INSIGHT · DEVELOPMENT & REPORTING
South Australian dwelling approvals,
August 2026: 1,701, up 24.0%.
South Australia approved 1,701 dwellings in August 2026 on the seasonally adjusted series, up 24.0% on July's 1,372, according to the ABS Building Approvals release for August 2026, published 30 September 2026. Private sector houses rose 27.7% to 1,036. On the original series, 1,776 dwellings were approved in the month and 15,962 in the 12 months to August 2026. A 12-month total depends on which series is summed: the 14,914 the South Australian Government quoted for the year to April 2026 is the sum of the seasonally adjusted series; the original series gives 14,933.
Analysed 7 October 2026 · ABS Building Approvals, Australia, August 2026 (released 30 September 2026), Table 04, South Australia, all series · the July and April 2026 editions of the same table for comparison · Department for Housing and Urban Development release of 3 June 2026 · all read 7 October 2026.
Key takeaways
- August 2026: 1,701 seasonally adjusted, 1,776 original: Total dwelling units approved in South Australia, all sectors, ABS Table 04. The seasonally adjusted figure rose 24.0% from July's 1,372; the trend estimate is 1,490. The original count splits into 1,022 houses and 754 dwellings excluding houses.
- 12 months to August 2026: 15,962 on the original series: The sum of the original monthly counts from September 2025 to August 2026, against 14,584 for the 12 months to August 2025. Both are our calculation from the August 2026 edition of Table 04.
- The Government's 14,914 is a seasonally adjusted sum: Summing the April 2026 edition's 12 seasonally adjusted monthly totals to April 2026 gives 14,914, and the same sum a year earlier gives 14,120: a 5.6% increase. Those are the figures in the 3 June 2026 release. The original series over the same months gives 14,933 and 14,010, a 6.6% increase.
- July moved between editions: July 2026 read 1,376 seasonally adjusted in the July edition and 1,372 in the August edition; the original count moved from 1,358 to 1,359. Seasonally adjusted figures are re-estimated each month, so a stored figure needs its edition.
The month, three ways
South Australia, total dwelling units approved, all sectors, from the August 2026 edition of ABS Table 04.
The ABS release states the seasonally adjusted state movements, including South Australia +24.0% for total dwellings and +27.7% for private sector houses. Original monthly counts include seasonal effects, which is why the ABS uses seasonally adjusted and trend series for month-to-month movement.
| Series | July 2026 | August 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seasonally adjusted | 1,372 | 1,701 | +24.0% |
| Trend | 1,448 | 1,490 | +2.9% (our calculation) |
| Original | 1,359 | 1,776 | Not published; includes seasonal effects |
| Private sector houses, seasonally adjusted | 811 | 1,036 | +27.7% |
01
A 12-month total
is a choice of series.
The Department for Housing and Urban Development's release of 3 June 2026 states that dwelling approvals for the year ending April 2026 increased 5.6% to 14,914, citing ABS data released the previous day. ABS Table 04 publishes monthly figures, not a 12-month total, so any annual figure is a sum someone has made.
Our calculation: each row sums Table 04's monthly values for May 2025 to April 2026 and for May 2024 to April 2025, from the edition released for April 2026. Only the seasonally adjusted sum reproduces both numbers in the release. The release does not say which series it summed.
| 12 months to April 2026 | Sum | A year earlier | Change (our calculation) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seasonally adjusted, total dwellings | 14,914 | 14,120 | +5.6% |
| Trend, total dwellings | 14,923 | 14,089 | +5.9% |
| Original, total dwellings | 14,933 | 14,010 | +6.6% |
02
The same month,
read in two editions.
The ABS re-estimates seasonal factors as each month is added, and original counts can be revised as late approvals are processed. Comparing the July and August 2026 editions of Table 04 shows both at once.
| South Australia, July 2026 | July 2026 edition | August 2026 edition |
|---|---|---|
| Seasonally adjusted, total dwellings | 1,376 | 1,372 |
| Original, total dwellings | 1,358 | 1,359 |
- Small moves, stored figures: Neither revision changes a conclusion. Both change a stored number, which is enough for a report that quoted 1,376 to disagree with a later one that quotes 1,372 for the same month.
03
What an approvals figure
has to carry to be reused.
For a developer's pipeline paper, a builder's capacity plan or a lender's market note, the figure is reusable only with five things attached. That is our system-design recommendation, not a reporting standard.
- The series: Original, seasonally adjusted or trend. For the 12 months to April 2026 they give 14,933, 14,914 and 14,923.
- The measure: Total dwellings, houses, or dwellings excluding houses; private sector or all sectors.
- The geography: South Australia as a whole, or Greater Adelaide, which the ABS publishes separately, on the original series, in Table 10.
- The edition: The reference month of the release it was read from, because seasonally adjusted values move each month.
- The method of any total: Which months were summed, from which series. The ABS does not publish the 12-month total itself.
Approvals are not consents,
and neither is a start.
A dwelling approval in the ABS series is a building approval, counted when the approving authority issues it. It is not the planning consent whose timing the State Planning Commission reports, and it is not a commencement. How long consent takes, and what the published day counts measure, is covered in our reading of the planning figures.
How long planning consent takes in SA · Reporting & Dashboards
Questions people ask
about South Australian approvals
How many dwellings were approved in South Australia in August 2026?
1,701 on the ABS seasonally adjusted series, up 24.0% on July's 1,372, and 1,776 on the original series (1,022 houses and 754 dwellings excluding houses). Source: ABS Building Approvals, Australia, August 2026, released 30 September 2026, Table 04.
How many dwellings were approved in South Australia in the last 12 months?
15,962 in the 12 months to August 2026, summing the ABS original series, against 14,584 a year earlier (our calculation from Table 04 of the August 2026 edition). A sum of the seasonally adjusted series gives a different total.
Where does the 14,914 dwelling approvals figure for South Australia come from?
It matches the sum of the ABS seasonally adjusted monthly totals for May 2025 to April 2026 in the April 2026 edition of Table 04, and the 5.6% increase matches the same sum a year earlier (14,120). The Government release of 3 June 2026 does not name the series. The original series gives 14,933, up 6.6%.
When is the next ABS building approvals release?
The ABS release page for August 2026 lists the next release, for September 2026, on 2 November 2026.
What this analysis
does and does not show.
Evidence note
- What it shows
- South Australian dwelling approvals for July and August 2026 on three ABS series, a 12-month total, the series behind a 12-month figure quoted by the South Australian Government, and revisions between two editions.
- Key facts quoted
- ABS Table 04 values; the ABS release's stated movements for South Australia (+24.0% total dwellings, +27.7% private sector houses, seasonally adjusted); the release date (30 September 2026) and next release (2 November 2026); the 3 June 2026 Government release's 14,914 and 5.6%.
- Our calculations
- 12-month sums by series, their year-on-year changes, the trend movement, and the edition-to-edition comparison, from Table 04 of the April, July and August 2026 editions archived with this analysis.
- One state. Figures are South Australia only; the ABS publishes the other states in separate tables.
- We infer the Government release's method from the arithmetic: the seasonally adjusted sum reproduces both its figures and the other series do not. The release does not state it.
- Approvals are not commencements or completions, and an approval can lapse without a start.
- Recent months are revised. Figures here are as published in the editions named and will move in later editions.
What to watch next
- September 2026: The ABS lists the next Building Approvals release on 2 November 2026.
- The July and August revisions: The ABS re-estimates seasonally adjusted values for recent months with each release, so July and August 2026 can move again.
Bring us the pipeline report
that quotes an approvals figure.
Send us the board pack or feasibility that cited an ABS approvals number. We will show which series and edition it most likely came from, and what the same figure reads today.
General information about published official statistics. Not financial, investment or planning advice, and not a forecast.
Sources
Suggested citation: ABS Building Approvals, Australia, August 2026 (released 30 September 2026), Table 04, South Australia, analysed by Cyberate, read 7 October 2026.
- ABS - Building Approvals, Australia, August 2026: Released 30 September 2026; next release 2 November 2026 · read 7 October 2026 · official statistics release
- ABS - Table 04, dwelling units approved, South Australia, all series (August 2026 edition): Read 7 October 2026 · spreadsheet, archived with this analysis
- ABS - Table 04, July 2026 edition: Read 7 October 2026 · used for the edition comparison
- ABS - Table 04, April 2026 edition: Read 7 October 2026 · used for the 12 months to April 2026
- Department for Housing and Urban Development - State housing and planning approvals surge: Dated 3 June 2026 · read 7 October 2026 through a rendering proxy because the site blocks automated access · government media release