Fresh ABS data names the council areas leading the country for new home approvals this financial year. South East Queensland is out in front, and a handful of growth suburbs are pulling away from the pack.

If you build homes for a living, the most useful number in the latest building approvals release is not the national headline.

It is where the homes are.

New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that across the first ten months of this financial year, from July 2025 to April 2026, more than 167,000 new homes were approved across the country. That is up around nine per cent on the same period a year earlier.

But that growth is not spread evenly. It is concentrated in a relatively small number of council areas, mostly on the growth edges of the big east coast cities. For builders deciding where to chase work, hire, or hold capacity, that concentration is the story.

This is a question we have come at before from the angle of the monthly national figure. This time we have gone underneath it, into the ABS small area data, to map where the work is genuinely landing.

The national number tells you the market is moving. The council data tells you where to stand.

South East Queensland is leading the country

The clearest pattern in the data is geographic. Four of the five busiest council areas for new home approvals this financial year are in South East Queensland.

Brisbane sits at the top with around 7,100 new homes approved between July and April, followed by the Gold Coast on roughly 6,160. Moreton Bay, Logan and Ipswich all feature strongly. This lines up with what the state-level figures have been signalling for months: Queensland private sector house approvals reached their highest level since August 2021 in April.

The mix matters as much as the volume. Brisbane and the Gold Coast are being driven heavily by units and townhouses. Moreton Bay and Logan are still primarily detached house markets. That difference changes what kind of builder benefits, and what kind of trade base each corridor needs.

The ten busiest council areas for new home approvals

These are the local government areas with the most new homes approved nationally, July 2025 to April 2026. Figures cover private and public new residential dwellings and are drawn from the ABS small area building approvals data.

Source: ABS Building Approvals, Australia, small area data cubes (LGA), April 2026 release. Financial year to date, total sectors, new residential dwellings.

Victoria’s growth corridors are still doing the heavy lifting

Victoria does not lead on a single council the way Queensland does, but its outer growth corridors remain some of the busiest detached housing markets in the country.

Melton, Wyndham, Casey, Hume and Whittlesea together account for a large share of the state’s new house approvals. These are classic house and land markets on Melbourne’s western and northern fringes, where most of the approvals are for standalone homes rather than units.

The City of Melbourne is the exception. Its approvals are almost entirely apartments, reflecting the return of higher density work to the inner city after a long flat patch.

New South Wales and Western Australia: fewer councils, bigger projects

In New South Wales the volume is more concentrated in established middle ring councils. Parramatta and The Hills lead the state, with Blacktown close behind. Parramatta’s numbers are dominated by apartments, while Blacktown and The Hills carry more detached and townhouse work.

Western Australia’s growth is sitting in Perth’s outer north and east. Wanneroo and Swan are among the busiest detached housing councils in the country right now, with approvals running well ahead of where they were a year ago.

The suburbs pulling away fastest

Raw volume tells you where the established work is. Year on year growth tells you where momentum is building.

On that measure, the standouts are not all the usual outer suburban names. Several middle ring and regional councils have roughly doubled their new home approvals compared with the same period last year.

Frankston in Melbourne’s south east has seen one of the sharpest lifts in the country. Sydney’s Inner West, Sutherland and Canada Bay have all jumped well above 80 per cent. In the regions, Cairns, Toowoomba, Ballarat and Warrnambool are all running materially ahead of last year.

For builders, fast growth off a smaller base can be the more interesting signal. It often points to a council where planning settings have loosened, a major project has been approved, or buyer demand has shifted, before the market has fully priced it in.

A council that doubles its approvals in a year is telling you something changed. The builders who notice first get the run.

A word of caution on small area data

Small area approval numbers move around from month to month. A single large apartment project can lift a council’s monthly figure sharply, then drop it back just as fast. The ABS itself advises caution when reading too much into short term movements at this level.

That is why the figures here are built on ten months of data rather than a single month. A financial year to date view smooths out the noise and gives a clearer read on where activity is genuinely sustained.

It is also worth remembering that an approval is not a start. It is the permit that allows construction to begin. The gap between approval and a slab going down can stretch out, particularly where infrastructure, finance or trades are tight. Approvals show intent and pipeline. They do not guarantee delivery.

What this means for builders

The practical takeaway is about positioning, not prediction.

If you already work in South East Queensland or Melbourne’s growth corridors, the data confirms the pipeline ahead of you is deep. The constraint in those markets is unlikely to be demand. It will be capacity: trades, materials, and the ability to convert a growing approval pipeline into finished homes without repeating the cost and timeline mistakes of the last cycle.

If you are weighing up where to expand, the fast growth councils are worth a closer look. A market doubling its approvals is a market where work is opening up and where established competition may not yet be entrenched.

And if you supply or subcontract, the council level mix tells you which product to gear up for. A unit heavy corridor like Brisbane or Parramatta needs a different trade base and material flow than a detached house market like Moreton Bay, Wanneroo or Melton.

THE GOOD BUILDER TAKE

New home approvals are up nationally, but the growth is concentrated. Four of the five busiest councils this financial year are in South East Queensland.

Volume and momentum are different signals. Brisbane and the Gold Coast lead on sheer numbers. Councils like Frankston, Cairns and Sydney’s Inner West lead on year on year growth.

The council level mix, houses versus units, tells you more about where your business fits than any national figure. Read the corridor, not just the country.

An approval is a pipeline, not a delivery. The real test for the year ahead is capacity, not demand.

Follow The Good Builder for ongoing analysis of building approvals and housing data across Australia, or listen to The Good Builder Podcast for conversations with the builders delivering this work on the ground.

Your Questions Answered:

Which council area approves the most new homes in Australia?

Brisbane led the country for new home approvals in the first ten months of 2025-26, with around 7,100 new dwellings approved, ahead of the Gold Coast and Moreton Bay.

Where is the most new housing being approved right now?

South East Queensland is leading nationally, with Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Moreton Bay and Logan all among the busiest council areas. Victoria’s outer growth corridors are also running strongly.

Which suburbs have the fastest growing home approvals?

On a year on year basis, councils such as Frankston, Cairns, Sydney’s Inner West, Sutherland and Toowoomba have seen some of the sharpest increases in new home approvals.

What is the difference between a building approval and a building start?

A building approval is the permit that allows construction to begin. A start is when work actually commences on site. There can be a significant gap between the two.

Where does this building approvals data come from?

The figures are from the ABS Building Approvals, Australia small area data cubes for the April 2026 release, covering local government areas across the financial year to date.

General information only. This article does not constitute legal, financial or professional advice. Readers should seek independent advice relevant to their specific circumstances before making decisions based on this content. Figures are sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics Building Approvals, Australia, April 2026 release and its associated small area data cubes (Local Government Area), published 2 June 2026, with small area data released 10 June 2026.

Author: TGB Editorial