Construction work done September quarter 2017

In the September quarter 2017, in trend terms, construction work done in the Territory increased by 1.6 per cent to $1.7 billion. This reflects a 3.1 per cent increase in engineering construction work done to $1.5 billion, partly offset by a 7.3 per cent decrease in building work done to $242 million.

In the year to September 2017, total construction work done in the Territory decreased by 2.3 per cent to $7.0 billion, compared to the previous year (Chart 1).

The Territory recorded the only year on year decline of all jurisdictions. The increase in other jurisdictions ranged from 1.7 per cent in Queensland to 15.1 per cent increase in the Australian Capital Territory (Chart 2). Nationally, the value of total construction work done increased by 6.4 per cent over the same period.

Engineering Work Done

In the September quarter 2017, trend engineering construction work increased by 3.1 per cent.

In the year to September 2017, in original terms, engineering work done in the Territory decreased by 1.9 per cent to $5.9 billion.

The Territory has experienced a period of elevated levels of engineering construction activity over the past few years, mainly associated with the Ichthys liquefied natural gas project. This has a significant effect on the Territory's statistics given the size of the project, relative to the size of the economy.

Residential Building Work Done

In the year to September 2017, the value of residential building work done in the Territory decreased by 28.2 per cent to $427 million.

The decline was driven by a 26.7 per cent decrease in new house construction and a 52.3 per cent decrease in new other residential (units, townhouses, etc) construction. This was partly offset by a 6.1 per cent increase in alterations and additions.

Private sector residential building work done decreased by 33.5 per cent to $327 million and public sector residential building work done decreased by 3.5 per cent to $100 million in the year to September 2017.

Non-residential Building Work Done

Non-residential building work done in the Territory decreased by 14.3 per cent to $647 million in the year to September 2017 (Chart 3).

The decrease reflects a 39.7 per cent decrease in private sector non‑residential work done to $290 million. This was partly offset by a 30.2 per cent increase in public sector non‑residential work done to $357 million, which is the fifth consecutive year on year increase since the September quarter 2016.