What is being approved to build — every council in Australia
Residential building approvals for 526 local government areas across all eight states and territories, over the 12 months to 2025-06. 187,896 dwellings, $108bn of work.
This is the one layer here that covers the whole country. Development applications, heritage and zoning on this site are New South Wales only, because NSW is the only state publishing those on terms that allow reuse. Building approvals come from the ABS on identical definitions for every council in Australia, so this is the fair way to compare states.
187,896Dwellings approved
$108bnValue of work
526Councils
12 monthsTo 2025-06
By state and territory
| State | Dwellings approved | Value of work | Share of dwellings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Victoria | 56,649 | $33bn | 30.1% |
| New South Wales | 49,488 | $30bn | 26.3% |
| Queensland | 38,411 | $24bn | 20.4% |
| Western Australia | 22,944 | $12bn | 12.2% |
| South Australia | 14,524 | $6.6bn | 7.7% |
| Australian Capital Territory | 2,838 | $1.1bn | 1.5% |
| Tasmania | 2,340 | $1.2bn | 1.2% |
| Northern Territory | 702 | $513M | 0.4% |
By council
| # | Council | Dwellings approved ▾ | Value of work |
|---|---|---|---|
| 241 | Darwin | 73 | $96M |
| 242 | Bassendean | 70 | $43M |
| 243 | Yankalilla | 70 | $40M |
| 244 | Murrindindi | 69 | $50M |
| 245 | Horsham | 68 | $40M |
| 246 | Kiama | 67 | $85M |
| 247 | Unincorporated NT | 66 | $33M |
| 248 | Western Downs | 64 | $41M |
| 249 | Kalgoorlie-Boulder | 62 | $26M |
| 250 | Swan Hill | 61 | $45M |
| 251 | Richmond Valley | 61 | $40M |
| 252 | Moyne | 60 | $50M |
| 253 | George Town | 59 | $26M |
| 254 | Glenelg | 59 | $34M |
| 255 | Karratha | 59 | $69M |
| 256 | Denmark | 57 | $32M |
| 257 | Loxton Waikerie | 57 | $23M |
| 258 | Litchfield | 56 | $46M |
| 259 | Grant | 56 | $32M |
| 260 | Singleton | 56 | $43M |
| 261 | Kangaroo Island | 55 | $26M |
| 262 | Hilltops | 55 | $31M |
| 263 | Palm Island | 52 | $18M |
| 264 | MacDonnell | 52 | $35M |
| 265 | Donnybrook-Balingup | 51 | $22M |
| 266 | East Arnhem | 51 | $38M |
| 267 | Muswellbrook | 51 | $25M |
| 268 | Glamorgan-Spring Bay | 50 | $27M |
| 269 | Alpine | 48 | $45M |
| 270 | Mosman | 48 | $225M |
| 271 | Barkly | 48 | $32M |
| 272 | Wentworth | 48 | $34M |
| 273 | Greater Hume Shire | 48 | $30M |
| 274 | Douglas | 47 | $77M |
| 275 | Dungog | 46 | $27M |
| 276 | Toodyay | 46 | $21M |
| 277 | Bellingen | 46 | $29M |
| 278 | Manjimup | 45 | $24M |
| 279 | Upper Hunter Shire | 45 | $28M |
| 280 | Port Hedland | 45 | $33M |
| 281 | Central Desert | 45 | $37M |
| 282 | Central Goldfields | 44 | $22M |
| 283 | Federation | 44 | $34M |
| 284 | Esperance | 44 | $30M |
| 285 | Southern Midlands | 44 | $18M |
| 286 | Derwent Valley | 43 | $19M |
| 287 | Cottesloe | 43 | $119M |
| 288 | Lower Eyre Peninsula | 43 | $22M |
| 289 | Carnarvon | 43 | $20M |
| 290 | Ararat | 43 | $29M |
| 291 | Corangamite | 42 | $27M |
| 292 | Upper Lachlan Shire | 41 | $28M |
| 293 | Yarrabah | 41 | $20M |
| 294 | Port Pirie | 41 | $14M |
| 295 | Hinchinbrook | 40 | $20M |
| 296 | Temora | 39 | $20M |
| 297 | Burnie | 39 | $23M |
| 298 | Northern Grampians | 39 | $20M |
| 299 | Renmark Paringa | 38 | $20M |
| 300 | Waroona | 37 | $16M |
A building approval is not a development application — it is one step further along, after planning consent. Values are the ABS figure converted from the $’000 the API returns. Source: ABS Building Approvals by Local Government Area (BA_LGA2024), Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International.