The shortlist for the twenty-third Australian Interior Design Awards has been revealed. As the leading industry accolade in Australia, the Australian Interior Design Awards celebrate interior design excellence, with the awards holding both national and international significance. The program is a collaboration between the Design Institute of Australia (DIA) and Architecture Media’s InteriorsAu. It provides a premier platform for showcasing completed projects across residential, commercial, and public sectors, representing both established and emerging designers.
This year’s shortlist features an impressive 226 projects, which together reflect a compelling and diverse narrative of the current industry landscape, highlighting creativity, authenticity and thoughtful design.
Commenting on the Residential Design category, jury member Brahman Perera said the projects “show a disciplined commitment to function, and the strongest projects resolve planning and operational requirements early on, which has allowed subsequent design decisions to feel purposeful rather than decorative. There is a clear alignment between spatial logic and aesthetic outcome, with beauty emerging as a by-product of well-considered planning not as mere overlay.”
The shortlisted projects are in the following categories:
Convened by Geraldine Maher, Director of Maher Design, the jury for 2026 comprises Mardi Doherty (founder and principal, Studio Doherty), Iva Foschia (director, IF Architecture), Paul Foskett (principal and head of interior design APAC, Populous), Alessandra French (co-founder, State of Kin), Tim Greer (director, Tonkin Zulaikha Greer Architects), Brahman Perera (director, Brahman Perera), Eva-Marie Prineas (principal, Studio Prineas), and Kirsti Simpson (studio chair and global leader of workplace interior design, Woods Bagot).
The awards and commendations will be announced at the gala presentation on Friday 12 June 2026 in Sydney. The evening will also reveal the top honour, the Premier Award for Australian Interior Design.
The full shortlist is available on the Australian Interior Design Awards website.
The Australian Interior Design Awards are organized by Architecture Media (publisher of ArchitectureAu) and co-presented by the Design Institute of Australia and InteriorsAu. The awards are supported by Dulux, Space, Sub-Zero Wolf, Bowermans, Laminex, Elton Group, Roca, GH Commercial and Nightworks.
Source: Architecture - architectureau
