The Australian construction sector faced a sharp downturn at the end of the year, with total dwelling approvals falling 14.9% to 15,542 in December 2025, according to the latest seasonally adjusted data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The decline was primarily fueled by a 29.8% collapse in the high-density sector—private dwellings excluding houses—effectively erasing the gains from a similar 29.6% surge recorded in November 2025.
Daniel Rossi, ABS head of construction statistics, noted that while the monthly drop was substantial, it followed a period of uncharacteristically high activity in the apartment sector, which hit a five-year peak just one month prior.
Victoria bore the brunt of this volatility, with apartment approvals cratering from 1,496 in November 2025 to just 339 in December 2025.
