INSIGHT · COST & QUOTING
The ABS construction cost index
is a set of builders' price indexes by state and building type.
The ABS does not publish one construction cost index. Its Producer Price Indexes measure the prices builders receive for house construction, other residential building and non-residential building in each state, and for road and bridge construction. In the June quarter 2026 (Producer Price Indexes, Australia, June 2026, released 31 July 2026), house construction prices rose 2.0% in the quarter and 5.9% over the year, other residential 0.8% and 4.1%, and non-residential 1.0% and 4.4%. The prices exclude GST. A separate input index tracks house building materials.
Analysed 27 October 2026 · ABS Producer Price Indexes, Australia, June 2026, released 31 July 2026: release page, Table 17 (Output of the Construction industries) and Table 18 (Input to the House construction industry) · ABS Producer Price Indexes methodology, June 2026 · ABS article 'Insights into Output of Building construction prices', released 2 August 2024 · all pages and files read 27 October 2026.
Key takeaways
- Several output indexes, not one: ABS Table 17 publishes output price indexes for house construction, other residential building (the ABS gives apartments as an example) and non-residential building for each state and territory, and road and bridge construction for five states and Australia. In the June quarter 2026 building construction as a whole rose 1.4% and 4.9% over the year.
- House prices: from 11.5% in Tasmania to 3.7% in Victoria: The annual rise in the house construction output index to the June quarter 2026 ranged from 11.5% in Tasmania to 3.7% in Victoria (our ranking of ABS published changes). South Australia rose 3.4% in the quarter and 8.5% over the year.
- A price builders receive, not a job cost: The ABS states that, as far as possible, builders' selling prices are reflected in the output indexes, valued at basic prices and excluding GST. An index number compares a series with its own 2011-12 level; it is not a dollar cost for any building.
- Materials have their own index: The Input to the House construction industry index prices materials delivered on site in six capital cities. It rose 2.1% in the June quarter 2026 and 3.8% over the year. Labour is not in it.
- We would store the series ID and both quarters: A system-design recommendation: any escalation or rise and fall calculation records the ABS table, series ID, state, base quarter, adjustment quarter, both index numbers and the release each came from.
01
House construction prices,
state by state.
Output of House construction (ANZSIC class 3011), June quarter 2026 (Producer Price Indexes, Australia, June 2026, released 31 July 2026). The quarter and annual changes are as printed by the ABS; the five-year change, from the June quarter 2021, is our calculation from the published index numbers.
Original series, index reference period 2011-12 = 100.0, GST excluded. The ABS compiles each state index from prices for work in its capital city, used to represent the whole state or territory. Index levels compare each state with its own 2011-12 level, not states with each other. The ABS states House construction rose 2.0% in the June quarter 2026, the largest rise since September 2022, and that growth in building construction output prices this quarter was driven by fuel price increases following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
| State | Index | Change in quarter | Change over year | Five years (our calculation) | Series read (Table 17) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | 193.0 | +2.0% | +4.8% | +38.2% | A2333673T, Producer Price Indexes, Australia, June 2026, read 27 October 2026 |
| Victoria | 164.7 | +0.7% | +3.7% | +29.5% | A2333694C, Producer Price Indexes, Australia, June 2026, read 27 October 2026 |
| Queensland | 199.2 | +3.1% | +8.0% | +51.5% | A2333715C, Producer Price Indexes, Australia, June 2026, read 27 October 2026 |
| South Australia | 179.7 | +3.4% | +8.5% | +57.4% | A2333736R, Producer Price Indexes, Australia, June 2026, read 27 October 2026 |
| Western Australia | 219.7 | +2.6% | +8.8% | +69.8% | A2333757A, Producer Price Indexes, Australia, June 2026, read 27 October 2026 |
| Tasmania | 201.3 | +4.7% | +11.5% | +54.3% | A2333778L, Producer Price Indexes, Australia, June 2026, read 27 October 2026 |
| Northern Territory | 132.6 | +1.4% | +4.6% | +18.1% | A2333799X, Producer Price Indexes, Australia, June 2026, read 27 October 2026 |
| Australian Capital Territory | 168.3 | +2.9% | +5.0% | +48.3% | A2333820F, Producer Price Indexes, Australia, June 2026, read 27 October 2026 |
| Australia | 182.6 | +2.0% | +5.9% | +42.5% | A2333652F, Producer Price Indexes, Australia, June 2026, read 27 October 2026 |
02
Other residential and
non-residential building.
Other residential building construction (class 3019) is illustrated by the ABS with apartments, and non-residential building construction (class 3020) with office buildings and hospitals. Both are published for each state and territory. Figures are for the June quarter 2026, as printed by the ABS.
The ABS states the products and weights for these two classes come from a bill of quantities obtained from a quantity surveyor in 2021-22, price updated to June 2022 and proportioned to state and class using Building Approvals. For Queensland, these two classes also include prices obtained for North Queensland.
| State | Other residential, quarter | Other residential, year | Non-residential, quarter | Non-residential, year | Series read (Table 17) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | +1.1% | +3.4% | +1.1% | +3.5% | A2333676X, A2333679F, Producer Price Indexes, Australia, June 2026, read 27 October 2026 |
| Victoria | 0.0% | +3.2% | +0.2% | +3.7% | A2333697K, A2333700L, Producer Price Indexes, Australia, June 2026, read 27 October 2026 |
| Queensland | +2.0% | +9.0% | +2.1% | +8.7% | A2333718K, A2333721X, Producer Price Indexes, Australia, June 2026, read 27 October 2026 |
| South Australia | +0.1% | +3.4% | +0.1% | +3.2% | A2333739W, A2333742K, Producer Price Indexes, Australia, June 2026, read 27 October 2026 |
| Western Australia | +2.3% | +6.0% | +2.1% | +5.0% | A2333760R, A2333763W, Producer Price Indexes, Australia, June 2026, read 27 October 2026 |
| Tasmania | +0.4% | +1.4% | +0.6% | +1.6% | A2333781A, A2333784J, Producer Price Indexes, Australia, June 2026, read 27 October 2026 |
| Northern Territory | +0.3% | +4.6% | +0.5% | +4.5% | A2333802A, A2333805J, Producer Price Indexes, Australia, June 2026, read 27 October 2026 |
| Australian Capital Territory | +0.2% | +0.8% | +0.4% | +1.2% | A2333823L, A2333826V, Producer Price Indexes, Australia, June 2026, read 27 October 2026 |
| Australia | +0.8% | +4.1% | +1.0% | +4.4% | A2333655L, A2333658V, Producer Price Indexes, Australia, June 2026, read 27 October 2026 |
03
Road and bridge construction,
five states and Australia.
Road and bridge construction (class 3101) is published for New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Australia. There is no road and bridge index for Tasmania, the Northern Territory or the ACT. The ABS states Road and bridge construction rose 4.5% in the quarter, the largest quarterly rise since the series began in the September quarter 1997, due to rising bitumen and diesel prices.
The ABS prints the Australian quarterly change (4.5%). The state quarterly changes and all annual changes in this table are our calculation from Table 17 index numbers. Heavy and civil engineering construction as a whole rose 2.7% in the quarter and 3.6% over the year (ABS release page). Roads and bridges are outside residential building; the ABS publishes them in the same table.
| State | Index | Change in quarter | Change over year (our calculation) | Series read (Table 17) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | 155.4 | +4.0% | +4.2% | A2333685A, Producer Price Indexes, Australia, June 2026, read 27 October 2026 |
| Victoria | 159.0 | +6.2% | +8.5% | A2333706A, Producer Price Indexes, Australia, June 2026, read 27 October 2026 |
| Queensland | 154.5 | +4.3% | +5.9% | A2333727L, Producer Price Indexes, Australia, June 2026, read 27 October 2026 |
| South Australia | 169.7 | +4.4% | +5.0% | A2333748X, Producer Price Indexes, Australia, June 2026, read 27 October 2026 |
| Western Australia | 147.2 | +4.2% | +7.7% | A2333769K, Producer Price Indexes, Australia, June 2026, read 27 October 2026 |
| Australia | 154.9 | +4.5% | +5.8% | A2333664R, Producer Price Indexes, Australia, June 2026, read 27 October 2026 |
04
What the index measures,
and what it does not.
The ABS Producer Price Indexes methodology for the June 2026 release sets out what the construction indexes price.
- The builder's selling price: Output indexes are valued at basic prices, the amount received by the producer, exclusive of taxes on products. The ABS states that, as far as possible, builders' selling prices are reflected in the output indexes. For house construction, the price includes grants, rebates and subsidies received by the purchaser.
- GST excluded: The ABS states the Goods and Services Tax is excluded from all prices recorded in the Producer Price Indexes.
- Land: The methodology does not mention land. The indexes price the output of the construction industries (ANZSIC 2006 Subdivisions 30 and 31), which is building and engineering work, so land is outside what is priced (our reading, not an ABS statement).
- Not a record of tenders or quotes: The ABS states that specification pricing is not feasible where products are unique, as construction outputs are, and that it uses alternative techniques such as model pricing. The index measures price change for defined construction outputs; it does not collect the prices of particular tenders or quotes (our reading of the method).
- Final when first published: The ABS states index numbers are released as final figures when first published, and revisions occur only in exceptional circumstances. The reference period is 2011-12 = 100.0.
05
Other series also called
a construction cost index.
Searches for a construction or building cost index return more than the ABS. Within the ABS, the Input to the House construction industry index measures materials prices, not builders' prices: in the June quarter 2026 it stood at 167.8, up 2.1% in the quarter and 3.8% over the year (weighted average of six capital cities). Outside the ABS, indexes published by private publishers such as ENR, Rawlinsons and Cordell are compiled by those publishers on their own methods. They are different series from the ABS Producer Price Indexes.
- Input and output side by side: Our page on input costs against house prices sets the house input index, the house output index and the CPI new dwellings index against each other, with what each measures.
- Materials, item by item: Our page on building material prices reads the input index by material group and item, such as timber, steel, copper pipe and electrical cable.
- A dollar rate is a different measure: A cost per square metre comes from ABS Building Activity values and floor areas, not from a price index; our page on building cost per square metre by state sets out how it is derived.
06
What an escalation clause
references.
A rise and fall or escalation clause that uses a published index typically names the index, the base period, the adjustment period and the formula that applies the change. Whether a contract has such a clause, and what it says, is a matter for the contract and the parties' advisers. What the ABS publication settles is which series exists, what it measures and which value it held in each quarter.
- An illustration of the arithmetic: If a calculation used the South Australian house construction output index (A2333736R) with a base of the June quarter 2025 (165.6) and an adjustment quarter of the June quarter 2026 (179.7), the ratio would be 1.0851, and an amount of $100,000 would become $108,514 (our calculation, for illustration only).
- The same quarters, a different index: Over the same year the Adelaide input index rose 4.4%, South Australian other residential 3.4% and non-residential 3.2%. Which series a clause names changes the result.
- Store the base as well as the value: Because PPI index numbers are final when first published, a stored value should stay reproducible. A change of reference base would change every index level, so the base is part of the record.
What we would put in a system
Where agents help is narrow. A quoting agent can read Table 17 when a release lands, propose the index numbers for the stated class, state and quarters with their series IDs, and draft the calculation, and a person confirms it. No agent decides whether a contract permits an adjustment, which index it refers to or what amount is payable.
| Field | Why it is load-bearing |
|---|---|
| Table and series ID | "The construction cost index" could mean any of the 44 series in Table 17 alone, or the input index in Table 18. A series ID such as A2333736R (house construction, South Australia) does not. |
| Class and state | House, other residential and non-residential indexes for one state moved differently over the same year: in South Australia 8.5%, 3.4% and 3.2% to the June quarter 2026. |
| Base and adjustment quarters, with both index numbers | An escalation calculation compares two published quarters. Storing both values and both quarters makes the calculation re-checkable. |
| Release and reference base | The release name and date, and the 2011-12 = 100.0 base, keep a stored index number comparable with the next one. |
- Quoting: Holds each quote with its cost basis, validity window and any index reference.
- Input costs against house prices: Three ABS indexes for one house, and what each measures.
- Building material prices by item: The ABS input index for house construction, material by material.
- Building cost per square metre by state: A dollar rate from ABS cost and floor area, and how it differs from an index.
Questions worth asking
of your own cost records
For a builder: when a contract refers to a construction cost index, does your record show which ABS class and state?
House construction in South Australia rose 8.5% over the year to the June quarter 2026; non-residential building in the same state rose 3.2%. A record that says only "ABS index" cannot show which was applied.
For a developer: is the escalation in your feasibility an output index, an input index or a dollar rate?
The output index is the builder's price, the input index is materials only and a cost per square metre is a Building Activity value. Each answers a different question, and the model should show which it uses.
For a subcontractor on civil work: is there a road and bridge index for your state?
Table 17 publishes road and bridge construction for five states and Australia. Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the ACT have none, so a reference to a state road index there would point at a series that does not exist.
Questions people ask
about the construction cost index
What is the construction cost index in Australia?
The ABS publishes construction price indexes in its Producer Price Indexes: output indexes for house construction, other residential and non-residential building by state, and road and bridge construction, plus an input index for house materials. In the June quarter 2026 (Producer Price Indexes, Australia, June 2026, released 31 July 2026), the house construction output index for Australia was 182.6 on a 2011-12 = 100.0 base.
How much have building costs increased in 2026?
In the year to the June quarter 2026, the ABS house construction output index (builders' prices, Australia) rose 5.9%, other residential building 4.1% and non-residential building 4.4%. The materials input index for houses rose 3.8% (six capital cities). All exclude GST.
Is the ABS construction cost index the same as a tender price index?
No. The ABS states that, as far as possible, builders' selling prices are reflected in its output indexes, using pricing techniques such as model pricing because each construction job is unique. It does not collect the prices of particular tenders or quotes (our reading of the methodology).
Does the ABS construction price index include GST and land?
The ABS states GST is excluded from all Producer Price Indexes. The methodology does not mention land; the indexes price construction work, so land is outside their scope (our reading).
Which state had the largest rise in house construction prices?
Tasmania: the ABS house construction output index rose 11.5% over the year to the June quarter 2026, the largest annual rise of any state or territory (our ranking of ABS published changes). The smallest was Victoria, 3.7%.
What this analysis
does and does not show.
Evidence note
- What it shows
- ABS output price indexes for house construction, other residential and non-residential building by state, and road and bridge construction, for the June quarter 2026, from Producer Price Indexes, Australia, June 2026 (released 31 July 2026), Table 17, with the ABS methodology's definitions. Read 27 October 2026.
- Key facts quoted
- Australia, June quarter 2026: house construction 2.0% in the quarter and 5.9% over the year; other residential 0.8% and 4.1%; non-residential 1.0% and 4.4%; road and bridge 4.5% in the quarter. Input to house construction 2.1% and 3.8%. Reference period 2011-12 = 100.0; GST excluded.
- Five-year changes, road and bridge state changes, annual road and bridge changes, rankings and the escalation illustration are our calculation from published index numbers.
- The statements on land and on tenders are our reading of the ABS methodology, which does not address either in words.
- Index levels compare each series with its own 2011-12 level; they are not comparisons between states or dollar costs.
- No forecast of prices and no view on builders' margins.
- Private indexes such as ENR, Rawlinsons and Cordell were not read or used.
- General information about published statistics. Whether a contract uses an index is a matter for that contract. Not legal, financial or contractual advice.
What to watch next
The ABS release page lists the next three Producer Price Indexes releases.
- 30 October 2026: Producer Price Indexes, Australia, September 2026
- 29 January 2027: Producer Price Indexes, Australia, December 2026
- 30 April 2027: Producer Price Indexes, Australia, March 2027
Bring us one contract
with an index in it.
Send us a quote or contract that refers to a construction cost index, and the calculation you would run under it. We will show you which ABS series it matches, what that series measures and which fields your records would need to make the calculation re-checkable.
General information about published ABS price indexes, as read on 27 October 2026. It is not legal, financial or contractual advice, does not interpret any contract and makes no forecast.
Sources
Suggested citation: ABS, Producer Price Indexes, Australia, June 2026 (released 31 July 2026), Table 17, as read 27 October 2026. Derived figures: five-year changes, road and bridge state and annual changes, rankings and the escalation illustration are our calculation, reproduced by compute.py in the source folder.
- ABS - Producer Price Indexes, Australia, June 2026: Released 31 July 2026, 11:30am AEST · read 27 October 2026 · Official statistics release
- ABS - PPI Table 17, Output of the Construction industries, subdivision and class index numbers: Released 31 July 2026 · read 27 October 2026, downloaded as XLSX · Official time series workbook
- ABS - PPI Table 18, Input to the House construction industry: Released 31 July 2026 · read 27 October 2026, downloaded as XLSX · Official time series workbook
- ABS - Producer Price Indexes, Australia methodology, June 2026: Released 31 July 2026 · read 27 October 2026 · Official methodology
- ABS - Insights into Output of Building construction prices: Released 2 August 2024 · read 27 October 2026 · Official information paper