Founder & Editor, AustralianRoofers.com · Published May 2026
Australia's roofs, by the numbers — industry size, materials, rooftop solar and storm risk.
A directory is only as useful as the context around it. This page collects genuine, published statistics about roofing in Australia — the size of the industry, what Australian roofs are actually made of, how rooftop solar is reshaping them, and what storms cost. Each figure is dated and sourced. Where a number is older or based on industry estimates rather than an official count, we say so.
Figures were compiled in May 2026 from the most recent public releases available at that time.
The roofing industry
$3.8 billion
Annual revenue of Australia's roofing services industry in 2025 — the contractors who repair, restore and replace roofs (separate from the manufacturers who make the materials).
Source: IBISWorld, Roofing Services in Australia, 2025.
5,550 businesses
The number of roofing services businesses operating in Australia. The industry is highly fragmented — most are small, independent contractors competing in regional or niche markets, which is exactly why a directory is useful.
Source: IBISWorld, Roofing Services in Australia, 2025.
−1.6% per year
Roofing services revenue contracted at this average annual rate over the five years to 2024, tracking a soft patch in residential construction. IBISWorld projects a return to growth as home building recovers through 2028–29.
Source: IBISWorld, Roofing Services in Australia, 2025.
What Australian roofs are made of
Australia is unusual: metal is the dominant roofing material, the opposite of the tile- and shingle-heavy United States. If you're weighing up your options, our guide to roof types in Australia compares Colorbond, tile, slate and metal side by side. The figures below are industry estimates rather than an official census of roofs, so treat them as directional.
~75% of new homes
Estimated share of new Australian houses roofed in metal rather than tile. On commercial buildings the share is higher again, above 90%.
Source: industry estimates (roofing trade press). Directional figure, not an official count.
~60% choose Colorbond
Of homeowners selecting a metal roof, an estimated majority specify Colorbond — BlueScope's branded pre-painted steel — over unbranded or alternative metal products.
Source: industry / consumer-preference estimates. Directional figure, not an official count.
11.45 million dwellings
Total residential dwellings in Australia as at the December quarter 2025 — the size of the roof-stock that eventually needs maintenance, repair or replacement.
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Total Value of Dwellings, December quarter 2025.
Rooftop solar is reshaping the roof
Australia leads the world in rooftop solar, and that has made the roof a working surface, not just a weatherproof lid. It also means more roof penetrations, more foot traffic, and more roofers coordinating with solar installers.
~40% of dwellings
Share of Australian homes with rooftop solar panels installed as at early 2025 — among the highest household penetration rates of any country.
Source: Clean Energy Council / Australian PV Institute, 2025.
4.2 million systems · 26.8 GW
Rooftop solar installed across Australian homes and small businesses by mid-2025, for a combined 26.8 gigawatts of capacity — more than the country's entire coal-fired generation fleet.
Source: Clean Energy Council, Rooftop Solar and Storage Report, 2025.
14.2% of electricity
Share of all electricity generated in Australia that came from rooftop solar in the second half of 2025 — almost double its 7.2% share in 2020.
Source: Clean Energy Council, Rooftop Solar and Storage Report, July–December 2025.
Storms, hail and insurance claims
Roofs take the first hit in severe weather, and hail in particular drives a large share of home-insurance claims — leaving many homeowners weighing up whether to repair or replace a storm-damaged roof. The year-to-year swing in losses is dramatic, as figures published by the Insurance Council of Australia show.
$4.8 billion
Insured losses from declared extreme-weather events across Australia in 2025 — an enormous jump from $585 million in 2024, driven largely by a run of severe spring hailstorms.
Source: Insurance Council of Australia, 2025 (updated figures).
294,000 claims
Insurance claims lodged from declared extreme-weather events in 2025 — close to six times the prior year — at an average cost of $16,471 per claim.
Source: Insurance Council of Australia, 2025.
$1.4 billion+ from hail
Losses attributed to a five-week run of severe hailstorms in October and November 2025 alone — a reminder of how exposed roofs are to a single bad season.
Source: Insurance Council of Australia, 2025.
The asbestos legacy
Asbestos cement was a standard roofing and cladding material in Australia for decades. Anyone working on an older roof needs to know it may be there.
~1 in 3 homes
Australian homes estimated to still contain some asbestos material — in roof sheeting, eaves, or elsewhere. Roughly half of the asbestos products ever installed in Australia are estimated to remain in place.
Source: Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency.
~25% of houses (pre-1960s)
Up until the 1960s, around a quarter of Australian houses were clad in asbestos cement. Houses built in the 1940s–1960s were predominantly roofed in tile or asbestos-cement sheet.
Source: Australian asbestos history records / Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency. Historical figure.
The roofing workforce and safety
~10,500 roof plumbers
People employed in Australia as roof plumbers — the trade that installs and repairs metal roof and wall cladding, flashings, gutters and downpipes. Around 84% work full-time; the median age is 31.
Source: Jobs and Skills Australia / Labour Market Insights (based on ABS data).
~1 in 3 construction deaths
Falls from height account for roughly a third of construction-industry fatalities in Australia — the single biggest killer in the trade. About half of fatal falls are from three metres or less.
Source: Safe Work Australia.
Sources and methodology
Statistics on this page are drawn from published reports by IBISWorld, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Clean Energy Council, the Australian PV Institute, the Insurance Council of Australia, the Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency, Jobs and Skills Australia and Safe Work Australia. Where a figure is an industry estimate rather than an official count — notably the roof-material market shares — that is stated alongside it.
Figures reflect the most recent releases available in May 2026 and will be reviewed as new data is published. Statistics are provided for general information and are not professional, financial or safety advice.
