Victoria leads nation in new building approvals

Victoria has cemented its position as the epicenter of new residential and commercial building projects, accounting for nearly a third of all national building work, according to the Building Commission’s November report.

Victorian building work made up 32% of national building approvals during 2010-11, up from 28% recorded in 2009-10.

For the month of August, Victoria accounted for 31% of the nation’s building activity, compared with 33% in July and 32% in June.

It has been the leading construction state since January 2010.

Overall, the east coast continues to dominate building construction in Australia, accounting for 85% of activity in 2010-11.

During 2010-11 building approvals in New South Wales made up 23% of national approvals, down from 24% in 2009-10. Queensland reported 20%, down from 21%, South Australia was stable with 6%, and Western Australia’s share decreased to 13% from 15% over this period.

Source: Victorian Building Commission

The report also revealed the challenges facing the building sector, with the value of building activity per building industry employee down 8% over the last year to about $128,000.

As of June 2010, there were currently just over 14,200 domestic builders in Australia and around 4,400 commercial builders, 4% more than there were in June 2009.