The latest ABS figures show the materials behind the walls of a new house are rising far faster than the house around them. Copper pipe, electrical cable and plastic pipe are up between 23 and 38 per cent in a year, while timber framing and structural steel have gone backwards.
What has happened to copper, cable and pipe prices?
Over the year to September 2026, the price builders pay for copper pipes and fittings rose 37.6 per cent. That is the fastest annual rise in the series since 2007.
Electrical cable and conduit rose 23.8 per cent over the same year. Plastic pipes and fittings rose 24.7 per cent. Both are the fastest annual rises since early 2022.
For comparison, the price of all materials going into a new house rose 3.9 per cent.
The figures come from the ABS Producer Price Indexes for the September quarter 2026, released on 30 October. They track what builders pay for materials, averaged across the six state capitals.
This is not a one quarter spike. Copper pipe prices have risen in each of the last four quarters, including 14.5 per cent in the March quarter and 9.5 per cent in September. Electrical cable rose 9.2 per cent in March, 11.2 per cent in June and a further 3.6 per cent in September. Plastic pipe jumped 12.4 per cent in June and 9.0 per cent in September.
Over five years, copper pipe prices have more than doubled.
Why are plumbing and electrical materials rising so fast?
The ABS points to two separate forces.
The first is copper. The bureau says global demand for copper is strongly outpacing supply, driven by the spread of data centres and demand for electrical goods. That feeds directly into copper pipe, electrical cable and other electrical gear.
The second is oil. Plastic pipe and resin are petroleum based products, and the ABS says global PVC costs have stayed high because of the Middle East conflict. Elevated diesel prices have also pushed up haulage and freight across most materials.
Both forces sit well outside the residential market. House construction demand is softening, according to the same ABS release, but that has done nothing to slow the price of copper.
How much of the rise is coming from services materials?
Close to half of it, this quarter.
The ABS input index for house construction rose 1.6 index points in the September quarter. Plumbing products contributed 0.48 points and electrical equipment 0.22 points. Together that is 0.70 points, or about 44 per cent of the total rise.
Yet those two groups account for only about 14 per cent of the index. Plumbing products were the single largest contributor to the quarterly rise, ahead of timber, board and joinery, which carries roughly four times the weight.
Over the year, plumbing products rose 9.4 per cent and electrical equipment 14.5 per cent. Within electrical, switches and distribution boards rose 6.7 per cent.
The frame is getting cheaper while the services are not
At the other end of the index, the big structural items are flat or falling.
Structural timber fell 0.1 per cent over the year. Steel beams and sections fell 1.4 per cent. Metal roofing and guttering fell 1.6 per cent. Readymixed concrete fell 0.6 per cent in the September quarter.
That changes where cost pressure sits on a job. For two years after the pandemic, the story was timber, steel and concrete. Now the frame, slab and roof are steady, and the pressure has moved into the walls and ceilings.
The frame, slab and roof are steady. The pressure has moved into the walls and ceilings.
What does the ABS input to house construction index measure?
The ABS input to house construction index measures the prices builders pay for building materials, averaged across the six state capital cities. It does not include labour, overheads or margin. Each material is weighted by how much it typically contributes to the cost of building a house, so a large rise in a small item moves the total less than a small rise in a large item.
Where do these costs land on a residential job?
On most residential jobs, cable, conduit and pipe are supplied by the electrician and plumber as part of their price. That means these rises usually reach the builder through trade quotes rather than the builder’s own material orders.
It also means the timing can be uneven. A plumbing or electrical quote priced six months ago was priced before the largest of these rises. The ABS index shows copper pipe up 15.8 per cent and electrical cable up 15.2 per cent since the March quarter alone.
On a fixed price contract, the builder carries that movement unless the contract provides for price adjustment. On a job still being estimated, it feeds into the price offered.
For trades, the position is similar. A plumber or electrician holding a fixed quote on materials that have risen this quickly carries the same exposure one level down. How that is shared depends on the subcontract agreement and its terms.
The Good Builder Take
Most cost conversations in our community still start with timber and concrete, because that is where the pain was in 2021 and 2022. The data says the pressure has moved.
Copper is now competing with data centres and electrical goods for global supply. That is a long way from a house slab, but it lands in every rough in, and it is one of the few material costs that softer housing demand will not fix.
Will copper and cable prices keep rising?
The ABS does not forecast prices. What it does say is that copper demand is strongly outpacing supply, driven by data centres and electrical goods. Neither of those drivers is tied to the housing cycle.
Elsewhere in the release, the ABS reported that global oil prices eased slightly in the September quarter. If that holds, it may take some pressure off plastic pipe and freight. There is no equivalent signal yet for copper.
The wider national construction cost picture is still pointing up. House construction prices rose 5.7 per cent over the year, even as demand softened.
The next read is the December quarter release on 29 January 2027. The ABS plans to reweight the construction indexes in that release, which will update how much each material counts toward the total.
The cost of a house is moving behind the plasterboard
Overall, house material costs are rising at a steady 3.9 per cent a year. That headline hides two very different trends.
The structural materials that dominated the last cost cycle are flat or falling. The services materials that sit inside the walls are rising at rates not seen in years, driven by global demand for copper and oil based products that has little to do with Australian housing.
For builders, the most useful number from this release is not the 3.9 per cent. It is the gap between that figure and what is happening to the plumbing and electrical packages on every job.
Frequently Asked Questions
According to the ABS Producer Price Indexes, the price builders pay for copper pipes and fittings rose 9.5 per cent in the September quarter 2026 and 37.6 per cent over the year. That is the fastest annual rise since 2007.
The ABS says global demand for copper is strongly outpacing supply, driven by the spread of data centres and demand for electrical goods. Electrical cable and conduit prices rose 23.8 per cent over the year to September 2026.
The ABS attributes higher plastic pipe prices to sustained high global PVC costs linked to the Middle East conflict. Plastic pipes and fittings rose 9.0 per cent in the September quarter 2026 and 24.7 per cent over the year.
Yes. The ABS input to house construction index rose 1.0 per cent in the September quarter 2026 and 3.9 per cent over the year. Plumbing and electrical materials drove most of the quarterly rise, while structural timber, steel beams and metal roofing fell over the year.
The ABS is due to publish its December quarter 2026 Producer Price Indexes on 29 January 2027, including a planned reweight of the construction indexes.
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Last updated: 2 November 2026. Figures from ABS Producer Price Indexes, Australia, September 2026.
General information only. This article is general in nature and does not take into account your particular circumstances. It is not legal, financial or professional advice. Before acting on any information, consider obtaining advice from a suitably qualified professional.
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