National & Chapter
Awards Program

Hedge and Arbour House | Studio Bright | Photographer: Rory Gardiner
Hedge and Arbour House | Studio Bright | Photographer: Rory Gardiner
Hedge and Arbour House | Studio Bright | Photographer: Rory Gardiner
Hedge and Arbour House | Studio Bright | Photographer: Rory Gardiner

2026 Architecture Awards

Celebrating design excellence and it’s contribution to communities across Australia and abroad.

Since 1981, we’ve upheld excellence in the profession by recognising best practice in the field through our National & Chapter Architecture Awards programs and inspiring others to continue striving to positively shape communities through architecture.

2026 Chapter ARCHITECTURE AWARDS Events

Join the biggest night of the year, winners will be announced all over Australia for this years Chapter Awards programs
Sydney Metro City Stations | Sydney Metro | Photographer: Trevor Mein
Sydney Metro City Stations | Sydney Metro | Photographer: Trevor Mein
Seagrass Lane | Welsh + Major | Photographer: Clinton Weaver
NSW Achitecture Awards 2025 Finals-272
2025 Awards Night | Photographer: Matthew with a Camera

About the National Architecture Awards Program

Fish River Ranger Accommodation | Design Construct, School of Art Architecture and Design, University of South Australia | NT | Photographer: Joti Weijers-Coghlan

The National Architecture Awards is an integrated, hierarchical program resulting in annual awards at National, Chapter (State and Territory) and, in some states, Regional levels. To enter the National Architecture Awards, Institute members submit projects at the relevant chapter or regional level depending on the project’s location. 

Awards in each category are based on a three-tier system, in decreasing order of merit. Only State or Territory Named and Architecture Awards progress to be considered for a National Award. 

Chapter Information Hub

MORE INFORMATION

Chapter Entries close Presentation to Juries Awards Presentations
Australian Capital Territory (ACT) 18 Feb 2026 18, 19 & 20 March 2026 13 June 2026
International (INT) 10 Feb 2026 25 & 26 Feb 2026 30 May 2026
New South Wales (NSW) 12 Feb 2026 23 Mar – 28 Mar 2026 2 July 2026
Northern Territory (NT) 20 March 2026 13 – 17 April 2026 27 June 2026
Queensland (QLD) 6 Feb 2026 2 March - 20 March Greater Brisbane Regional Categories
23 March - 27 March North Qld + Darling Downs and West Moreton
30 March - 3 April Central Qld + Gold Coast and Northern Rivers
6 April - 10 April Far North Qld + Sunshine Coast
4 May - 15 May Qld Awards Jury (Visits to Commended Brisbane Projects)
1 May Greater Brisbane
15 May North Qld + Darling Downs and West Moreton
22 May Central Qld + Gold Coast and Northern Rivers
29 May Far North Qld + Sunshine Coast
26 June Qld Awards
South Australia (SA) 11 Feb 2026 14 March 2026 20 June 2026
Tasmania (TAS) 10 Feb 2026 21 Feb 2026 30 May 2026
Victoria (VIC) 4 Feb 2026 21 & 23 March 2026 19 June 2026
Western Australia (WA) 9 Feb 2026 21 Feb 2026 12 June 2026
National N/A National Jury Tour
Jury Tour: Jul/Aug 2026
29 October 2026
Chapter Standard entry fee (ex gst) A+ Membership Fee (10% discount) ex gst
NSW Regional $350 $315
ACT, NSW, NT, Queensland, SA, Tasmania, Victoria, WA $700 $630
International $700 (No GST applied) $630 (No GST applied)
It is a requirement of entry that all entrants read and understand the Awards Entry Handbook. The Handbooks are an excellent resource of helping to develop a successful awards entry. Give your project the best possible chance to succeed and familiarise yourself with the Handbook before commencing your entry.

Entries for 2026 opened on Monday 17 November 2025. 

View the 2026 Awards Entry Handbook here

Last updated: 20 January 2026

To enter the Australian Institute of Architects Architecture Awards Program, an entrant must be a registered architect and Institute member. To be eligible to enter, entrants must meet the following three requirements:

1. Member Status

  • be an architect registered in the State or Territory of the project or deemed to be registered in the State or Territory under the Mutual Recognition Act 1992 (Cmwlth), and
  • be an Institute Member at the time of entry, and
  • be a principal of the practice who owns, or is a formal licensee, of the copyright in the work being entered.

2. Practical Completion

  • The project must have reached practical completion by 31 December in the year proceeding the year of judging. (e.g. To be eligible for the 2024 National Architecture Awards, your project must have reached practical completion by 31 December 2023)
3. Sustainability Checklist (implemented at the start of the 2024 season)
  • Projects must receive a PASS result in at least 2 out of the 6 sections (General, Projection of Land and Ecological Systems, Siting and Urban Design, Energy Efficiency and Consumption, Selection of Building Materials and Process & Social Issues) on the Sustainable Architecture checklist located at the beginning of the online entry form*. This does not guarantee consideration in the Sustainable Architecture category, you must opt in to do so via the online entry
    form.

    *Entrants in the Small Project Architecture and Heritage categories are still required to complete the checklist to the best of their ability but are NOT required to meet the minimum 2 out of 6 result and are exempt from this requirement.

    Watch this video to understand the changes made regarding the sustainability checklist.  

Policy

Before submitting an entry into the Chapter Architecture Awards, please become familiar with the Awards, Prizes and Honours Policy.

 

Terms and conditions

Ensure you also read the Terms and Conditions before submitting an entry.

 

Consent forms

It is the entrant’s responsibility to ensure that the following Copyright Consent Forms are completed and signed. Entrants are required to submit these forms to the Institute as part of the online entry system.

NATIONAL AWARD Categories below (you just can't see it for some reason

NATIONAL AWARD Categories

Juries may choose to consider projects in categories other than the category the project was originally entered in subject to meeting the entry requirements of the new category.

39 Martin Place | Tzannes | Photographer: Martin Siegner

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image: 39 Martin Place | Tzannes | Photographer: Martin Siegner

 

 

 

 

 

Image: St. Joseph’s Catholic Primary School Rosebery | Neeson Murcutt Neille | Photographer: Tom Ross

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image: Moore Park Gardens | AJC Architects

 

 

 

 

Image: White Bay Power Station | Design 5 – Architects with Placemaking NSW | Photographer: Toby Peet

 

 

 

 

 

Image: Babylon House Interior | Casey Brown Architecture | Photographer: Zella Casey Brown

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image: Yarrila Place | BVN | Photographer: Tom Roe

 

 

 

 

 

Image: House in Erskineville | Architect George | Photographer: Clinton Weaver

 

 

 

 

 

Image: New Castle | Anthony St John Parsons | Photographer: Benjamin Hosking

 

 

 

 

 

Image: Wentworth Quarter | Bates Smart | Photographer: Felix Mooneeram

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image: Love Shack | Second Edition | Photographer: Hamish McIntosh

 

 

 

 

 

Image: Sydney Metro City Stations | Sydney Metro | Photographer: Trevor Mein

 

 

 

 

Image: Boot Factory and Mill Hill Centre Precinct | ARCHER OFFICE with MATT DEVINE & CO and ASPECT STUDIOS | Photographer: Peter Bennetts

 

 

 

 

 

Image: Green Heart – the urban garden – | Studio Oulala Architects | Photographer: Simon Whitbread

 

 

 

 

 

Image: Eco-House Leura | Marra + Yeh Architects | Photographer: Brett Boardman

Members cannot enter these categories directly, although will have the opportunity to self nominate for the following categories once they have elected a primary category:

  • Sustainable Architecture
  • COLORBOND® Award for Steel Architecture
  • EmAGN Project Award

If you wish to be considered for the above categories, you must provide the necessary entry materials which will be outlined in the awards entry portal.

For all Chapter specific awards and prizes, please review the respective Chapter Hub or refer to the Awards Entry Handbook.

national Jury

The Institute is proud to announce the Jurors for this year’s National Architecture Awards.

The National Architecture Awards celebrate the exceptional projects shortlisted from the esteemed Chapter Architecture Awards across the country. We extend our warmest congratulations to all the entrants and award winners.

This recognition is a testament to the rigorous peer-review process that defines Australia’s most esteemed architecture awards, guided by a jury of experts who each bring unique insight to the evaluation.

Join us on the 29th of October 2026, where the winners will be announced in a fantastic evening set to celebrate excellence and innovation.

  • Adam Haddow, LFRAIA, Immediate Past President, Australian Institute of Architects, Partner, SJB (Jury Chair)
  • Alice Hampson, Director, AHA Alice Hampson Architect
  • Jeremy McLeod, Design Director, BREATHE ARCHITECTURE
  • Dr Helen Norrie, Associate Head of School (Students), University of Tasmania
  • Isaac McCormack, Architect, GHD Design

 

Adam Haddow

Adam Haddow is the National President of the Australian Institute of Architects and Partner at the multi-disciplinary design firm, SJB. He is a champion of good design and a strong advocate for the value Architecture brings to communities throughout Australia and the world. Adam is a firm believer that Australia’s future will be better where architecture and design thinking are prioritised, and that good design can deliver both economic benefits and improved health and wellbeing outcomes.

With over 30 years’ experience across diverse scales and typologies, Adam’s contributions to architecture are recognised both nationally and internationally. His work has earned prestigious accolades, including the Robin Boyd Award for Residential Architecture, the Walter Burley Griffin Award for Urban Design, and the Harry Seidler Award for Commercial Architecture. Adam’s work reflects the belief that architecture should provide an armature for community life; that the activities buildings facilitate are just as important as the physicality of the buildings themselves. He remains curious and driven by a passion for creating cities and spaces that serve the community and shaping a profession that supports its contributors.

 

Alice Hampson

Alice Hampson is a registered architect and sole practitioner, her practice sensibilities include design, public art, writing, editing, architectural criticism, and heritage expertise specialising in mid-twentieth century works. She graduated from the University of Queensland in Design Studies and Architecture with first class honours, the Board of Architects’ Prizes, the Royal Australian Institute of Architecture Medallion, and prizes for design, construction and drawing.

Hampson is an Adjunct Professor at UQ, an RAIA Life Fellow, an honouree member of both AIA and IRAC, Chair of the National Heritage Committee, and she sits as the heritage expert on the IEP for Arts Queensland. She was National President of RAIA 2020-2021, 2021 National Architecture Awards Chair, and for six years was a Councillor of Queensland Heritage Council. Previously she has been Queensland editor of Monument and a contributing editor for Architecture Media and has been Chair of Juries for the AIA Queensland Awards and chair of the National Awards, she has sat three times on the Gold Medal Jury, once as Chair.

 

Jeremy McLeod

Jeremy McLeod is the Co-founder of Breathe Architecture and Co-founder of Nightingale Housing. Jeremy believes humanity and the planet matter and uses design as a weapon for good to build a better future. Recognised with over 20 Australian Institute of Architects (AIA) awards, Breathe are change agents, advocating for the people in the cities where they live and work, creating meaningful and accessible spaces.

Jeremy is the recipient of the 2025 AIA’s Urban Design Champion Award, the 2018 Victorian President’s Prize and the AIA’s 2016 Leadership in Sustainability Prize. Jeremy is also the Head of Partnerships at Goodbye Gas and is convinced that architects, through collaboration, can push industry and government to do better for a country in a housing and climate crisis.

 

Dr Helen Norrie

Dr Helen Norrie is a design academic working across scales, from the curation of ideas through text and exhibitions, to the design of buildings and urban environments. Helen is the Associate Head: Students and the Master of Architecture Course Coordinator and the University of Tasmania School of Architecture & Design.

Helen is the founder of the Regional Urban Studies Laboratory (RUSL), a collaborative urban design research project that engages with local councils and communities to explore the intersection of development, planning and urban design, examining the agency of architecture to engage with broader urban and cultural narratives.

Helen is an architectural critic and commentator, writing about architecture, design and art projects across Australia for 30 years. She edited the Architecture Australia Regional Dossier (2019) and wrote about regional architecture in Cameron Bruhn’s MMXX: Two Decades of Architecture in Australia (2020). Helen was co-Creative Director of the 2014 Australian Institute of Architects National Conference in Perth.

 

Isaac McCormack

Isaac McCormack RAIA is a Registered Architect at GHD Design in Perth, specialising in complex public infrastructure and large-scale architectural projects. An award-winning professional, Isaac brings extensive experience from leading practices in both Australia and Asia. He has worked on major civic works from concept to completion, including the upgrades to Airport Central and Claremont Stations, as well as the EmAGN award winning Altum Retirement Living project. Isaac’s work and research critically examine the intersection of historical land narratives and modern urbanism. He strongly advocates for the meaningful integration of First Nations culture into contemporary cityscapes—a perspective that deeply informs his professional practice, academic contributions, and skill in digital artistry. Committed to shaping the future of architecture, Isaac is actively involved in architectural education. He serves on the Curtin University Architecture Advisory Board and teaches social and multi-residential architectural design.

His current research explores the technological evolution of the built environment. Through papers such as Creativity in the Age of AI and The Algorithmic Voice, he investigates the ethical dimensions of artificial intelligence, the changing creative process, and how algorithms increasingly influence the urban fabric and spatial perspectives.

2026 National Award Winners

text where the award winners for 2026 will go

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