Dulux Colour Awards
Celebrating 40 years of colour excellence, the prestigious Dulux Colour Awards recognise innovation and excellence in the transformative use of Dulux Colour in the built environment.
2026 saw a record number of more than 540 entries from Australia and New Zealand this year. From these, 96 finalists have been selected by a panel of five esteemed design and architecture professionals.
2026 marks the 40th anniversary of the prestigious Dulux Colour Awards, the premier awards program recognising innovative, original and ambitious use of colour in the built environment. Widely regarded as an industry vanguard, the Dulux Colour Awards have elevated this intrinsic element of design and increased the appreciation of colour over forty years of competition.
This year’s prolific participation compelled the judges to deliberate extensively to determine the shortlist in the eight award categories: Commercial Interior – Public and Hospitality; Commercial Interior – Workplace and Retail; Commercial and Multi-Residential Exterior; Residential Interior; Single Residential Exterior; Temporary or Installation Design; Student AU and Student NZ; and the ultimate prize for the best overall projects, the Australian and New Zealand Grand Prix awards.
96 finalists across 8 categories have been selected by a panel of five esteemed design and architecture professionals.
Winners will be announced at Dulux Colour Awards Gala 27th May 2026 and published on 28th May 2026
Meet the Judges
The Dulux Colour Awards Categories
1. COMMERCIAL INTERIOR - WORKPLACE AND RETAIL
Interior Dulux Paint finishes of any commercial or industrial building e.g. offices, studios, factories, retail outlets, shopping centres.
2. COMMERCIAL INTERIOR - PUBLIC AND HOSPITALITY
Interior Dulux Paint finishes of any commercial or industrial building e.g. community centres, museums, theatres, places of worship, cafes, restaurants, fitness centres, hotels, event spaces, education and healthcare facilities.
3. COMMERCIAL AND MULTI-RESIDENTIAL EXTERIOR
Exterior Dulux Paint finishes of any commercial, industrial, educational facility, multi-residential development and/ or apartment building.
4. RESIDENTIAL INTERIOR
Interior Dulux Paint finishes of a private residence, including single and multi-residential.
5. SINGLE RESIDENTIAL EXTERIOR
Exterior Dulux Paint finishes of a private single residence.
6. TEMPORARY OR INSTALLATION DESIGN
Interior and or Exterior Dulux paint finishes of any temporary, installation, exhibition and brand promotion experience.
7. STUDENT (YEARS 1-6) (AU AND NZ)
Paint specification by architecture or interior design students who are currently undertaking or have recently completed (within the past 12 months) a course by a recognised university or college.
Finalists will have the opportunity to be judged for the coveted New Zealand Grand Prix and Australian Grand Prix titles.
New Zealand Grand Prix: Celebrating the best-in-show, the New Zealand Grand Prix title will be selected from the New Zealand finalists, excluding the Student category, and receive NZD$5,000
Australian Grand Prix: Celebrating the best-in-show, the coveted Australian Grand Prix award will be chosen from the Australian category winners, excluding the Student category, and receive AUD$5,000.
All New Zealand finalists receive $1,000 travel vouchers to use towards travel to the Dulux Colour Awards Gala event in Sydney.
The finalists will be revealed on April 9, 2026 and winners will be announced on May 27, 2026.
Previous winners and finalists
Revisit the projects that captured the attention of our judges.
Image credits
Anson Smart Billy's | Samuel Hartnett Lava House | Anson Smart Melbourne Place | Stephen Goodenough Seven Colourful Little Houses | Paul McCredie St James Theatre | David Straight Eden View | Tim Pierce Central Hotel by Naumi Hotels | Dennis Radermacher Social Housing Development Rangiora | Adam Madigan Giraffe Early Learning Centre | Peter Bennetts Fitzroy Crossing Renal Hostel.