General News
28 August, 2026
Building approvals rising
FAR North Queensland residential building approvals have jumped by 36% in the past financial year as Queensland hits its highest yearly total of approvals in a decade.
Fresh figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show that in the year to June, the number of new dwellings across the state grew to 47,623, including new units (49.6%) and detached home (8.6%), with the exception of the Sunshine Coast (-0.4%).
The FNQ region also showed 14% growth in the last quarter, as did most regional areas except for North Queensland which saw a drop of 10.9%.
Over the year, the standout areas included the Gold Coast (+85.6%) and Downs & Western Toowoomba (59.4%).
Master Builders Queensland deputy CEO Michael Hopkins said the upward tracking in the past year was a result of state government reform.
“However, with the monumental task of building one million homes by 2044, and a $119 billion pipeline of public infrastructure to complete over the next four years, we’re not there yet. We need to increase the momentum by pulling every lever possible,” he said.
“That includes bolstering our workforce by welcoming more tradies from overseas – and smoothing the licensing pathways to get interstate workers and skilled migrants on the tools faster.”
Mr Hopkins said there was a need to modernise the National Construction Code (NCC) to improve productivity, and to provide greater financial support for small businesses to take on apprentices.
“We need to do everything in our power to streamline planning and approvals, and help industry build more quality homes sooner, safely, and more affordably.”
