34% of growth in Australia in the past 10 years has occurred at the edges of our cities and towns. More than 5 million people live in growth areas across Australia, and the growth rate of these regions is double the national average (NGAA, 2025). Yet there is largely one dominant model of how we build. Whether Melbourne, Ballarat, Coffs Harbour, Cairns or Bunbury, our suburbs both look and perform remarkably similar. While there are high profile exceptions such as ecovillages, these have had limited impact on the dominant paradigm. 
 
We have created this Competition to challenge you to think seriously about these environments not as an ever expanding edge but as the centre of community life for those who live there. What might a biodiverse, compact footprint, healthy, inclusive and climate safe version of these neighbourhoods look like?
 
We want you to show us your bold ideas, rethink the systems that produce our suburbs in their current form, and explore how we could use space differently to build resilient, lively and healthy communities for an uncertain future.
 
Sub-topia is more than a ‘design’ Competition. It’s a challenge to designers, policy-makers and the public to ask: How can we do better? What does real innovation look like when we design the suburbs of tomorrow? 
 
The Competition is intentionally focused on Students and Early-career Professionals from across a range of disciplines to encourage creative spatial and systems thinking. You can Enter in one of two categories based on your eligibility:

Category 1, Emerging 
Category 2, Student

Sub-topia: A clustered vision for living at the urban fringe is open Australia wide across two categories: 
 
Category 1, Emerging: Early-career professionals, who graduated from their most recent degree from an Australian university after the 2016 calendar year (up to 10 years).
 
Category 2, Student: Students enrolled during the 2026 calendar year or those who have graduated within the 2025 calendar year from a course at an Australian university. 
 
Entries must be submitted by Multidisciplinary Teams of a minimum of 2 (two) and up to a maximum of 4 (four) Applicants. 
 
Multidisciplinary Teams must include 2 (two) Applicants from the following built environment disciplines; architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, and urban planning.
Multidisciplinary Teams may include other Applicants from disciplines outside the built environment provided they still fulfil the category requirements.
The Applicant’s discipline may be determined either by evidence of appropriate tertiary education or professional experience. 
 
Multidisciplinary Team Applicants cannot all be from the same discipline.
 
Multidisciplinary Teams must comprise a collective of individuals and not submit on behalf of a professional practice or consultancy.
 
A Multidisciplinary Team may submit one Entry only.
 
An Applicant can only be part of one Multidisciplinary Team.
 
Applicants must be 18 years of age or over at the date of Entry, have an Australian residential address and possess the legal right to work in Australia.

The Competition Period is from 10.00 am Monday 8th June 2026 AEST until 4.00 pm Sunday 12th July 2026 AEST.
 
At the opening of the Competition Period, registered Teams will receive the Competition Pack and Entry ID required for Entry.
 
The online form will open for Entries at 10.00 am AEST Monday 8th June 2026. 
 
In order to be eligible, the Applicants must submit their Entry via the online form by 4.00 pm Sunday 12th July 2026 AEST. 
 
The Competition Period is intended to align with the mid-year break for students and the short time frame is intended to signal the limited material required for the Entry.

Category 1, Emerging: 
First Prize:  $7000.00 AUD
Runner Up Prize: $3000.00 AUD
 
Category 2, Student: 
First Prize: $3500.00 AUD
Runner Up Prize:  $1500.00 AUD
 
Sub-topia: A clustered vision for living at the urban fringe Competition Prizes are generously sponsored by Ample, Verve, Oculus and Fieldwork. 

Megan Glass, Today
Megan is a product and strategic designer who works alongside communities to design the systems and services that impact them. Bringing together a human centred design approach with her background in marketing and advertising, Megan helps not-for-profits, governments and change makers find clear, compelling solutions that meet people’s real needs. Megan brings a perspective focused on the customer and communication, bringing expertise to the jury that is intentionally from outside of the built environment echo chamber.
 
Leah Wittingslow, Mesh – A Veris Company
Leah, is Head of Planning and Design at Mesh, and a recognised industry leader in strategic planning who blends extensive experience with infectious enthusiasm, Leah specialises in crafting high-level strategic plans, including PSPs, Strategy Plans, Development Plans, Planning Scheme Amendments, and infrastructure funding. Leah has a strong focus on public value and works extensively for and with State and Local Government along with the development industry, and is a member of the Casey Design Excellence panel and UDIA Greenfields and Land Lease committees.
 
Dan Brady, Development Victoria
Dan is a Design Director at Development Victoria with experience shaping complex urban regeneration, housing, and community-focused projects in the UK and Australia. Dan’s work bridges public and private sectors, applying design thinking and strategic problem-solving to deliver outcomes that balance government priorities, community benefit, and long-term value. Dan is passionate about the role of design in systems change and advocates for people-first approaches that create lasting social and economic impact.
 
Gavin Ashley, Hip V Hype
Gavin is the Head of Better Cities & Regions at HIP V. HYPE. With more than 20 years experience in urban development and sustainability across the private, non-profit and public sectors, Gavin leads the technical delivery of climate mitigation and adaptation planning including the developing policies, frameworks, tools and guidelines to promote more sustainable outcomes at precinct and city scale. Gavin is a Green Star Accredited Professional (Green Star Communities) and is on the GBCA Precincts Expert Reference Panel.
 
Simone Bliss, SBLA
Simone is the creative director of SBLA Studio. Simone’s work ranges from designing grasslands and rooftop bee corridors to regenerating post-agricultural landscapes. Simone’s innovation, playfulness and creativity are highly valued within the design and environmental industries. She aims to connect humans to landscapes in hope of inspiring a respect and care for the land and waterways that we all inhabit. Simone gains much joy from collaborating with and learning from First Nations people and is a strong advocate for equality through design. She is a member of the City of Melbourne’s Design Review Panel and the Urban Design Advisory Panel for the University of Melbourne.

Podcast: The significance of greenfield suburban development in Australia, and its challenges – Izzie White in conversation with Ash Alam (Melbourne School of Design, University of Melbourne), Catherine Murphy (Monash MADA), and Andrew Butt (RMIT University).
Recorded for the Sub-topia Competition at Walsh Street in May 2026.
Part 1

Part 2

Panel Discussion: Sub-topia Launch Event
Recorded for the Sub-topia Competition at Walsh Street as part of Melbourne Design Week in May 2026 at Walsh Street, with Senior City Reporter, Adam Carey (The Age) will facilitate the conversation with competition jurors Leah Wittingslow (Mesh), Dan Brady (Development Victoria) as well as Rebecca Finn (Urban Fold / Urban Design Forum).

 
Talk: Alan Pert, Winter Park and Elliston Estate
Recorded as part of the Loose Leaf exhibition program at Walsh Street in March 2026.

 
 
Talk: Matthew Hamilton, Emergent Studios, The Paddock Eco Estate
Recorded as part of the Loose Leaf exhibition program at Walsh Street in March 2026.

 
 
Suggested Reading

Council Alliance for the Sustainability Built Environment – Sustainable Subdivisions 
Oculus – Nature Design Guide
Bio-Regional – One Planet Living
Witchcliffe Ecovillage – Progress Video 
Futureproof New Towns – International lessons on how to build flexible and adaptable new towns in England 

Benchmark Projects – Assembled by Competition Partners 
 
Local
Neighbourhood scale

Witchcliffe Ecovillage, regional WA 
Currumbin Ecovillage, Gold Coast
Narara Ecovillage, Central Coast NSW
Castlecrag, Sydney, NSW
The Cape, Cape Paterson VIC
Habitat Byron Bay, NSW 
Wybalena Grove, Canberra ACT
Urambi Village, Canberra ACT – explore the RBF 3D Tour
Crestwood, Perth WA 
Merchant Builders Winter Park, Doncaster VIC
Merchant Builders Vermont Park, Vermont VIC
Merchant Builders Elliston, Rosanna VIC

 
Cluster scale

Envi Micro Urban Village, Gold Coast QLD
Anne Street Garden Villas, Southport, Gold Coast QLD
Ellenbrook Microlot townhouses, Perth WA
Hope Street Housing, White Gum Valley, Perth WA 
Hope Street Housing, White Gum Valley, Perth WA 
Knutsford, White Gum Valley, Perth WA 
Westwyck Eco Village, West Brunswick VIC
Munro Court, Castlemaine VIC
The Paddock, Castlemaine VIC
Merchant Builders Sorrett Avenue, Malvern VIC
Clyde Mews, Thornbury VIC
Heller Street terraces, Brunswick VIC 

 
International 

Hobsonville Point, Auckland, New Zealand 
Northcote regeneration, Auckland, New Zealand 
Marmalade Lane, Cambridge, UK 
The Phoenix, Lewes, UK 
Lovedon Fields Housing, UK 
Rowan Park, Merton, UK 
Goldsmith Street, Norwich, UK 
The City Houses (Byhusene) – Islands Brygge, Copenhagen, Denmark
Natur Byen, Middelfart, Denmark
Kingo Houses Helsingør, Denmark
Helsinge Garden City, Helsinge, Denmark
Leonidas Terrein Eco Quarter, Rotterdam, Netherlands

The Competition is intended to help Students and Early-career Professionals expand their understanding of greenfield development by collaborating with different disciplines and knowledge areas. This also acknowledges the complexity of the challenge and the subsequent collaboration required to solve it.
 
Multidisciplinary Teams must include two Applicants from the following built environment disciplines; architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, and urban planning. Teams may include other Applicants from disciplines outside the built environment provided they still fulfil the category requirements. The Applicant’s discipline may be determined either by evidence of appropriate tertiary education or professional experience. 
Multidisciplinary Team Applicants cannot all be from the same discipline.
For example, a Multidisciplinary Team might consist of:
– An urban designer and a landscape architect
– An architect, an urban designer, and a landscape architect
– Two urban planners and an architect
– Three architecture students and a psychology student
– An ecologist, a graduate architect, and two urban designers
– An architect, and an urban design/architect hybrid practitioner
– An economist, a landscape architect, a graduate architect, and a civil engineer.
 
For example, a Multidisciplinary Team cannot consist of:
– Two urban designers
– Three architecture students
– Three graduate landscape architects
 
If you are not sure if your team meets the Eligibility criteria regarding multiple disciplines, please send an email to events@udf.org.au with your circumstances and we will help determine your Eligibility. 
 
Entrants will self verify eligibility on registration, and will only be vetted by Competition Organisers at the shortlisting stage.

Registered Teams will be provided with a Competition Pack outlining:
– The Design Brief
– Details of the Competition Site including draft background and technical reports
– Evaluation Criteria
– Entry Materials to be produced for assessment
– Conditions of Entry

Yes. The launch event has been recorded and will be shared on this webpage prior to the Competition Period opening on Monday 8th June 2026.

No, a formal or accompanied site visit will not be offered. Applicants may choose to visit the surroundings upon learning the site location in the Competition Pack. However, we discourage trespassing onto any private land, including the Competition Site. 

Yes, provided you enter as part of a Team with at least two (2) other Applicants from the built environment disciplines identified in the Eligibility section, e.g: architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, and urban planning.
 
Please note you must still meet the category based eligibility requirements. 

We encourage teams to consider the complexity of growth-area development, and the many industries and knowledge areas it can impact or be impacted by. Teams might consider bringing together additional disciplines to supplement their ideas, for example:
– Ecology
– Advertising
– Psychology
– Anthropology
– Economics & finance
– Civil engineering
– Property development
– Construction industry
– Or another discipline.

Procedural fairness is very important to us, and it is critical that the Jury can compare all projects fairly against the evaluation criteria. Any material that does not conform to the Entry Material described in the Competition Pack will be excluded prior to the Jury assessment by the Competition Convenor. 

We encourage you to listen to the recorded talks and podcasts contained in the Resources section below. You may read media articles and academic literature, undertake visits to nearby development sites, interview friends or relatives living in the suburban fringe, or engage with local and international benchmarks. A list of benchmark projects is provided under Resources, but this should not be seen as limiting.

The Competition Jury has been assembled to reflect the multidisciplinary nature of the Ideas Competition. They will be judging Entries blindly (having no information to identify the Applicants) based on a consistent set of evaluation criteria. The evaluation criteria has been designed to emphasise the strength and communication of the ideas, over the volume of content produced. The criteria will be included in the Competition Pack provided to Teams for full transparency.