New national evidence from 330+ homes shows carbon reductions through design, with lessons for housing across Australia
The Australian Zero Carbon Housing Challenge, in partnership with the Australian Institute of Architects and Cerclos, has today released new national evidence showing that low- to net-zero-carbon homes are already being delivered across Australia through practical, scalable and architect-led design solutions that can inform the broader housing sector.
The new report, Australian Zero Carbon Housing Challenge: Architects progressing the Architecture Industry Decarbonisation Plan 2025-2050, presents Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) carbon-performance findings from architect-designed alterations and additions, new single homes and multiple homes nationwide.
The report is the first-ever national evidence base of in-progress and delivered low- to net-zero carbon homes.
Across more than 330 homes, participating architects have collectively achieved approximately 85,000 tonnes of carbon emissions reductions – the equivalent of planting more than half a million trees or more than 1,500 trees per home on average[1].
Australian Institute of Architects National President-Elect Ross Donaldson said that the results show residential decarbonisation is not just essential, it’s achievable.
“With more than 330 architect-designed homes participating nationwide, this report is compelling evidence that residential decarbonisation is achievable today, while also reminding us of the distance we still have to go,” said Mr Donaldson.
“The Australian Institute of Architects has set a clear pathway with its Decarbonisation Plan. Now, the evidence from the Australian Zero Carbon Housing Challenge shows that architects are already delivering meaningful, design-led emissions reduction in the residential sector.
“Importantly, the lessons from these projects extend well beyond architect-designed homes. They show practical design approaches that can help reduce emissions across Australian housing as we build the next generation of homes.
“It also shows that affordability and good design go hand in hand – more than half of the homes modelled have been delivered to market through affordability programs.
“The solutions exist . Policy and regulatory reform are now needed to scale them to Australia’s housing pipeline.
Early design decisions can significantly influence a home’s lifetime carbon impact and the findings show architects reducing emissions through:
- upfront carbon reductions through alterations and additions to retain and re-use existing buildings;
- compact and Missing Middle homes that expand housing choice while reducing emissions;
- Density Done Well precincts that combine neighbourhood liveability and lower emissions; and
- Modern Methods of Construction prefabrication and modularity to support efficient, scalable delivery.
“Participating low- to net-zero-carbon projects have also received more than 30 architecture awards, demonstrating that emissions reductions and design excellence can be achieved together,” said Mr Donaldson.
“Since 2021, the initiative has supported architects to undertake ISO-compliant LCA, building a national architect-generated dataset and demonstrating the growing role of whole-of-life and upfront carbon assessment in residential architecture.
“As Australia seeks to deliver more than one million new homes under the National Housing Accord, the report highlights opportunities to apply these lessons at scale, through early design decisions, lower-carbon materials, electrification, renewable energy and more efficient housing forms.”
The Australian Zero Carbon Housing Challenge researchers, partners and participating architects have established a valuable national evidence base of low- to net-zero-carbon homes across Australia. The findings demonstrate how design leadership from the architecture profession can provide lessons for decarbonising housing more broadly. The initiative is progressing the Australian Institute of Architects’ Architecture Industry Decarbonisation Plan 2025-2050.
The report and exhibition was launched at the National Architecture Conference by Australian Institute of Architects National President Elect Ross Donaldson, with architects Rob Henry and Anna O’Gorman and LCA specialist Fei Ngeow.
[1] LCA-modelled whole‑of‑life carbon emissions reductions are relative to the Australian Residential Benchmark.