Building Approvals MoM is the monthly % change in Australian building projects approved to start construction. It covers homes above 10000 dollars and non-residential buildings above 50000 dollars, with values estimated at approval including goods and services tax since July 2000. It is a census, meaning a complete count, and a leading indicator, meaning an early signal, of future building activity, jobs and investment. Planning approvals that do not allow construction and engineering works like roads are excluded.
Approvals count projects approved during the reference calendar month, with estimates inserted when certifier data arrives late. It appears monthly 4 to 5 weeks after the reference month starts at 11:30am Canberra time, with small area files 5 working days later. Each release adds commentary, original counts, seasonally adjusted values and trend direction plus detailed spreadsheets, with chain volume measures each quarter. Late data can revise past months within 12 to 18 months, with adjusted estimates moving as new data arrives.
Moves come from housing types, renovations and non-residential values feeding the headline dwelling count.
| Date | Actual | Forecast | Surprise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 30, 2026 | -6.10 | -2.00 | -4.10 |
| Sep 8, 2026 | -3.60 | -3.60 | 0.00 |
| Aug 6, 2026 | 7.20 | 7.20 | 0.00 |
| Jul 8, 2026 | -1.10 | -1.10 | 0.00 |
| Jun 10, 2026 | -3.40 | -3.40 | 0.00 |
| Jun 2, 2026 | -3.40 | -1.50 | -1.90 |
| May 11, 2026 | -10.50 | -10.50 | 0.00 |
The June 2023 release, published August 8, 2023, showed dwellings down 7.7% to 13808 after a 20.5% rise in May 2023. Trend rose 0.8% to 13596 while dwellings excluding houses fell 21.0% to 5229 and houses fell 1.3% to 8048. Total building value rose 1.2% to 14817 million dollars as non-residential building rose 7.6% while new residential building fell 4.6%. The lesson is that steady houses can hide apartment volatility and values can rise while unit counts fall.
Key point: Approvals are permits to start work, not construction done, and values are estimates on approval papers, not final costs. Planning approvals that do not allow building work are not counted.
