New private capital spending lifted 2.2 per cent to $35 billion in the December quarter.
This follows a 0.6 per cent fall in new spending on equipment and other physical assets in the three months to September.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics' capex report revealed a sharp 3.6 per cent uplift in building and structures expenditure and a more modest 0.6 per cent rise in equipment, plant, and machinery spending.
Economists were forecasting a 1.1 per cent lift over the quarter.
BIS Oxford Economics head of macroeconomic forecasting Sean Langcake said the data suggested strong investment activity in the final months of 2022.
"There was a relatively strong pipeline of work to be done over this period," he said.
"The easing of supply bottlenecks facilitated a strong pick-up in activity over the second half of the year."
The report also contained planned investment for the 2023/24 financial year, with the $129.7 billion figure 11.1 per cent higher than an earlier estimate.
Mr Langcake said was an encouraging result.
"However, given the much higher cost base, it is hard to disentangle whether the strong figure represents an increase in firms' cost expectations, or a lift in the volume of work expected to be completed," he said.
The capex report follows a 0.4 per cent fall in completed construction work for the December quarter, which is another component that feeds into the national accounts due next week.
