Perth is the fourth-largest city in Australia, with an urban population of over 2.3 million. As the capital of Western Australia, and by far its largest city, Perth contains the vast majority, if not all, of the high-rises in the state. The city is home to 30 high-rise buildings that reach a height of 100 metres (328 ft) or greater as of 2025, five of which are taller than 150 m (492 ft). Perth has the fifth-greatest number of skyscrapers of any Australian city, after Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and the Gold Coast. The tallest building in Perth is the 51-storey Central Park (more commonly known as the "Rio Tinto building") at 249 m (817 ft), completed in 1992; it also stands as the tallest building in Western Australia.
The first high-rises in Perth appeared towards the 1960s, one of them being Council House in 1963. High-rise development increased markedly in the 1970s with commercial skyscrapers such as St Martins Tower, the tallest building in the city from 1978 to 1988. This continued until the late 1980s and early 1990s, when Central Park and the city's third-tallest building, 108 St Georges Terrace. Following a period of slower development from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s, another high-rise boom occurred with a greater share of residential and hotel buildings, alongside new commercial towers. The most notable of these is Brookfield Place, the city's second tallest building. Built in 2012 at a height of 234 m (768 ft), it serves as the headquarters of mining company BHP.
There are several ongoing projects that will further add to Perth's skyline. Elizabeth Quay is a major mixed-use development project that first broke ground in 2012. Currently topped out in Elizabeth Quay is EQ West, which at a height of 186 m (610 ft), will be the fourth-tallest building in the city. Lot 4 EQ, in the same development, will surpass it at a height of 212 m (696 ft) when it is scheduled to complete in 2029.
The large majority of tall buildings in Perth are situated in the city's central business district, with recent high-rise developments extending the skyline eastwards, towards East Perth. The main skyline runs northwest to southeast and is bounded by the Swan River to the south. Another high-rise cluster is being developed across the river in South Perth, where the residential tower Civic Heart was completed in 2024. There are additional new clusters on the western side of Canning Bridge and in Burswood.
History
Number of buildings by height in Perth by the end of each year. Click on the legend to toggle a specific height on or off. See or edit chart definition.
1930s–60s
Perth's Council House, after renovations in the 1990s
Tall buildings in Perth got their start later than in larger Australian cities like Sydney or Melbourne. One of the earliest high-rises in the city was the CML Building, built for the Colonial Mutual Life Assurance Society in 1936; the company had also built some of the earliest high-rises in Brisbane and Adelaide.[1] Construction took place during the Great Depression, providing work for 200 men, and was overseen by local architect Reginald Summerhayes, who was responsible for decorative gargoyles on the exterior of the building.[1] It was the tallest building in the city for over two decades until 1962, and was ultimately demolished in 1980.[2]
During the 1950s and 1960s, many of Perth's older buildings had been demolished to make way for modern developments, which had led to criticism of the Perth City Council for approving such redevelopments.[3] The CML Building was surpassed by the T&G Building, now known as Citibank House, an 68 m (224 ft), 18-storey office building completed in 1962.[4] The modernist high-rise took the place of Moir Chambers, an American Romasque building that had been standing since 1897. Despite protests, it was demolished in 1960, and construction on the new CML Building began the same year.[5][6] When the T&G Building was constructed, there were no plot ratio limits imposed by the City of Perth on multistorey developments, and the building had a plot ratio of approximately 7:1. However, subsequent to the construction, a limit of 5:1 was imposed. Another early high-rise is the 13-storey Council House, opened by Queen Elizabeth a year after Perth had hosted the Commonwealth Games. The building served as the headquarters of the city council, which in 1959 launched an architectural competition for the new building.[7]
1970s–1990s
Allendale Square, with its stepped walls and V-shaped protrusions
The construction of tall buildings increased in the 1970s, with commercial high-rises able to regularly reach 100 m (328 ft) in height. Between 1976 and 1978, the title of Perth's tallest building changed hands three times in a span of three years, first with the AMP Building (now 140 St Georges Terrace) in 1976. The 30-storey, 131 m (430 ft) skyscraper was built for AMP Limited, replacing the six-storey "AMP Chambers" that had stood since 1915.[8] Only a year after the AMP Building had been completed, Allendale Square overtook it by a metre in 1977. Upon its opening, the 31-storey, 132 m (433 ft) tower was the largest fully aluminium-clad freestanding tower in Australia, and one of the largest in the world.[9] It has been described as "timeless" and a "fine example" of high-rise architecture.[10][11] In 1978, would lose the title of Perth's tallest to St Martins Tower. At 140 m (460 ft) tall, it features a revolving restaurant, C Restaurant, the only one of its kind in Western Australia.
High-rise development entered into a slowdown in the late 1970s and continued until the mid-1980s, potentially affected by the 1973–1975 recession.[12] Construction resumed in the late 1980s with the completion of three of Perth's tallest buildings at the time. The first was 108 St Georges Terrace (opening as Bond Tower or R&I Tower, as both logos were on the building's exterior at the time). Completed in 1988, the tower's prime location was the site of the first licensed premises in Perth from the 1830s.[13] The skyscraper preserves the 1897 Palace Hotel at its base. A public campaign, with a group known as The Palace Guards, had opposed the demolition of the Palace Hotel after initial plans for the site were made in 1972.[14] The skyscraper's design is known for its triangular shape and diagonal roof.[15]
The next of these buildings was QV1, completed in 1991. It was among the westernmost skyscrapers in Perth at the time, and some suggested it was too far west in the central business district; however, it was fully leased by 1996.[16] The building's modernist design has drawn criticism, and it has been labelled "Perth's most ugly building", while architect Harry Seidler described it as "the best building he had ever built".[17] In 1992, Perth's current tallest building, Central Park, was completed. It was also the fourth tallest building in Australia at the time. The 1987 approval of the building was controversial due to plot ratio concessions made by the city council, as well as the developer requesting more parking bays than was allowed by the council's town planning scheme.[18][19] Today, the tower is considered one of Australia's "finest modern landmark office towers",[20] known for its distinctive setbacks. The early 1990s recession led to another slowdown in high-rise construction, lasting until the mid-2000s. New office towers would not be fully leased, with Central Park facing a sluggish office rental market, experiencing high vacancy rates for several years.[21]
Perth's skyline in 1995
In 1994, the city council vacated the Council House building to allow for the removal of asbestos. Commissioners appointed by the Western Australian government to oversee the break-up of the city council voted to demolish the high-rise, planning to extend Stirling Gardens right across the site to beside Government House.[22] This provoked calls to save the building, supported by the Royal Australian Institute of Architects; however, Graham Kierath, the Minister for Heritage, refused to place the building on the WA Register of Heritage Places. A feasibility study in 1995 recommended to refurbish the building instead, and this plan was approved in 1996. The building was "stripped back to bare bones" and the tiny tiles coating the building's distinctive T-shaped fins were removed, repaired, and re-glued to the surface.[23] The city council moved back into the building in 1999.
2000s–present
EQ West under construction in 2023
High-rise construction catiously returned with the completion of Woodside Plaza (now 240 St Georges Terrace) in 2003, the first premium-grade skyscraper completed in Perth since Central Park in 1992. This was followed by 100 St Georges Terrace in 2009, the first office building constructed in Perth to a 4.5-star Australian Building Greenhouse Rating.
In the 2010s, Perth would undergo a building boom that significantly increased the size and extent of its skyline. Perth's second tallest building, Brookfield Place, was completed in 2012; its major tenant is BHP, a multinational mining and metals company. The building terminates in a tapered structural roof crown,[24] echoing the shape of Perth's other notable skyscrapers such as 108 St Georges Terrace. In addition to new office towers, more residential and hotel skyscrapers were built at a greater height, such as Elevation Tower, which became the city's tallest residential building in 2010. Residential developments in East Perth such as Elevation Tower, Concerto (2017), and Vue Tower (2019) extended the central skyline to the east.
One of the largest recent development projects is that of Elizabeth Quay, involving the construction of an artificial inlet on what was previously the Esplanade Reserve, along the Swan River. Construction began in 2012 and is ongoing; so far, notable skyscrapers built on the site include a Ritz Carlton hotel (2019) and One The Esplanade (2023). Currently rising will be two of Perth's five tallest buildings: EQ West, planned to be completed in 2026 at 186 m (610 ft) tall, and Lot 4 EQ, which will be 212 m (696 ft) tall.[25]
The 2010s and 2020s has also seen a growth in high-rises located outside of central Perth, most notably across the Swan River in South Perth, where the 147.5 m (484 ft) tall Civic Heart was completed in 2024, now the tallest residential building in Perth and the tallest building outside of the central business district.[26] In Burswood, a 500-room hotel was completed at the Crown Perth resort and casino at a height of 105 m (344 ft). In the suburbs of Applecross and Mount Pleasant, at the western entrance of the Canning Bridge, several new residential high-rises have gone up since the late 2010s.[27] such as Cirque Duet[28] and Sabina Applecross.[29]
Cityscape
Panorama of Perth's skyline on the Swan River in 2023, see from South Perth
Tallest buildings
This list ranks completed buildings in Perth that stand at least 100 m (324 ft) tall as of 2025, based on standard height measurement. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. The “Year” column indicates the year of completion.
This list ranks completed buildings in Perth that stand at least 100 m (328 ft) tall as of 2025, based on standard height measurement. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. The “Year” column indicates the year of completion.
The following table ranks proposed and approved skyscrapers in Perth that are expected to be at least 100 m (328 ft) tall as of 2025, based on standard height measurement. The “Year” column indicates the expected year of completion. A dash “–“ indicates information about the building’s height or year of completion is not available.
This map displays the location of buildings taller than 100 m (328 ft) in central Perth. Each marker is coloured by the decade of the building's completion. There are only two buildings in Perth taller than 100 m (328 ft) that are located outside the CBD and the adjacent suburb of East Perth: Crown Perth, which is in Burwood, and Civic Plaza, which is in South Perth.
240m 262yds
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Buildings taller than 100 m (328 ft) in Perth's central business district. An asterisk (*) next to the building's name indicates it is located outside the map.
↑ Staff writer (21 September 1987). "Race for the sky will scale greater heights". The West Australian. p.11. The PCC is criticised from many quarters over the loss of older buildings to new developments.
↑ John, H. (November 1987). Bank Tower reaches new heights. Construction Industry International. Vol.13. pp.35–37.
↑ Jacobs, Marsha (23 February 2006). "'West end' fast becoming the centre of action in the city". WA Business News. Business News Pty Ltd. "When they built QV1, everyone thought it was so far west, but now that part of town is absolutely where people want to be, and the vacancy rate in that part of town is negligible", Mr Denny said. "The western end of the CBD is the resources heart of town, with Chevron, Woodside, BHP, Apache and several major engineering firms also located there".
↑ James, Suzannah (10 March 2006). "Architect's modernist designs stirred up controversy". The West Australian. p.9. While some at the time derided the 37-storey QV1 as Perth's most ugly building and a giant Lego block, Mr Seidler said it was the best building he had ever built. He designed it to focus on the Swan River and not the other buildings in St Georges Terrace, which he called boring, parochial boxes.
↑ Wainwright, Robert (9 October 1987). "Tower bonuses worry councillor". The West Australian. p.2.
↑ Wainwright, Robert (20 October 1987). "PCC passes tower for old DJ's site". The West Australian. p.3.
↑ Mansell, Ingrid (28 August 1996). "Few Signs of Big Cranes on the Horizon". The West Australian. p.57. As for another tower to add to Perth's skyline, Mr Ryan said he believed it would take at least seven years to rebuild investor confidence, which was rattled by the high vacancy rates that followed the construction of QV1 and Central Park.
↑ Minchin, Dan (11 November 1998). "Council House Still Offers Strong Views". The West Australian. p.61.
↑ Minchin, Dan (11 November 1998). "Council House Still Offers Strong Views". The West Australian. p.61.
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