Melbourne's Southbank is now home to the tallest floor to roof residential tower in the Southern Hemisphere, following the topping out of Australia 108.

The milestone is the culmination of nearly five years work for builder Multiplex, which will now complete the remaining apartment interiors as well as the building’s Starburst amenity spaces, part of which includes two infinity pools cantilevering 210 metres above the street.

The building will be fully completed by the end of quarter three of this year. 

At a glance: 

• Melbourne skyscraper Australia 108 has officially topped out at 319-metres, making it the tallest residential tower in the Southern Hemisphere from floor to roof.
• The project is a collaboration between builder Multiplex, developer World Class Global, and architects Fender Katsalidis.
• Residents started moving into Australia 108 from 2018 as part of a staged handover of lower-level apartments. 

David Ng, Chief Executive of developer World Class Global, said the topping out of Australia 108 was a special moment for Melbourne’s skyline. 

“Over the past five years, Australia 108 has steadily been growing on Melbourne’s skyline," he said.

"Now, we are immensely proud to announce the project has officially gone where none of its neighbours have been before - we have completed the structure.

“Australia 108 is already a familiar landmark and has cemented itself on Melbourne’s iconic skyline as it has risen over the past five years."

Source: Multiplex

Karl Fender, founding partner of the project’s architect Fender Katsalidis, said this milestone marked another satisfying achievement for the firm, which also designed Australia 108’s towering 88-floor predecessor, Eureka Tower. 

“To finally see Australia 108 and Eureka Tower side-by-side on Melbourne’s skyline is a great, albeit humbling moment for our team," he said

"The strong, visually symbiotic relationship between the two neighbouring towers has now, after Eureka’s completion 15 years ago, been realised. 

“The arrival of Australia 108 on Melbourne’s skyline is another defining moment for our city and of course one which we are extremely proud to have contributed to.” 

Construction at the new Melbourne landmark has been led by Multiplex, which utilised new techniques developed specifically for the project, even creating purpose-built platforms from which builders worked safely on to install the golden panels of the Starburst that were delivered by crane during the middle of the night. 

Multiplex Regional Managing Director, Graham Cottam, said the build from many metres below ground to the top had required innovation and had proceeded without any major issues. 

“This is a build that has never been attempted in Australia before – the challenges in getting people and materials to such height required innovation, as did the construction of the cantilevering Starburst,” he said. 

“From a construction standpoint, Australia 108 is the result of a lot of careful planning and innovation and we’ll carry a lot of new techniques over onto new projects moving forward. 

Source: Multiplex 

“It is wonderful to be able to look at Melbourne’s skyline and see the hard work of so many hundreds and hundreds of people who have worked so tirelessly in all manner of conditions to bring this icon to life.” 

Residents started moving into Australia 108 from 2018 as part of a staged handover of lower-level apartments. 

The building’s premium Cloud Residences – luxury apartments from levels 72 – are the latest residents moving into their new apartments, the majority of which are perched higher than most of Southbank’s surrounding buildings, offering panoramic 360-degree views of Melbourne. 

More than three-quarters of apartments have been completed, with construction workers now focused on finishing the remaining premium Cloud Residences at the top of the building. 

A limited selection of 3-bedroom Cloud Residences are still available for sale at Australia 108. Exclusive one and two-bedroom Sky Rise Residences up to level 67 are ready to move into – perfect for those wanting truly private hotel-like amenity located among the clouds. 

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