For the first time ever, CommSec has ranked the South Australian economy as the best-performing in the nation, driven by population growth and housing activity.

South Australia has leapt over Victoria to be officially crowned the best-performing economy in the nation by CommSec, the first time in the 15-year history of its State of the States report that it has taken out the title.
 
CommSec, an arm of the Commonwealth Bank, published its closely watched report on 29th January 2024 and says SA has jumped into first place after being ranked second in its last report in October 2023.
 
“For the first time in the history of our reports, South Australia has taken the lead,” CommSec chief economist Craig James said.
 
“Population growth in South Australia has tripled over the past two years, which is showing up in a strong housing market and overall economic activity.”
 
South Australia topped the nation in eight key indicators used to measure and rank economic performance among the states and territories.
 
Among the indicators, the State ranked number one in the nation for number of dwellings starting to be built – which follows the Malinauskas Labor Government’s abolition of stamp duty for eligible first home buyers.
 
This is the latest series of nation-leading economic results for South Australia, including:

* The strongest economic growth of any state in the past year – up 3.8 per cent.
* The strongest export growth of any state in the past year – up 12 per cent.
* ANZ Stateometer labelling SA’s economy the best performing in the nation.

South Australia’s unemployment rate also hit a record low of 3.6 per cent in recent months.
 
The Industry Advocate also released a report last week showing more than $12.2 billion in economic benefit was delivered to South Australian companies and workers through State Government contracts in 2022/23.  This was a 59 per cent increase on the previous year.
 
Peter Malinauskas says: The State Government was elected with a clear plan to grow our economy and we are seeing the results.
 
Significant government investment in housing and infrastructure and thriving exports have helped drive our State’s economic activity.
 
We know there is more to be done to ease pressure on households in the community and will continue doing what we can to provide targeted cost-of-living support.
 
Stephen Mullighan says: This is the first time we’ve been ranked first in the nation in this report, and it is a clear sign that our investment in our economy is delivering results.
 
We are the lowest-taxing state on the mainland, we’ve cut stamp duty for first home buyers, and we’ve boosted investment in infrastructure.