Australia Macro Updates

The One Stop Portal for Australia Macroeconomic Data. Simplified and Summarized!

We simplify and summarize key data so that you don’t have to spend hours reading confusing and long media releases. Read key economic releases and major events here in under 2 minutes. And we will explain the key takeaway for you. Stay informed and form a robust view on macroeconomic matters to aid your successful investment decisions

28th May 2026

Private New Capital Expenditure – Australia

Key takeaway: The ABS Private New Capital Expenditure release for the March quarter 2026, published on May 28, delivered one of the strongest quarterly prints in years and came in dramatically ahead of expectations — though the headline number concealed a highly concentrated and somewhat unusual source of strength. Total capex rose 6.5% quarter-on-quarter, far exceeding the market consensus of 1.0% and accelerating from an upwardly revised 0.7% gain in December, with investment now 14.6% higher than the March quarter a year earlier in seasonally adjusted chain volume terms. The lift was almost entirely driven by data centre equipment — specifically server racks and processing equipment — with the information media and telecommunications sector surging 96.1% to a new record level, building on a similar spike recorded in the September quarter 2025. Equipment, plant and machinery rose 18.1%, while buildings and structures fell 3.8%, with declines in mining, utilities, and rental services only partly offset by continued growth in data centre construction — information media and telecommunications rising 12.6% in building investment for a seventh straight quarter. Forward-looking estimates were equally constructive: the sixth estimate for 2025-26 was revised up 4.5% from the prior quarter’s read, while the second estimate for 2026-27 came in at $173.4 billion — 9.9% above the first estimate released three months earlier — pointing to a business investment pipeline that remains robust, though heavily dependent on AI-driven data centre buildout at a time when the broader non-mining economy is visibly cooling. 

26th Feb 2026
Key takeaway: Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that private new capital expenditure increased by 0.4% in the December quarter of 2025, slowing sharply from the 6.4% increase recorded in the previous quarter. The modest increase in overall investment reflected a 2.3% rise in spending on buildings and structures, which more than offset a 1.7% decline in expenditure on equipment, plant and machinery. In level terms, total new capital expenditure amounted to around A$49 billion during the quarter. The latest survey suggests that business investment continued to expand modestly toward the end of 2025, although the sharp slowdown in quarterly growth points to a more moderate pace of capital spending compared with the strong gains recorded earlier in the year  

27th Nov 2025

Key takeaway: Total New Capital Expenditure increased 6.4% q-o-q in the quarter ended September 2025 and increased 6.9% y-o-y. The quarter estimate stood at A$48.99Bn. The print was also substantially higher than consensus expectations of an increased of 0.6%. Capex spend numbers had been less than ideal in the first 2 quarters of 2025. However, capex spend increased substantially in the 3rd quarter led by a large rise in spending on data centers and investment in air transport. The rise if the Buildings and Structures increased 2.1% q-o-q and increased 4.3% y-o-y in the quarter ended September 2025. Equipment, plant and machinery spend, on the other hand, increased 11.5% on a q-o-q basis and 9.9% on a y-o-y basis.  

28th Aug 2025

Key takeaway: Total New Capital Expenditure increased 0.2% q-o-q in the quarter ended June 2025 and increased 1.7% y-o-y. The quarter estimate stood at A$44.12Bn. The print was also substantially lower than consensus expectations of an increased of 0.8%. While this still indicates a healthy level of business spending in the economy, the capex spend numbers have been lesser than ideal in both the first 2 quarters of 2025. Buildings and Structures increased 0.2% q-o-q and increased 4.3% y-o-y in the quarter ended June 2025. Equipment, plant and machinery spend, on the other hand, increased 0.3% on a q-o-q basis and fell 1.1% on a y-o-y basis.  

29th May 2025

Key takeaway: Total New Capital Expenditure decreased by 0.1% in the quarter ended March 2025. The quarter estimate stood at A$44.0Bn. While this still indicates a healthy level of business spending in the economy, the print, apart from being negative, was significantly lower than market expectations of +0.5%. Buildings and Structures increased 0.9% q-o-q and increased 0.6% y-o-y in the quarter ended March 2025. Equipment, plant and machinery spend, on the other hand, decreased 1.3% on a q-o-q basis and fell 1.8% on a y-o-y basis. This was the 2nd consecutive quarter of a weak construction spend print in Australia. 

27th Feb 2025

Key takeaway: Total New Capital Expenditure decreased by 0.2% in the quarter ended December 2024. The quarter estimate stood at A$43.9Bn. While this still indicates a healthy level of business spending in the economy, the print, apart from being negative, was significantly lower than market expectations of +0.6%. It also sharply declined from the +1.6% recorded in the earlier quarter. Buildings and Structures increased 0.2% q-o-q and decreased 1.0% y-o-y in the quarter ended December 2024. Equipment, plant and machinery spend, on the other hand, decreased 0.8% on a q-o-q basis and rose 2.4% on a y-o-y basis. The drop was also sharper in the mining sector compared to the non-mining sector. The weakness in the mining sector is in line with the overall decline of the mining investment boom and the broad global weakness in commodity demand. While the non mining sector fell as well, capex in industries like telecommunications grew solidly. Industries affected by structural trends in the economy like population growth are witnessing more investment spend compared to industries like mining.   

27th Feb 2025

Key takeaway: Total New Capital Expenditure increased by 1.1% in the quarter ended September 2024. The quarter estimate stood at A$43.8Bn indicating a healthy level of business spending in the economy. Buildings and Structures increased 1.1% q-o-q and decreased 1.1% y-o-y in the quarter ended September 2024. Equipment, plant and machinery spend, on the other hand, increased 1.1% on a q-o-q basis and also rose 3.4% on a y-o-y basis. The numbers generally indicate decent business investment in Australia.    

29th Aug 2024

Key takeaway: Total New Capital Expenditure decreased by 2.2% in the quarter ended June 2024. The quarter estimate stood at A$39.8Bn indicating a healthy level of business spending in the economy. Buildings and Structures decreased 3.8% q-o-q and decreased 2.8% y-o-y in the quarter ended June 2024. Equipment, plant and machinery spend, on the other hand, decreased only 0.5% on a q-o-q basis and rose 3.9% on a y-o-y basis. The numbers generally indicate decent business investment in Australia. While inflation is holding up and retail sales remain soft, business investment has remained fairly resilient and that has been reflecting in GDP data as well.   

30th May 2024

Key takeaway: Total New Capital Expenditure increased by 1.0% in the quarter ended March 2024. The quarter estimate stood at A$40.4Bn indicating a healthy level of business spending in the economy. Buildings and Structures decreased 0.9% q-o-q and grew 4.7% y-o-y in the quarter ended March 2024. Equipment, plant and machinery spend, on the other hand, increased 3.3% on a q-o-q basis and rose 6.5% on a y-o-y basis. The numbers generally indicate decent business investment in Australia. While inflation is holding up and retail sales remain soft, business investment has remained fairly resilient and that has been reflecting in GDP data as well.   

29th Feb 2024

Key takeaway: Total New Capital Expenditure increased by 0.8% in the quarter ended December 2023. The quarter estimate stood at A$40Bn indicating a healthy level of business spending in the economy. Buildings and Structures grew 1.5% q-o-q and 9.3% y-o-y in the quarter ended December 2023. Equipment, plant and machinery spend, on the other hand, registered a small decline of 0.1% on a q-o-q basis, still rising 6.4% on a y-o-y basis. Capex trended upwards in both the mining and non-mining industries. Amongst industries, electricity, gas, waste and water registered the largest increase of 14% q-o-q on the back of increased activity in renewable energy infrastructure.  

Construction spending, as the name suggests, measures the amount of estimated construction spending in the US. Data on Construction Spending is released by the US Census Bureau around the 1st of every subsequent month. i.e, Data for January is released around 1st Mar.

Australian Bureau of Statistics