Colour Awards Entries Open
Celebrating 40 years, the 2026 Dulux Colour Awards invite architects, designers, specifiers and students across Australia and New Zealand to enter innovative projects showcasing creative, inspiring use of colour in the built environment.
Marking a significant milestone, entries for the annual Dulux Colour Awards are officially open for 2026 as the program celebrates 40 years of championing colour-led design across Australia and New Zealand. Since their inception, the awards have become a benchmark for creative excellence, recognising projects that demonstrate daring exploration and refined restraint of colour in residential and commercial settings.
For four decades, the awards have honoured an ever-evolving lineage of architects, interior designers and students whose work has challenged and enriched discourse on materiality, the use of colour, spatial experience and chromatic expression.
This spirit of experimentation was embodied in last year’s Australian Grand Prix winner, Richards Stanisich’s Sarah & Sebastian Armadale store – a luminous, faceted interior that blurred the boundaries between art, architecture and retail. Its success underscored the awards’ commitment to recognising work that shifts expectations around colour’s potential.
Dulux colour and design manager Lauren Treloar says past entrants and judges have had a tremendous influence on shaping the region’s design language. “As one of Australia and New Zealand’s longest-running design programs, the awards pay tribute to the thousands of bold and transformative projects that have been submitted throughout the years and acknowledge hundreds of inspiring judges who have generously dedicated their time and design expertise to witness and assess the projects each year,” she says.
“The design practices’ creative and innovative use of colour has helped shape and inspire generations of interior designers and architects, encouraging others to push the envelope and demonstrate the ability colour has on transforming the form, feeling and function of a space.”
For the 40th iteration, Dulux has assembled an esteemed judging panel whose own practices exemplify the award’s commitment to expressive and pioneering design. The 2026 jury comprises Simone Haag, design director of her eponymous interior design practice; Ben Peake, a principal at Carter Williamson Architects; Buster Caldwell, director of Wonder Group; Sarah-Jane Pyke, a principal of Arent & Pyke; and Alix Smith, a principal of Hassell – all recognised leaders within their respective fields.
Haag, reflecting on the privilege of judging in such a landmark year, says, “Anyone can employ colour, but to curate a space while also demonstrating constraint and considered use of colour to enhance the overall design experience is an impressive skill to behold. I eagerly look forward to assessing this year’s entries.”
Entries are open across eight categories, including commercial interior – workplace and retail; commercial interior – public and hospitality; commercial and multi-residential exterior; residential interior; single residential exterior; temporary or installation design; and student.
Dulux welcomes submissions from individuals and practices of all sizes, with eligible projects completed between September 1 2024 and December 31 2025. The finalist shortlist will be announced on April 9, 2026, ahead of the 40th Dulux Colour Awards ceremony at the Sydney Opera House on May 27, a fitting stage for a program that has long celebrated the transformative power of colour.
