There was a sharp increase in approvals valued at more than $2 billion, up from two to 23 compared with last financial year.
Just one application was rejected with 8724 approvals from the 9466 considered.
Approvals were down 2421 on last year, partly attributed to the introduction of application fees in 2015 forcing real estate investors to be confident of getting the green light.
Investment in finance and insurance, manufacturing, electricity and gas and mineral exploration and development fell.
But there was strong growth in services – which remained the biggest sector at $76 billion – and real estate, along with smaller increases in agriculture, fishing and forestry.