National Architecture Award winners
The Lacebark apartment based in Norwest, 35 kilometres north west of Sydney CBD, has been named the best multi-residential building in the Australian Institute of Architect’s National Architecture Awards this year.
Designed by Smart Design Studio for developer Mulpha, alongside Bates Smart as associate architect, ASPECT Studios as landscape consultants, Finding Infinity as sustainability consultants, and Parkview as head contractor.
The project has also won the NSW awards as well as the mixed use development award by Urban Taskforce.
Other notable winners includes Green Square Public School and Community Spaces by BVN willing educational architecture, Adelaide Town Hall by Swanbury Penglase winning for heritage architecture. Yitpi Yartapuultiku (The Soul of Port Adelaide) by Ashley Halliday Architects together with the Yitpi Yartapuultiku Aboriginal Working Group and Wax Design, won three catgories, including for steel architecture, public architecture and sustainable architecture.
Insurance shifting in preparation for El Niño
Insurance cycles are shifting in preparation for what it forecasts to be the “strongest El Nino on record, said insurance consultants Finity in its annual Optima report.
Growth in insurance premiums have fallen in FY26 to a decade low, but cost of premiums are not falling and home insurance is forecasted to rise 11 per cent in FY27. The costs of “catastrophe” has hit $3.9 billion in FY26, over two declared “insurance catastrophes” and five “significant events” which is up from $2.3 billion.
This raises concerns about rising costs and availability of insurance for “hazard exposed areas” as there was more catastrophe and weather experience in FY26 than the last 10 year historical average.
Developer rating scheme launched for energy projects
If you missed it, the federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, has now launched its developer rating scheme (DRS) – which gives rating on the performance of renewable energy developers and transmission companies – similar to NSW’s ICIRT ratings for developers.
The public register, which launched last week, is hosted by credit assesors Equifax, and aims to provide communities and landholders transparency and confidence in companies building new energy infrastructure in their areas. Businesses are assessed on their performance, track record and capability based on seven criteria; community, conduct, character, capability, capacity, capital and counterparty.
Assessments are voluntary and businesses must pay assessment fees while the public register is free for public access and will include all business who receive a positive rating and choose to be listed.
Listings requires a requires the company to pass on all seven criteria and a minimum 3 out of 5 stars on community engagement. There have currently been five energy developers who have volunteered to be assessed.
Is property linked finance the key to home energy upgrades?
New research by Behaviour Works Australia within the Monash Business School finds Australians would be more encouraged to make home energy improvements if property linked finance was available to them. This is where energy upgrade finance charges are linked to the property, rather than the borrower, meaning if the house is sold, the remaining repayment will transfer to the new owner.
Through a survey of 2239 Australians, 45 per cent of owner occupiers found this attractive, as well as 60 per cent of new home buyers and 50 per cent of landlords. Around 32 per cent of owner occupiers, 35 per cent of new home buyers and 36 per cent of landlords said this would help them fund improvements they otherwise can’t afford.
Feedback for new waste treatment method
The government has appointed the Australian Resources Recovery Council to develop a new alternative waste treatment (AWT) method under the Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) after the last one expired in 31 March 2025.
The organisation said it was working on a new method to encourage innovation and investment in waste management and resource recovery, reducing emissions for waste that would have gone to landfiell. It is now seeking feedback on its consultation paper. Submissions close 29 November.
Fortescue grows its green energy operation
Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue has signed first power purchase agreement with PLS Group, making it the first external customer of its green grid as well as a major milstone towards the company’s ambitions to become an energy supplier in Pilbara.
Under the 20 year agreement, Forrest’s company will supply a minimum of 325 gigawatt-hour of power to PLS’ Pilgangoora Operation, which is a hard rock lithium mine, annually commencing 2029. The deal comes as the lithium mine was recently approved of a $1.9 billion expansion.
To do this Fortescue will need to build approximately 25-kilometre, 220 kilovolt transmission line to connect the mine to its Green Grid. PLS will fund the entire transmission line and own 20 kilometres of it, with Fortescue owning the remainder.
