9	3,622.4
Oct-16	5,580.9	6,068.9	3,058.1	3,470.5
Nov-16	5,757.7	5,957.3	3,073.2	3,304.5
Dec-16	5,855.8	5,914.6	3,201.3	3,218.9
Jan-17	6,140.9	5,943.4	2,891.5	3,282.6
Feb-17	7,080.6	6,012.4	3,627.5	3,496.1
Mar-17	5,481.3	6,064.9	3,675.2	3,776.9
Apr-17	6,274.1	6,092.6	4,428.5	4,031.3
May-17	5,993.8	6,132	4,509.9	4,185.1
Jun-17	6,286.8	6,254.2	4,065.6	4,287.8
Jul-17	6,427.5	6,429.7	4,255.4	4,364
Aug-17	6,498.4	6,617.6	3,660.9	4,411.9
Sep-17	6,903.6	6,772.5	5,219.6	4,442.2
Oct-17	6,850.5	6,872	4,587.8	4,423.3
Nov-17	8,133.1	6,923.7	4,322.6	4,332.2
Dec-17	5,961.5	6,909.8	4,056.2	4,158.1
Jan-18	7,353.2	6,860.1	3,589.1	3,921.6
Feb-18	6,815.3	6,802.7	4,127.6	3,716.3
Mar-18	6,688.2	6,756.8	3,369.2	3,595.3
Apr-18	6,546.4	6,706.4	3,562.8	3,560.4
May-18	6,616.5	6,633.7	3,432.4	3,534.6
Jun-18	6,779.9	6,529.2	3,373.4	3,531
Jul-18	6,420.2	6,376.2	4,718.6	3,545.3
Aug-18	6,098.2	6,179	3,138.4	3,582.7
Sep-18	5,819.7	5,950.3	3,450	3,635.7
Oct-18	6,071.8	5,767.7	3,546.8	3,689.9
Nov-18	5,509.6	5,662.2	4,383.8	3,757.2
Dec-18	5,235.7	5,630.2	3,472	3,839.6
Jan-19	5,487.6	5,647.9	4,058	3,936.2
Feb-19	6,472.2	5,675.4	3,831.8	4,004
Mar-19	5,576.3	5,677.9	4,156.7	4,068.4
Apr-19	5,257.1	5,641.4	4,180.8	4,177.3
May-19	5,686.9	5,569.7	4,414.7	4,319.3
Jun-19	5,688.2	5,477.4	4,179.8	4,434.4
Jul-19	5,259.3	5,421.9	4,189.6	4,452.2
Aug-19	5,294.3	5,419.6	6,098.1	4,430.9
Sep-19	5,555	5,443	3,980.4	4,421.3
Oct-19	5,412.3	5,458.8	4,266.7	4,455.7
Nov-19	5,453.2	5,489.2	3,852.2	4,511.6
Dec-19	5,785.3	5,527.5	4,567	4,535.9
Jan-20	5,283.4	5,528.2	5,725	4,492.1
Feb-20	6,462.8	5,488.2	4,258.6	4,370.4
Mar-20	5,539.5	5,436.6	3,855.2	4,194.6
Apr-20	5,537	5,392.1	3,725.4	3,994.5
May-20	5,178.3	5,378.8	3,697.5	3,921.8
Jun-20	5,098.5	5,432.2	4,236	4,016.2
Jul-20	5,826.3	5,565.2	4,135.2	4,235.2
Aug-20	5,755.9	5,778.7	4,584.7	4,444.3
Sep-20	5,970	6,149.5	2,927.9	4,521.4
Oct-20	6,485.3	6,391.4	5,481.5	4,510.6
Nov-20	6,722.1	6,583	3,841.7	4,464.7
Dec-20	6,754.4	6,709.3	4,340.4	4,417
Jan-21	6,866	6,780.9	4,184.7	4,443.4
Feb-21	7,947	8,473.7	4,452.6	4,563.7
Mar-21	8,758.1	8,417.7	6,367.3	4,758.2
Apr-21	8,500.8	8,326.5	4,403.4	4,970.7
May-21	8,029.6	8,204.8	4,879.4	5,112.8
Jun-21	8,004.3	8,025	6,056.5	5,134.7
Jul-21	7,686.9	7,784.9	4,654.7	5,072.4
Aug-21	7,994.2	7,524.9	5,034.1	4,957.3
Sep-21	7,359.9	7,300.5	4,918.3	4,842.2
Oct-21	6,805.1	7,141.7	4,327.8	4,802
Nov-21	6,814	7,041.5	5,120.3	4,859.2
Dec-21	7,182.6	7,016.2	4,702.2	4,992.4
Jan-22	6,270.4	7,077.4	2,913.9	5,142.2
Feb-22	8,565.2	7,163.3	6,316.2	5,222.7
Mar-22	6,977.7	7,259.1	5,851.6	5,207.9
Apr-22	7,548.5	7,368.2	4,547.9	5,100.6
May-22	7,623.4	7,499.5	5,472.6	4,952.8
Jun-22	7,566.1	7,629.5	5,509.1	4,853.2
Jul-22	7,124.7	7,746.6	4,167.4	4,879
Aug-22	8,735.3	7,818.3	4,871.2	5,017.2
Sep-22	7,758.7	7,838.5	5,470	5,201.2
Oct-22	7,437.1	7,810.1	5,256	5,351.8
Nov-22	7,563.6	7,707.1	5,967.4	5,427.1
Dec-22	8,192.7	7,553.8	5,749	5,493.5
Jan-23	7,120.2	7,418	4,534	5,550.3
Feb-23	7,437.7	7,343.9	5,958	5,627.8
Mar-23	6,938.7	7,328.3	5,545.3	5,784.3
Apr-23	6,973.4	7,313.3	6,239	5,963.5
May-23	8,150.9	7,308.6	6,605.9	6,126.3
Jun-23	7,369.6	7,313.5	9,029.3	6,219.2
Jul-23	7,005.3	7,323.4	6,708.6	6,205.9
Aug-23	7,158.5	7,327.1	6,160.5	6,129.6
Sep-23	7,177.6	7,328.2	5,626.3	5,997.6
Oct-23	7,616.9	7,322.1	6,397.7	5,783.9
Nov-23	7,551	7,320	5,137.7	5,543.6
Dec-23	7,431.2	7,324.3	5,622.2	5,358.6
Jan-24	8,443.7	7,317.1	5,265.6	5,272.5
Feb-24	7,087	7,357.9	4,342.7	5,296.3
Mar-24	7,753.7	7,488	5,683.9	5,343.1
Apr-24	7,692.8	7,686.4	6,014.1	5,394.6
May-24	8,003.8	7,909.8	5,842.2	5,420.8
Jun-24	7,793.9	8,103.7	4,654.1	5,365.8
Jul-24	8,682.2	8,222.9	5,364.7	5,363.2
Aug-24	8,329.3	8,303.6	5,239.5	5,500.7
Sep-24	8,174.9	8,436.6	6,093.6	5,735
Oct-24	8,709.2	8,652.8	5,414.8	5,928
Nov-24	8,615.1	8,921.2	6,042.6	6,049.5
Dec-24	8,811.3	9,182.2	8,231.2	6,127.5
Jan-25	10,231.8	9,377.3	5,185.1	6,255.5
Feb-25	9,867.9	9,477.5	4,557.4	6,464.9
Mar-25	9,035.9	9,468.3	6,807.6	6,753.5
Apr-25	9,170.2	9,424.6	9,310.6	7,059.4
May-25	9,237.1	9,372.4	6,583.8	7,302.7
Jun-25	9,670.3	9,393.2	7,564.5	7,441.1
Jul-25	9,557.1	9,531.6	6,598.1	7,405.3
Aug-25	9,545	9,739	8,082.5	7,246.7
Sep-25	10,015.3	9,903.1	6,608.1	7,210.8
Oct-25	9,345.7	10,004.4	7,578.6	7,323.5
Nov-25	11,461.7	10,067.1	7,261.6	7,428
Dec-25	9,669.3	10,109.7	7,011.5	7,456.4
Jan-26	9,738.4	10,145	8,252.6	7,421.5
Feb-26	12,793.4	10,188.9	7,987	7,311.3
Mar-26	10,770.9	10,231.2	5,967.9	7,226.3
a. Trend break added to ‘Total residential’ trend series for September 2020 and February 2021.

 (Source: ABS, May 2026, Building Approvals, Australia – SunX ABS website access 6 May 2026)

In terms of trend estimates, the total value of residential building rose by 0.4% to AUD10.23b while the total value of non-residential building fell by 1.2% to AUD7.23b in March 2026.

Value of Building Approved, by Building Type
	Seasonally adjusted	Seasonally adjusted	Trend	Trend
	($m)	Monthly change (%)	($m)	Monthly change (%)
New residential building	9,433	-17.7	8,894	0.3
Alterations and additions to residential building	1,337	0.8	1,337	1.3
Total residential building	10,770	-15.8	10,231	0.4
Non-residential building	5,967	-25.3	7,226	-1.2
Total building	16,738	-19.4	17,457	-0.2

 (Source: ABS, May 2026, Building Approvals, Australia – SunX ABS website access 6 May 2026)

SunX economist acknowledges the information, data, graphical, and Excel-format tabular sources from ABS, titled Building Approvals, Australia, with the reference period March 2026, accessed by SunX on 6th of May 2026.

SunX Australian Construction Industry Performance Forecast 2026

The recent US-Iran conflict, which led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, has added cost pressure on fuel, transportation, building materials, and construction labour, thereby raising the aggregate cost of construction for residential dwellings and apartments, as well as non-residential buildings.

While cost-of-living pressures have already persisted pre-conflict, these additional construction costs will affect the volume of new construction projects for the rest of 2026, largely because the cost push exceeds budgets for most would-be ready-to-build clients.

However, the majority of those would-be construction clients’ sentiments favour delaying the construction project until the US-Iran conflict concludes with a peace agreement and the Strait of Hormuz opens, with cost pressures presumed to revert to pre-conflict levels at some point in the 4th quarter of 2026.

This proposition that the cost will revert to normality is threatened by RBA’s projected cash rate hikes, with one rate rise already effected in May 2026.

In the short term, as the cost of living pressure continues to rise driven by the ongoing US-Iran conflict, these cost increases are filtering through the economic system to consumer retail payment checkout, and this trend will continue until at least the 3rd quarter of 2026 should the US-Iran conflict come to an end in May 2026.

These cost pressures are contributing to drive inflation higher, with inflation projected to remain relatively outside the RBA’s comfort zone of 2% to 3%, hovering around mid-4%.

Given this level of inflation, the RBA will be inclined to increase the cash rate at least once more in 2026, with a second rate rise highly imminent if inflationary pressures rise further.

The interest rate rises invariably increase construction costs. Additionally, the commercial banks may increase the debt service rate used to calculate borrowing capacity for loan assessment. The flow-on effect is that, as the debt servicing rate increases, the borrowing capacity decreases in line with the lender’s risk appetite.

For a build-to-sale project, the downside for large-scale construction companies with construction in progress is the need to absorb the increased cost, which lowers profits.

Moreover, while not envisaged, if tensions heighten and military actions resume in the US-Iran conflict, the Australian inflation rate is projected to surpass 5% and, depending on the length of the conflict beyond hypothetically June 2026, could reach 6%.

On a realistic note, funding of the war till and beyond June 2026 by the US will be highly financially undesirable and appallingly disastrous.

If the conflict continues through or beyond June, the Australian construction industry will experience at least a 15% drop in new construction projects due to cost pressures, and clients relying on bank funding will fail to keep up with price rises, as higher debt servicing costs make them ineligible to secure finance.

The cost push on existing projects with fixed-price contracts will result in a nearly 10% increase in costs, creating a tense environment and disputes among stakeholders.

A glimmer of hope amid the rising cost of the war to the US budget will encourage US officials to adopt a strategic approach to ending the war with a peace agreement.

Ultimately, this path would seem reasonably appropriate given the prolonged disruptions to international trade and the economic damage already weathered globally by this conflict.

Following the end of the conflict, as cost pressures diminish, the pace of construction will pick up as the industry slowly experiences relief from elevated operational costs.

The construction industry, while under intense operational cost pressure in 2026, will inevitably rebound upon news of the conclusion of the US-Iran conflict.

Rising inflation, with a lag, and the RBA rate rise will dampen construction until the 3rd quarter of 2026, after which the pace will pick up in the 4th quarter of 2026, with 2027 promising better prospects for the Australian construction industry.