Vivien Topalovic, Property Journalist
First published 26 Oct 2026, 4:28pm
A new design competition will help create a pre-approved pattern book as the territory works towards enabling 30,000 new homes by 2030.
The ACT government has opened expressions of interest for the Canberra House Pattern Book Design Competition, a national search for designs for dual occupancies, tri-occupancies, townhouses and terrace homes.
The pattern book will help the Territory work towards its goal of enabling 30,000 new homes by 2030. Picture: Getty
The pattern book will focus on homes that sit between detached houses and high-rise apartments — often called “missing middle” housing — as the territory works towards its commitment to enable 30,000 new homes by 2030.
It is expected to create a library of pre-approved, architect-designed plans that developers and consumers can access and build. The government says the designs will help reduce design costs and streamline approvals, with projects using pre-approved plans able to proceed without a development application.
ACT minister for planning and sustainable development Chris Steel said the initiative would build on the territory’s missing middle reforms.
“First, we made it possible to build missing middle homes, now we’re fast-tracking new homes through a pattern book approach,” Mr Steel said.
“This pattern book will give Canberrans a range of top-quality, sustainable and affordable home designs that can be built without the need for a DA.”
The competition is open to architects, building designers and architecture students across Australia.
Professional entrants will be asked to develop innovative, cost-efficient housing solutions that offer more choice beyond the traditional standalone home or apartment building.
About 16 professional entrants and six student entrants are expected to be shortlisted to develop designs for the next stage of the competition.
Shortlisted professional entrants will have the opportunity to see their concepts developed beyond the drawing board. Winning ideas could ultimately be refined into housing patterns for construction in Canberra neighbourhoods.
The student category will invite ideas that offer an innovative response to Canberra’s future housing needs.
It’s not the first time Australia has used standardised or pre-approved designs as a way to increase housing supply.
In 2025, New South Wales launched its Housing Pattern Book , featuring designs for low-rise homes such as terraces, townhouses, row homes and manor homes. It later added mid-rise apartment designs of up to six storeys, along with landscape and technical guidance.
Construction began on the first NSW pattern book homes in January 2026 , when seven terraces started taking shape at Edmondson Park in Sydney’s south-west.
Western Australia and South Australia have also announced plans to develop similar initiatives.
The ACT government says the Canberra House Pattern Book will draw on these interstate programs while developing designs specifically for local conditions.
Expressions of interest for the Canberra House Pattern Book Design Competition close on 4 December 2026. More information is available via the ACT planning website.
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