JLL Research's comprehensive Industrial Vacancy and Supply update reveals divergent vacancy trends across markets over the quarter. East Coast vacancy edged up to 4.9% over the quarter from 4.8%. Vacancy is highest in Brisbane at 5.3% and, on the West Coast, Perth maintains Australia's lowest industrial vacancy rate at just 2.0%.

• Sydney: 5.0% vacancy across 23.1 million sqm.
• Melbourne: 4.6% vacancy across 30.3 million sqm (Australia's largest market) 
• Brisbane: 5.3% vacancy across 13.5 million sqm.
• Perth: 2.0% vacancy (lowest nationally) across 7.5 million sqm.
• Adelaide: 3.3% vacancy across 5.5 million sqm.

• Melbourne's South-East: 2.1% vacancy (tightest eastern seaboard market) 
• Sydney's Inner West: 2.6% vacancy (lowest Sydney precinct) 
• Brisbane Trade Coast: 4.2% vacancy (lowest Brisbane precinct) 
• Perth's North: Australia's tightest industrial precinct at 0.9% vacancy.

• Sydney vacancy declined for the first time in 18 months.
• Sub-lease vacancy increased in Sydney and Brisbane but remained broadly unchanged in Melbourne, now making up 28%, 6.4% and 23% of vacant space in each market, respectively.
• Brisbane's vacancy trend shifted upward, driven by speculative completions. 
• Perth maintained low vacancy, with no sub-lease space available across its market.

The Q3 2025 vacancy data reveals significant variations across Australia's industrial landscapes. In Melbourne, the South-East maintains its position as the most sought-after location on the eastern seaboard maintaining the lowest east coast vacancy at 2.1%. Melbourne’s North precinct characterised as Melbourne’s growth precinct and the highest vacancy overall at 7.9% but this is largely concentrated in five suburbs. The airport precincts or Melbourne Airport and Tullamarine together have just 2.1% vacancy.

Sydney's market shows clear geographical preferences, with the Inner West precinct maintaining low vacancy at 2.6%, driven by proximity to skilled workers and a restricted future supply pipeline of just 75,565 sqm under construction. Vacancy in Sydney’s largest precinct, Outer Central West which covers 9.7 million sqm declined slightly to 5.4% over the quarter, while vacancy in the >5,000 sqm cohort in South Sydney increased further as affordability and mixed multi-story leasing success impacted the market overall.

Brisbane's vacancy increased to 5.3%, with notable variations across precincts. The Southern precinct, containing 62% of Brisbane's total stock which maintains the highest vacancy, continues its expansion through greenfield development, supported by South-East Queensland's strong population growth. 

Perth and Adelaide are Australia’s smallest markets and have the lowest vacancy nationally. Perth’s East precinct is Perth’s largest market and benefits from proximity to Perth Airport and major arterial networks, supporting and has just 1.6% vacancy. It also has the most substantial development pipeline among Perth's industrial precincts, with 138,000 sqm under which is just 28% pre-committed, potentially impacting future vacancy in this area. Adelaide’s industrial vacancy is highest in the North-West precinct at 4.4%.

Sub-lease availability shows notable regional variations. Sub-lease space makes up 28% of vacant area in Sydney, increasing from 251,500 sqm to 332,700 sqm, while Melbourne's sub-lease space represents 23% of its vacant area this has remained broadly stable over the quarter at 320,000 sqm. Sublease availabilities are less relevant in other geographies. As percentage of total stock, Sydney has the highest sublease vacancy at 1.4% followed by Melbourne at 1.1%. Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide sublease vacancy is very low accounting for less than 0.5% of all stock. 

JLL's analysis reveals that medium-to-large buildings (10,000-30,000 sqm) record marginally higher vacancy rates than smaller or very large facilities, providing crucial insights for both tenants and investors developing their industrial real estate strategies. However, in 3Q25 the vacancy in this cohort in Sydney decreased over the quarter while continuing to rise in Melbourne and Brisbane. 

Analysing industrial vacancy by building grade reveals that most of Australia’s industrial vacancy is within older, secondary grade buildings. However, elevated levels of speculative development completions over 2024 first half of 2025 have contributed to an increase in vacancy within super-prime stock across East Coast markets.

Levels of precommitment in upcoming supply has increased in most East coast precincts, as recently completed stock is removed from the supply pipeline and construction starts stall. Speculative development in Brisbane has largely stopped, whilst the last speculative developments in Sydney are coming through. 

JLL's industrial real estate market analysis anticipates stabilizing vacancy across east coast markets as supply delivery moderates. Urban infill locations with limited land availability, such as Melbourne's South East and Sydney's Inner West, will continue to support strong investor interest due to their consistently low vacancy profiles and restricted future supply potential.

JLL Research tracks close to 80.0 million sqm of industrial stock nationally, providing crucial market insights into Australia’s industrial market dynamics by precinct, suburb, and building size.