INSIGHT · DEVELOPMENT & REPORTING

67,401 construction businesses exited in 2025‑26.
That is not an insolvency count.

19 October 2026

How many builders went broke in 2025-26? Two official counts answer different questions. The ABS counted 67,401 construction business exits in 2025-26: businesses actively trading at 30 June 2025 and not at 30 June 2026, for any reason. The same release shows actively trading construction businesses up 3.4% to 478,651. ASIC's Series 1 counts 3,472 construction companies entering external administration or having a controller appointed for the first time in FY2025-26 (workbook released 19 October 2026, data to 4 October 2026). One is a business closing; the other is a company's formal insolvency appointment.

An empty lane of shops with their roller shutters closed

Analysed 19 October 2026 · ABS Counts of Australian Businesses, including Entries and Exits, July 2022 to June 2026 (released 18 August 2026), data cube 1 and methodology, and the July 2021 to June 2025 edition (released 26 August 2025) · ASIC Series 1 and Series 2 workbook released 19 October 2026 (data to 4 October 2026) · ASIC INFO 80 · ASIC Corporate Insolvency Update, Issue 41, October 2026.

Key takeaways

ABS: 67,401 exits, 83,004 entries, 3.4% more businesses: Construction division, actively trading businesses, 2025-26: 463,048 operating at the start of the year, 83,004 entries, 67,401 exits (50,935 cancellations and 16,466 other exits), 478,651 at 30 June 2026. Exit rate 14.6%, entry rate 17.9% (ABS, released 18 August 2026).
ASIC: 3,472 companies, 4,438 appointments: Construction division, FY2025-26: 3,472 companies entering external administration or having a controller appointed for the first time (Series 1) and 4,438 appointments of all kinds (Series 2, ASIC Table 2.2), in the workbook released 19 October 2026 with data to 4 October 2026. Series 1 counts a company once, except where it re-enters external administration after being taken out of it.
Different units, different events: An ABS business is an ABN, or for large complex groups a statistical unit, and includes sole proprietors, partnerships and trusts. An ASIC count is of companies. An ABS exit is a business no longer actively trading at 30 June; an ASIC count is a formal appointment. Neither publication links one to the other.
Both numbers move between editions: The ABS put 2024-25 construction exits at 66,412 in its August 2025 release and 66,443 in its August 2026 release. ASIC's weekly releases revise recent months until they cease to be provisional.
We would store the event with the figure: A system-design recommendation: a stored count carries its publisher, unit, event definition, period, release date and extract or data-to date, so an exit is never read as an insolvency.

Two releases, two definitions

Both releases use the ANZSIC 2006 construction division and both cover the year to 30 June 2026. Almost everything else differs: what is counted, what event moves the count, where the data comes from and when the count is fixed.

Definitions are quoted or closely paraphrased from the ABS CABEE methodology (July 2022 to June 2026) and ASIC INFO 80, both read 19 October 2026.

	ABS Counts of Australian Businesses (CABEE)	ASIC insolvency statistics, Series 1
Unit	A business: an ABN in the non-profiled population, or a Type of Activity Unit for large, complex groups. Includes sole proprietors, partnerships, trusts and companies	A company
Event	Exit: actively trading at 30 June of the previous year and no longer actively trading at 30 June of the reference year	The first time a company enters external administration or has a controller appointed
What triggers it	Cancelling an ABN, or not remitting GST for five consecutive quarters (three years for annual remitters), or moving out of scope	A formal appointment lodged with ASIC, by date of appointment
Period	Snapshots at 30 June 2025 and 30 June 2026	Appointments with effective dates 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026
Data timing	Compiled from an extract of source data taken in mid-May each year	Released weekly, two weeks in arrears; read here with data to 4 October 2026
Industry source	Australian Business Register and ATO data; the final year's classification is applied to all five years (back-cast)	ANZSIC code on the Form 505 lodged by the external administrator or controller
Revisions	Earlier editions can be updated when businesses report changes	Not amended after figures cease to be provisional

The construction counts, side by side and not divided

The published construction figures for the last four financial years move differently, and they do not combine. Dividing ASIC's count by the ABS's would mix a count of companies with a count of all business structures, and a formal appointment with any kind of closure.

ABS: Counts of Australian Businesses, including Entries and Exits, July 2022 to June 2026, data cube 1, Table 1, Construction, released 18 August 2026. ASIC: Series 1 is our recount of the Data set sheet in the Series 1 and Series 2 workbook released 19 October 2026 (data to 4 October 2026), construction division by financial year, and matches ASIC's Table 1.2. Series 2 is ASIC's published Table 2.2. Our recount of Series 2-flagged records reads 2,818, 3,889, 4,889 and 4,439; each difference equals the simplified-liquidation records, which ASIC's INFO 80 states are not a separate appointment (our calculation). The 3,472 Series 1 records for FY2025-26 carry 3,403 distinct ACNs (our calculation); ASIC counts a company again only where it re-enters external administration after being taken out of it. FY2025-26 includes months ASIC shades as provisional in recent releases.

Year	ABS exits (of which ABN cancellations)	ABS businesses at 30 June	ASIC Series 1 companies	ASIC Series 2 appointments (Table 2.2)
2022-23	64,463 (49,836)	444,070	2,213	2,812
2023-24	67,644 (51,128)	453,030	2,977	3,882
2024-25	66,443 (49,511)	463,048	3,596	4,888
2025-26	67,401 (50,935)	478,651	3,472	4,438

The directions differ in the latest year: ABS construction exits rose from 66,443 to 67,401 between 2024-25 and 2025-26, and the business count still grew. ASIC's construction Series 1 count fell from 3,596 to 3,472 over the same financial years. Those are two different events moving in two directions in the same year, which is what the definitions allow.
ASIC's own ratio uses a third population: ASIC's October 2026 update divides companies entering external administration by registered companies: 14,153 of 3,747,130 registered at 30 June 2026, 0.38%, across all industries. Registered companies are neither ABS businesses nor actively trading ones.

An exit is not a failure.
A failure may not be an exit.

The ABS methodology lists what sits inside an exit: closure, sale, restructuring, non-remittance or a move out of scope. The exit count does not establish how many involved insolvency. ASIC's documentation lists what sits outside its insolvency series, and some of it is closure. Read together, the two leave large spaces that neither covers.

What an ABS exit includes: Cancellations: a non-profiled business that cancelled its ABN, or a profiled unit that ceased. The ABS states these "typically happen when; a business has closed, a business has been sold, a business has significantly changed structure, or a business is no longer operating in Australia". Other exits: a long term non-remitter that has not lodged BAS data for five quarters (three years for annual remitters), or a business that moved out of scope.
An exit can come back: A long term non-remitter that later resumes remitting GST is counted as an other exit in the reference period it becomes a long term non-remitter, and as an other entry in the reference period it resumes remitting GST. The ABS adds that such a business "may have been operating during the period".
A closed business can still be counted: The ABS states a business "may still be counted as actively trading at the end of the financial year even if it has ceased operating", if its ABN has not been cancelled and it has remitted GST within the last five quarters (three years for annual remitters). Businesses with no ABN because they sit under the GST registration threshold, currently $75,000, are not counted at all.
What ASIC's insolvency series leave out: Series 1 and 2 exclude members' voluntary liquidations, which ASIC describes as the winding up of solvent companies and publishes separately as Series 5. Sole traders and partnerships do not appear in ASIC's company statistics at all.

The figure moves between editions,
on both sides.

A count quoted in a report is a reading of one edition. The ABS and ASIC both say their earlier figures can change, for different reasons.

ABS: 66,412 became 66,443: Construction exits for 2024-25 read 66,412 in the release of 26 August 2025 and 66,443 in the release of 18 August 2026; the 30 June 2025 count moved from 462,939 to 463,048. The ABS applies the final year's industry and sector classification to all five years in each edition and states that changes reported to the register "may generate updates to data previously published in earlier editions".
ASIC: provisional until the shading goes: ASIC releases Series 1 and 2 weekly, two weeks in arrears, shades recent figures as provisional, and states it "does not amend the published statistics" after they cease to be preliminary. Construction FY2025-26 read 3,472 in the workbook published 24 August 2026 and still reads 3,472 in the one published 19 October 2026.
Survival is a third, slower measure: Of 435,420 construction businesses operating in June 2022, the ABS counts 259,531 still operating in June 2026, a survival rate of 59.6% (all industries 61.9%). That is a cohort followed for four years, not an annual count of either exits or insolvencies.

One source, two insolvency numbers

What we would put in a system

For any business statistic stored in a risk register, board paper or supplier review, and for any status field on a counterparty, we would test for five fields.

Where agents help here is narrow. A reporting agent can watch for the ABS annual release and ASIC's weekly workbook, re-read the construction cells a business tracks, and draft a note of what changed with each figure's unit, event and release attached; a person confirms before the figure is used. For a counterparty, separate status fields (ABN status, ASIC appointment, date checked) can be drafted from public registers and confirmed by a person. No agent turns an industry statistic into a judgement about any business.

Field	Why it is load-bearing
Publisher and series	ABS CABEE and ASIC Series 1 both say "construction" and count different things.
Unit	Business (ABN or statistical unit) or company (ACN). A sole trader can exit; only a company can enter ASIC's insolvency series.
Event the figure counts	An exit (stopped actively trading, for any reason) or a formal appointment. The label decides what the number can be used to say.
Period and the date the data was fixed	ABS: 30 June snapshots from a mid-May extract. ASIC: appointment dates, read to a data-to date.
Edition and release date	The 2024-25 ABS exit count and ASIC's recent months both changed between editions.

Questions worth asking
of your own reports

For a construction group's finance lead: does your board pack say whether its industry figure counts exits or insolvencies?

For 2025-26 the two read 67,401 ABS construction exits and 3,472 ASIC construction companies. A figure without that label can be read as the other one, and nothing in the number itself shows the reader which.

For a supplier reviewing a builder's account: does your record separate an ABN cancellation from an ASIC appointment?

The ABS counts a cancelled ABN as an exit whether the business closed, was sold or restructured. An ASIC appointment is a different event. Two status fields, each with its date checked, keep them apart. A record-keeping point, not credit advice.

For a developer writing a risk section: which edition did your figure come from?

ABS 2024-25 construction exits changed from 66,412 to 66,443 between the 2025 and 2026 editions. Naming the release lets a later reader check the number rather than repeat it.

Questions people ask
about builders going broke

How many builders went broke in 2026?

Neither the ABS nor ASIC publishes a count of builders going broke. ASIC's Series 1 counts 3,472 construction companies entering external administration or having a controller appointed for the first time in FY2025-26 (1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026), in the workbook released 19 October 2026 with data to 4 October 2026. ASIC publishes FY2026-27 months weekly, and recent months are provisional.

How many builders went broke in 2025?

For FY2024-25 (1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025), ASIC's Series 1 counts 3,596 construction companies entering external administration or having a controller appointed for the first time, in the workbook released 19 October 2026. That is a count of companies in the ANZSIC construction division, which includes trades, not only builders.

Are ABS business exits the same as insolvencies?

No. The ABS counts an exit when a business actively trading at 30 June of one year is no longer actively trading at 30 June of the next, mostly through a cancelled ABN, or by not remitting GST for five consecutive quarters (three consecutive years for annual remitters). Closures, sales and restructures all count. ASIC's insolvency statistics count formal appointments to companies only.

How many construction businesses are there in Australia?

The ABS counted 478,651 actively trading construction businesses at 30 June 2026, up 3.4% from 463,048 at 30 June 2025, in Counts of Australian Businesses released 18 August 2026. Actively trading means remitting GST or, for large complex groups, an ABS-maintained statistical unit; it is not the same as the number of registered ABNs.

What counts as an actively trading business?

In the ABS release, an ABN in the market sector that is actively remitting GST through Business Activity Statements, or a Type of Activity Unit for large, complex groups. A business that has not lodged BAS, or has reported zero amounts, for five consecutive quarters (three consecutive years for annual remitters) is treated as a long term non-remitter and excluded.

What this analysis
does and does not show.

Evidence note

What it shows: The ABS's construction division counts of actively trading businesses, entries, exits and survival for 2022-23 to 2025-26 (release of 18 August 2026), with one comparison against the 26 August 2025 release; ASIC's construction Series 1 and Series 2 counts for the same financial years from the workbook released 19 October 2026; and each publisher's definition of what it counts.
Key facts quoted: ABS 2025-26 construction: 463,048 at start, 83,004 entries, 67,401 exits (50,935 cancellations, 16,466 other), 478,651 at 30 June 2026, 3.4% change, exit rate 14.6%; 2024-25 exits 66,412 (2025 release) and 66,443 (2026 release). ASIC construction FY2025-26: Series 1 3,472, Series 2 4,438 (Table 2.2); ASIC whole economy 14,153 companies against 3,747,130 registered, 0.38%.
Our calculations: The ASIC Series 1 construction counts by financial year are our recount of the workbook's record-level data and match ASIC's Table 1.2; Series 2 figures are ASIC's Table 2.2, which our record count exceeds by the simplified-liquidation records, one to seven a year; 3,403 distinct ACNs among the 3,472 FY2025-26 Series 1 records. No ratio between ABS and ASIC figures is calculated.

The ABS data cube 1 does not split construction businesses by type of legal organisation, so the number of construction companies among ABS exits is not known from it.
Neither publication links a business exit to an insolvency appointment, so the overlap between the two counts is unknown and is not estimated.
ASIC's FY2025-26 figures include months that were provisional in recent releases; the figures are as read in the workbook released 19 October 2026.
Figures are national (Australia). State figures exist in both releases but are not used here.
"Construction" is the ANZSIC 2006 division in both releases, which includes trades and services, not only builders.
General information about published statistics. Not financial, credit or investment advice, not a forecast, and not an assessment of any business.

What to watch next

Both publishers have stated their next releases.

18 December 2026: ABS data cubes 2 to 11: The ABS lists 18 December 2026 as the next release, and states that data cube 1 tables 17 to 20 and data cubes 2 to 11 are released in December.
Weekly: ASIC Series 1 and Series 2: ASIC states it releases Series 1 and Series 2 weekly, two weeks in arrears; each workbook carries its own Released and Data to dates.

Bring us the report that said
how many builders went broke.

Send us the board paper, risk section or supplier review that quoted an industry failure figure. We will show you which publisher and edition it came from, whether it counted exits or insolvencies, and what the same cell reads today.

This article is general information about published ABS and ASIC statistics. It is not financial, credit, legal or investment advice, makes no forecast and no assessment of any business. Figures are national (Australia), from the ABS release of 18 August 2026 and the ASIC workbook released 19 October 2026, all read 19 October 2026.

Send us the report · Reporting

Sources

Suggested citation: ABS, Counts of Australian Businesses, including Entries and Exits, July 2022 - June 2026 (released 18 August 2026), Construction; and ASIC Insolvency statistics, Series 1 and Series 2 workbook released 19 October 2026 (data to 4 October 2026), Construction, recounted at record level by Cyberate; read 19 October 2026. Derived figures: the ASIC Series 1 construction counts by financial year and the 3,403 distinct ACNs are our recount; Series 2 figures are ASIC's Table 2.2.

67,401 construction businesses exited in 2025‑26. That is not an insolvency count.