The total number of houses and apartments that started construction in the first quarter of 2011 rose 3.1% to a seasonally adjusted 39,578 from the fourth quarter of 2010.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics also said that the number of private-sector houses started in the first quarter fell 1.9% to 23,124 from the previous quarter.
The trend estimate for the total number of housing starts, which further smoothes the seasonally adjusted numbers, fell 1.9% to 38,570 from the fourth quarter.