Australian building approvals data earlier a massive upside surprise

A snippet from the Westpac response to the data:

• Australia Building Approvals for April: -1.8% m/m (expected -10.7%)

April dwelling approvals report was a massive upside surprise

• ABS noted ... no major impact from the Coronavirus on the headline result in the month and also noted that the lags between application and approval mean it may take longer for impacts to become apparent.
• sharp falls still look imminent as the Coronavirus shock impacts. Approvals may also be a poor guide to near term building as well as work on existing projects may be delayed and approved projects will likely be slower to commence.

Bolding mine.