The total number of building permits issued in Australia was down a seasonally adjusted 5.8 percent on month in September, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday - coming in at 16,455.
That exceeded expectations for a decline of 7.0 percent following the 28.1 percent surge in August.
On a yearly basis, approvals were down 13.0 percent.
The number of consents for private sector houses fell 7.8 percent on month and 10.4 percent on year to 9,628, while the number of permits for dwellings excluding houses slipped 1.8 percent on month and 16.8 percent on year to 6.622.
The seasonally adjusted estimate for the value of total building approved fell 6.9 percent in September, following a 19.5 percent increase in August.
