Housing building approvals have surged to their highest level in nearly 4 years, up more than 20 per cent compared with this time last year.
ABS data shows 18,406 dwellings were approved in November 2025, a 20.2 per cent increase over the year, with strong growth driven by apartments and other higher‑density housing.
Across the private sector, approvals for houses were up 3.2 per cent on the previous year, while approvals for units and other higher density housing were up by 55.3 per cent on the previous year in seasonally adjusted terms.
These results show that home building continues to turn a corner, with the Albanese Government's supply investments continuing to deliver. These include:
- Galvanising action across the country through the aspirational National Housing Accord target of 1.2 million homes over 5 years.
- Removing the barriers to building through the National Planning Reform Blueprint, reforms to environmental approvals and a pause and streamlining of the National Construction Code.
- Investing in Free TAFE and $10,000 tradie apprenticeship incentives.
- Delivering 55,000 social and affordable homes for those who need it most through initiatives like the Housing Australia Future Fund.
- Cutting taxes for Build to Rent developments to unlock 80,000 new rental homes with long‑term leases.
We are also seeing ambitious state and territory governments undertake significant planning reforms, which is helping drive this progress.
The Coalition left office with building approvals falling through the floor and construction costs rising at half‑century highs.
After a decade of Coalition neglect, the Albanese Labor Government is providing galvanising leadership on housing, with $45 billion of investment focused on building more homes, helping first home buyers and supporting renters.
While there is still more work to do to fix a housing crisis that has been generations in the making, this data shows that we're making good progress.
Quotes attributable to the Minister for Housing, Homelessness & Cities the Hon. Clare O'Neil MP
"Having housing approvals hit a 4‑year high is a great way to kick off 2026, but we know there's still more to do.
"These home approval figures show that the housing reforms we're making are starting to bear fruit.
"Housing pressures built up over generations won't ease overnight, but the direction of travel is clear and Labor's turning our ambition into action - getting more homes built, more quickly.
