Australia is losing $11 billion to landowners capitalising on windfall gains every year, thanks to upzoning (or government funded infrastructure). We need better value capture systems, argue Tim Helm and Henry Williams in a report produced for Prosper Australia on a topic also canvassed at the recent Planning Institute of Australia Congress in ...
The New South Wales Architecture Awards announced this year’s most outstanding new architecture, setting industry benchmarks for design excellence, sustainability, and social impact.
Jury Chair Bill Tsakalos said that a “striking takeaway” from the awards was “the number of regional projects that have achieved recognition at the highest level,” which ...
What an atmosphere at the City Recital Hall in Sydney on Thursday night. It was the NSW Australian Institute of Architects Awards and the place was hopping. Noisy, excited voices that seemed the tangible, cumulative result of what’s no doubt been a year of incredibly hard (and long) work, commitment and challenge.
Think of what we expect architects to ...
The sustainability world is heating up. Again. After the knocks and twists of the past few years, the climate denying political agenda is now one big yawn.
Businesses are getting down and dirty. They just don’t care about the yabbering going on in Canberra or Washington.
Sign up for our free newsletter.
In Brisbane the state ...
Expanded resilience rating scheme can save heaps on insurance
Major banks CommBank and NAB are joining other banks in the government-backed resilience rating scheme by offering cheaper insurance to certified households that have made resilience upgrades.
The scheme, launched in October 2023 by the Resilient Building Council (RBC), received a ...
Victoria may soon be the first Australian jurisdiction to mandate the creation of building manuals, but not without caveats.
Last week, the Victorian Housing and Building Minister, Nick Staikos, flagged his decision to push forward the reforms proposed through the Building Amendment (Building Manuals) Regulations 2026.
Sign up for our free ...
EV sales are at record highs, but there’s an emerging and serious shortage of independent workshops, skilled technicians, training and infrastructure needed to support them. Training courses that exist are booked out.
While government incentives backed an unprecedented surge in EV sales in the 12 months to 2023, when annual market share first broke ...
Moving from the popular presale model to a build then sell model would provide additional funds for the builder, increase the quality of housing, stabilise demand, increase workplace stability and encourage labour retention, writes Andrea Sharam. So why are we not using it?
Spinifex is an opinion column. If you would like to contribute, contact us to ...
Sydney is no stranger to extreme heat. In January 2020, Penrith in Western Sydney reached 48.9°C, the highest temperature ever recorded in Greater Sydney.
Now imagine Penrith in 2050: the heat lasts longer, extreme heat events happen more often, and power goes out on the hottest days because the grid can’t cope.
Sign up for our free ...
Australia’s new National Environment Protection Agency begins operating this week (from 1 July 2026), the centrepiece of the biggest overhaul of Australian environmental law in more than 25 years. It will make assessment pathways faster, offset markets more efficient and approvals quicker.
What it will not do is change the underlying belief that ...
Although federal and state governments have recognised the desperate need for more social housing, and homes are being constructed (and demolished), the waiting list continues to grow.
Spinifex is an opinion column. If you would like to contribute, contact us to ask for a detailed brief.
Sign up for our free newsletter.
In ...
Knocks us over with a feather. Australians who voted no to the Voice, and no to the Liberal Party but yes to One Nation, have also polled yes to falling house prices. These things could all be connected to the Yellow Brick Road that leads us back to the glorious sensible centre, once pilloried as boring, in today’s crazy world, a radical ...
Australia is losing $11 billion to landowners capitalising on windfall gains every year, thanks to upzoning (or government funded infrastructure). We need better value capture systems, argue Tim Helm and Henry Williams in a report produced for Prosper Australia on a topic also canvassed at the recent Planning Institute of Australia Congress in ...
The New South Wales Architecture Awards announced this year’s most outstanding new architecture, setting industry benchmarks for design excellence, sustainability, and social impact.
Jury Chair Bill Tsakalos said that a “striking takeaway” from the awards was “the number of regional projects that have achieved recognition at the highest level,” which ...
What an atmosphere at the City Recital Hall in Sydney on Thursday night. It was the NSW Australian Institute of Architects Awards and the place was hopping. Noisy, excited voices that seemed the tangible, cumulative result of what’s no doubt been a year of incredibly hard (and long) work, commitment and challenge.
Think of what we expect architects to ...
The sustainability world is heating up. Again. After the knocks and twists of the past few years, the climate denying political agenda is now one big yawn.
Businesses are getting down and dirty. They just don’t care about the yabbering going on in Canberra or Washington.
Sign up for our free newsletter.
In Brisbane the state ...
Expanded resilience rating scheme can save heaps on insurance
Major banks CommBank and NAB are joining other banks in the government-backed resilience rating scheme by offering cheaper insurance to certified households that have made resilience upgrades.
The scheme, launched in October 2023 by the Resilient Building Council (RBC), received a ...
Victoria may soon be the first Australian jurisdiction to mandate the creation of building manuals, but not without caveats.
Last week, the Victorian Housing and Building Minister, Nick Staikos, flagged his decision to push forward the reforms proposed through the Building Amendment (Building Manuals) Regulations 2026.
Sign up for our free ...
EV sales are at record highs, but there’s an emerging and serious shortage of independent workshops, skilled technicians, training and infrastructure needed to support them. Training courses that exist are booked out.
While government incentives backed an unprecedented surge in EV sales in the 12 months to 2023, when annual market share first broke ...
Moving from the popular presale model to a build then sell model would provide additional funds for the builder, increase the quality of housing, stabilise demand, increase workplace stability and encourage labour retention, writes Andrea Sharam. So why are we not using it?
Spinifex is an opinion column. If you would like to contribute, contact us to ...
Sydney is no stranger to extreme heat. In January 2020, Penrith in Western Sydney reached 48.9°C, the highest temperature ever recorded in Greater Sydney.
Now imagine Penrith in 2050: the heat lasts longer, extreme heat events happen more often, and power goes out on the hottest days because the grid can’t cope.
Sign up for our free ...
Australia’s new National Environment Protection Agency begins operating this week (from 1 July 2026), the centrepiece of the biggest overhaul of Australian environmental law in more than 25 years. It will make assessment pathways faster, offset markets more efficient and approvals quicker.
What it will not do is change the underlying belief that ...
Although federal and state governments have recognised the desperate need for more social housing, and homes are being constructed (and demolished), the waiting list continues to grow.
Spinifex is an opinion column. If you would like to contribute, contact us to ask for a detailed brief.
Sign up for our free newsletter.
In ...
Knocks us over with a feather. Australians who voted no to the Voice, and no to the Liberal Party but yes to One Nation, have also polled yes to falling house prices. These things could all be connected to the Yellow Brick Road that leads us back to the glorious sensible centre, once pilloried as boring, in today’s crazy world, a radical ...
