Australia鈥檚 economy is slowing, but it鈥檚 the country鈥檚 builders who are keeping it upright for now, says peak building and construction industry association Master Builders Australia.
New national account figures released today show Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth slowed to just 0.2 per cent in the March 2025 quarter, the weakest result in almost a year.
However, building and construction activity expanded by 2.2 per cent, making it a standout performer.
Without the contribution from the industry, Australia鈥檚 economy would have slipped backward into negative territory.
Master Builders Australia Chief Economist Shane Garrett聽said within the construction industry, residential building racked up the strongest gain (+2.6 per cent) during the quarter.
鈥淒emand for home renovations was particularly strong.
鈥淣on-residential building delivered a 2.1 per cent uplift during the quarter, while engineering construction gained 1.5 per cent.
鈥淭he improved performance of construction activity coincided in the same quarter as the Reserve Bank of Australia鈥檚 initial interest rate cut, giving confidence a much-needed boost.
鈥淏ut momentum won鈥檛 last without targeted reform to lift productivity.
鈥淓ven though building and construction is moving in the right direction, it still faces an enormous challenge with next month marking the end of the National Housing Accord鈥檚 first year.
鈥淲e are still building homes at a far slower rate than what鈥檚 needed to hit the Accord target.
鈥淲e can only do this by rapidly addressing our industry鈥檚 severe productivity problems and allowing our industry workforce to expand.鈥
Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn聽added the new Federal Government needs to help the industry do what it does best: build.
鈥淭hat means cutting red tape, boosting skills pipelines, and fixing broken planning systems.
鈥淏uilders are doing the heavy lifting for the economy, now it鈥檚 time for the policy settings to do the same.鈥