Australia Construction Market Size, Trends, and Forecasts by Sector – Commercial, Industrial, Infrastructure, Energy and Utilities, Institutional and Residential Market Analysis to 2029 (Q1 2025)
Summary
GlobalData expects the Australian construction industry to grow by 3.1% in real terms in 2025, supported by investments in manufacturing, transport, and renewable energy infrastructure, coupled with an improvement in the residential construction sector. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the total value of residential building construction work done in Australia grew by 5.6% year on year (YoY) in Q4 2024, preceded by a YoY growth of 0.6% in Q3 and a YoY decline of 1% in Q2 2024. In March 2025, the Australian Federal government announced the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025-26 (July 2025 to June 2026) Budget, with a focus on energy subsidies, healthcare, education, transport infrastructure, housing, and clean energy, with total expenditure rising from AUD762.8 billion ($504 billion) in FY2024–25 to AUD785.7 billion ($519.1 billion) in FY2025–26. Some of the sectors with significant allocations include social security and welfare at AUD291 billion ($192.3 billion), healthcare at AUD124.8 billion ($82.5 billion), education at AUD54 billion ($35.7 billion), and general public services at AUD31.4 billion ($20.7 billion). However, rising insolvencies are expected to keep challenging the construction industry, with the total number of companies that have undergone insolvency appointments within the construction industry, rising by 33% YoY in January-February 2025, following a rise of 38.8% in 2024, according to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
Australia's construction industry is projected to grow at an average annual rate of 3% from 2026 to 2029, driven by public and private sector investments in renewable energy, transport infrastructure, and mixed-use projects, coupled with the government’s plan to raise the share of renewables to 82% and cut carbon emissions by 43% (from 2005 levels) by 2030. In line with this plan, in March 2025, the federal government approved 2.4GW of renewable energy projects in New South Wales, including the 1,332MW Liverpool Range, 700MW Spicers Creek, and 372MW Hills of Gold wind farms. These projects, part of the Central West Orana renewable energy zone, are expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 6.5 million tonnes annually. Growth in the industry during the forecast period will also be supported by the Northern Australia Action Plan (2024–29), launched in November 2024, with an investment of AUD30 billion ($19.8 billion). Under this plan, affordable housing units and transport infrastructure will be built in Queensland, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory by 2029. In February 2025, the federal and Western Australian governments announced a joint investment of AUD1.1 billion ($700 million), with each contributing AUD529.7 million ($350 million), to upgrade Western Australia’s Kwinana Freeway. The project aims to improve freight movement, boost economic growth, and expand key sections to increase road capacity.
GlobalData’s Construction in Australia – Key Trends and Opportunities by State and Territory to 2029 (Q1 2025) report provides detailed market analysis, information and insights into the Australian construction industry, including -
- The Australian construction industry's growth prospects by market, project type and construction activity
- Critical insight into the impact of industry trends and issues, as well as an analysis of key risks and opportunities in the Australian construction industry
- Analysis of the mega-project pipeline, focusing on development stages and participants, in addition to listings of major projects in the pipeline.
This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the construction industry in Australia. It provides -
- Historical (2019–2023) and forecast (2024–2028) valuations of the construction industry in Australia, featuring details of key growth drivers.
- Segmentation by sector (commercial, industrial, infrastructure, energy and utilities, institutional and residential) and by sub-sector
- Analysis of the mega-project pipeline, including breakdowns by development stage across all sectors, and projected spending on projects in the existing pipeline.
- Listings of major projects, in addition to details of leading contractors and consultants
- Identify and evaluate market opportunities using our standardized valuation and forecasting methodologies
- Assess market growth potential at a micro-level with over 600 time-series data forecasts
- Understand the latest industry and market trends
- Formulate and validate business strategies using GlobalData's critical and actionable insight
- Assess business risks, including cost, regulatory and competitive pressures
- Evaluate competitive risk and success factors
- 1 Executive Summary
- 2 Construction Industry: At-a-Glance
- 3 Context
- 3.1 Economic Performance
- 3.2 Political Environment and Policy
- 3.3 Demographics
- 3.4 Risk Profile
- 4 Construction Outlook
- 4.1 All Construction
- Outlook
- Latest news and developments
- Construction Projects Momentum Index
- 4.2 Commercial Construction
- Outlook
- Project analytics
- Latest news and developments
- 4.3 Industrial Construction
- Outlook
- Project analytics
- Latest news and developments
- 4.4 Infrastructure Construction
- Outlook
- Project analytics
- Latest news and developments
- 4.5 Energy and Utilities Construction
- Outlook
- Project analytics
- Latest news and developments
- 4.6 Institutional Construction
- Outlook
- Project analytics
- Latest news and developments
- 4.7 Residential Construction
- Outlook
- Project analytics
- Latest news and developments
- 5 Construction Outlook – States and Territories
- 5.1 New South Wales
- 5.2 Victoria
- 5.3 Queensland
- 5.4 South Australia
- 5.5 Western Australia
- 5.6 Tasmania
- 5.7 Northern Territory
- 5.8 Australian Capital Territory
- 6 Key Industry Participants
- 6.1 Contractors
- 6.2 Consultants
- 7 Construction Market Data
- 8 Appendix
- 8.1 What is this Report About?
- 8.2 Definitions
- 8.3 CRI Methodology
- 9 About GlobalData
- 10 Contact Us
- List of Tables
- Table 1: Construction Industry Key Data
- Table 2: Australia, Key Economic Indicators
- Table 3: Australia, Commercial Construction Output by Project Type (Real % Change), 2020–29
- Table 4: Australia, Top Commercial Construction Projects by Value
- Table 5: Australia, Industrial Construction Output by Project Type (Real % Change), 2020–29
- Table 6: Australia, Top Industrial Construction Projects by Value
- Table 7: Australia, Infrastructure Construction Output by Project Type (Real % Change), 2020–29
- Table 8: Australia, Top Infrastructure Construction Projects by Value
- Table 9: Australia, Energy and Utilities Construction Output by Project Type (Real % Change), 2020–29
- Table 10: Australia, Top Energy and Utilities Construction Projects by Value
- Table 11: Australia, Institutional Construction Output by Project Type (Real % Change), 2020–29
- Table 12: Australia, Top Institutional Construction Projects by Value
- Table 13: Australia, Residential Construction Output by Project Type (Real % Change), 2020–29
- Table 14: Australia, Top Residential Construction Projects by Value
- Table 15: Australia, Key Contractors
- Table 16: Australia, Key Consultants
- Table 17: Australia, Construction Output Value (Real, $ Million)
- Table 18: Australia, Construction Output Value (Nominal, AUD Million)
- Table 19: New South Wales, Construction Output Value (Real, $ Million)
- Table 20: New South Wales, Construction Output Value (Nominal, AUD Million)
- Table 21: Victoria, Construction Output Value (Real, $ Million)
- Table 22: Victoria, Construction Output Value (Nominal, AUD Million)
- Table 23: Queensland, Construction Output Value (Real, $ Million)
- Table 24: Queensland, Construction Output Value (Nominal, AUD Million)
- Table 25: South Australia, Construction Output Value (Real, $ Million)
- Table 26: South Australia, Construction Output Value (Nominal, AUD Million)
- Table 27: Western Australia, Construction Output Value (Real, $ Million)
- Table 28: Western Australia, Construction Output Value (Nominal, AUD Million)
- Table 29: Tasmania, Construction Output Value (Real, $ Million)
- Table 30: Tasmania, Construction Output Value (Nominal, AUD Million)
- Table 31: Northern Territory, Construction Output Value (Real, $ Million)
- Table 32: Northern Territory, Construction Output Value (Nominal, AUD Million)
- Table 33: Australia Capital Territory, Construction Output Value (Real, $ Million)
- Table 34: Australia Capital Territory, Construction Output Value (Nominal, AUD Million)
- Table 35: GlobalData Construction Market Definitions
- Table 36: Risk Dimensions
- Table 37: Ratings, Scores and Definitions
- List of Figures
- Figure 1: Australasia, Construction Output (Real % Change), 2023–29
- Figure 2: Australia, Construction Output by Sector (Real % Change), 2023–25 and 2026–29
- Figure 3: Australia, Risk Summary
- Figure 4: Australia, Risk Regional Comparison
- Figure 5: Australia, Construction Output Value (Real, $ Million, 2022 Prices and Exchange Rate), 2020–29
- Figure 6: Australia, Construction Output Value, by Sector (Real, $ Million), 2020–29
- Figure 7: Australia, Total Value of Construction Work Done, AUD Billion Chain Volume Measure
- Figure 8: Australia, Total Value of Building Construction Works Done, % Change YoY
- Figure 9: Australia, Private Gross Fixed Capital Formation, Seasonally Adjusted Chain Volume Measures (AUD Billion, % Change YoY)
- Figure 10: Australia, Construction Sector Jobs, in Thousands
- Figure 11: Australia, Construction Wage Price Index, 2008-2009 = 100, Hourly Pay (Excluding Bonuses)
- Figure 12: Australia, Construction Projects Momentum Index
- Figure 13: Australasia, Construction Projects Momentum Index
- Figure 14: Australia, Commercial Construction Output by Project Type (Real, $ Million), 2020–29
- Figure 15: Australia, Commercial Construction Projects Pipeline, Value by Stage ($ Million)
- Figure 16: Australia, Nominal Value of Commercial Buildings Approved (AUD Million)
- Figure 17: Australia, Short-Term Visitor Arrivals, in Thousands
- Figure 18: Australia, Retail Trade Turnover (AUD Billion, Seasonally Adjusted)
- Figure 19: Australia, Industrial Construction Output by Project Type (Real, $ Million), 2020–29
- Figure 20: Australia, Industrial Construction Projects Pipeline, Value by Stage ($ Million)
- Figure 21: Australia, Nominal Value of Buildings Approved for Factories and Other Secondary Production Buildings (AUD Million)
- Figure 22: Australia, Total Value of Mineral Exploration (AUD Million)
- Figure 23: Australia, Total Exports, Current Prices, (AUD Billion)
- Figure 24: Australia, Number of New Vehicle Sales
- Figure 25: Australia, Infrastructure Construction Output by Project Type (Real, $ Million), 2020–29
- Figure 26: Australia, Infrastructure Construction Projects Pipeline, Value by Stage ($ Million)
- Figure 27: Australia, Energy and Utilities Construction Output by Project Type (Real, $ Million), 2020–29
- Figure 28: Australia, Energy and Utilities Construction Projects Pipeline, Value by Stage ($ Million)
- Figure 29: Australia, Total Value of Petroleum Exploration (AUD Million)
- Figure 30: Australia, Total Value of Natural Gas Exports (in AUD Million)
- Figure 31: Australia, Institutional Construction Output by Project Type (Real, $ Million), 2020–29
- Figure 32: Australia, Institutional Construction Projects Pipeline, Value by Stage ($ Million)
- Figure 33: Australia, Institutional Building Approvals (AUD Million)
- Figure 34: Australia, Residential Construction Output by Project Type (Real, $ Million), 2020–29
- Figure 35: Australia, Residential Construction Projects Pipeline, Value by Stage ($ Million)
- Figure 36: Australia, Total New Housing Loan Commitment (AUD Billion)
- Figure 37: Australia, Total Value of Residential Building Construction Work Done, AUD Billion Chain Volume Measure
- Figure 38: Australia, Total Number of Dwelling Units Approved
- Figure 39: Australia, Value of Owner Occupier First Home Buyer Loan Commitments (% Change YoY)
- Figure 40: Australia, Headquarters of Key Contractors (% of Total Project Pipeline)
- Figure 41: Australia, Headquarters of Key Consultants (% of Total Project Pipeline)
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