19 May 2025
The latest regional building approvals figures show a sharp rise in the number of units given the green light across Queensland – but a closer look reveals the real story.
The March numbers from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show unit approvals rose 33.1 per cent – but is only positive because of the poor result in the previous two months. Detached house approvals fell by -7.4 per cent.
A look at the three-month trend from January to March confirms the state remains in the red
(-12.6 per cent). In the same period, North Queensland remained the standout performer across the regions, positing a massive 32.3 per cent gain. Small gains were recorded in Wide Bay Burnett (+4.6 per cent) and Mackay & Whitsunday (+3.8 per cent).
The news wasn’t so good in other areas. Central Queensland recorded the biggest plunge in overall approvals (-48.7 per cent), followed by Gold Coast (-23.9 per cent), Downs & Western (-22.6 per cent), Greater Brisbane (-12.2 per cent), and Far North Queensland (-7.5 per cent), while the Sunshine Coast experienced a minor drop at -1.4 per cent over the quarter.
“36,985 new homes were approved to be built in the 12 months to March, still way off base of the government target of 50,000 new dwellings to be delivered in Queensland every year,” Master Builders CEO Paul Bidwell said.
“These figures are worrying – especially off the back of the completions data over the year to December 2024 just released by the ABS. There were 31,793 new dwellings finished over the 12 months – a drop of 8.9 per cent according to the data. That is, 10,612 units and 21,181 houses completed, down -1.8 per cent and -12.0 per cent respectively.
Mr Bidwell said it was crucial that the state government remained focused on driving up productivity by tackling the red tape slowing construction.
“We look forward to having a seat at the table as the newly appointed Queensland Productivity Commission zeroes in on the factors pulling productivity in the wrong direction in our sector, without compromising on safety or build quality.
“In our view, the priorities include ensuring the already-frozen Best Practice Industry Conditions (BPIC), and the now-paused expansion of the Project Trust Accounts regime, are scrapped for good.
“We’ve also been calling for change at the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) for many years and look forward to working with the new leadership team to facilitate reforms to deliver a more transparent and risk-based regulator.
“The labour shortage is placing extreme pressure on our overstretched industry, and we need government support through incentives for apprentices and small businesses to encourage more people to join our industry and stick with it for the long haul.
“The changes introduced to the National Construction Code 2022 were the most significant in decades, negatively impacting the delivery of new homes, as well as builders, suppliers, and home owners. The state government has committed to a review of the implementation of National Construction Code (NCC) 2022, and we are very keen to see this happen as soon as possible.
“The data is clear: without bold action to boost productivity, we risk falling even further behind.”
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