Nation-leading growth in State Final Demand has capped off a solid run of economic achievements for South Australia.
New figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicate the state's SFD grew by a strong 3.6 per cent through the year to the close of the September quarter – the strongest in the nation and well outpacing national growth, with Domestic Final Demand at 2.6 per cent.
It is the latest feather in South Australia's economic cap, which also includes:
- The Business Council of Australia's recent Regulation Rumble report rating South Australia as the best place to do business in Australia – for the third year in a row
- CommSec's latest State of the States report ranking South Australia as the third best performing economy in the nation, taking top spot for Construction Work (21.9% above our decade norm) and Economic Growth (economic activity was 8.7% above our long-term average level of output)
- ANZ's latest Stateometer Report says South Australia sustained "robust economic performance relative to its long-term trend"
- BankSA's latest State Monitor says consumer confidence in South Australia reached its highest level in four years
- NAB's latest Quarterly Business Survey reported South Australian business conditions experienced outsized gains in the September quarter to be the strongest across surveyed states
- South Australia's unemployment rate has only had a 3 in front of it 15 times since monthly records began 47 years ago. Each time has occurred under the Malinauskas Government
- Gross State Product (GSP) in 2024-25 grew by 1.0 per cent with major contributions from the construction industry (up 5.0%), financial and insurance services (up 4.7%) and health care and social assistance (up 2.4%). Non-farm GSP grew by 1.6 per cent, outpacing the national figure of 1.2 per cent
- There were 986,500 people employed in South Australia as of October 2025 - a new record high, and 86,100 jobs have been created since the 2022 state election
- The Property Council ranked confidence in South Australia's property sector as the highest in the nation in the September quarter 2025
- South Australia continues to outperform the nation in building approvals, with approvals for all dwellings in October increasing by 13 per cent over the year since October 2024 – to reach 14,878 new homes approved. When comparing the year ending October 2024 to October 2025, there was a 24 per cent increase, from 12,015 approvals to 14,878 approvals
- South Australia is the lowest taxing state on the mainland based on tax revenue per capita, as reflected in each state's budget papers.
As put by Tom Koutsantonis
We've already seen strong performance this year in State Final Demand, but the figure growing by 3.6 per cent through the year to the close of the September quarter makes it the strongest in the nation - well outpacing national growth.
This is just the latest in a series of positive endorsements for South Australia's economic direction, with a record number of South Australians in jobs in the previous month, a spate of major banks giving us a strong tick of approval and the national Business Council of Australia again endorsing our state as the best place in the nation to do business.
It's significant to see economic growth strongly on the back of big investments in residential construction, after the Malinauskas Government has focussed strongly on addressing housing supply.
This is yet another a strong indication that we are in a robust position to weather economic challenges, but it shows why South Australia simply can't afford to risk a Liberal State Government.
The South Australian economy has made great strides in the past four years, but the chaos and dysfunction of a Liberal government would risk undoing these significant gains.
