Housing and planning approvals in South Australia continue to build momentum, thanks to the state government's landmark housing reforms under the Premier's Housing Roadmap.
New Australian Bureau of Statistics data released yesterday show dwelling approvals for the year ending April 2026 increased 5.6 per cent when compared with the previous year, reaching 14,914.
The total for the year ending April 2026 of 14,914 is an all-time high for dwelling approvals in South Australia.
This rise comes despite global concerns about fuel costs and price pressures.
This reflects a sustained uplift in activity, with monthly approvals exceeding 1,200 homes in 13 of the past 16 months.
In addition to the rise in housing approvals, South Australia is processing planning approvals for new homes more than seven times faster than Victoria and more than three times faster than New South Wales, thanks to reforms introduced by the state government to accelerate home construction.
In the 2025-26 financial year to date, planning authorities have taken an average of 18 days from lodgement to decision for planning consent in South Australia.
Median assessment times are even quicker, at 12 days in South Australia compared with 119 days in Victoria.
On top of this, 90% of planning consent decisions in South Australia are made within the statutory timeframes, compared with just 64% in Victoria and only 71% in New South Wales.
Seventy per cent of new housing applications in South Australia are now processed through the Performance Assessed pathway, with an average turnaround of just 15 days. More straightforward applications are resolved in as little as one day.
South Australia's housing and planning system has already been recognised as the best in the nation by the Business Council of Australia and realestate.com.au, with today's data confirming the state continues to lead the country in getting homes built faster for South Australians.
As put by Nick Champion
These figures show our housing reforms are working, with dwelling approvals up 5.6 per cent over the year to April and planning approvals continuing to move at pace.
We are in a league of our own when it comes to planning approvals when compared to the large eastern states.
While Victoria is taking on average 165 processing days to approve a new home, we are doing it in 18 business days.
In a national housing crisis, this is not an insignificant difference.
