The AwardForce portal will prompt you to provide written responses (including word limits) to each of the criteria relevant to your chosen category/s. This will assist all entrants in addressing the criteria correctly and present clear and comprehensive information. The judges will use the information provided to shortlist finalists and prepare for their site visits, as well as refer to during the final judging.

We urge the strong involvement of the project management team in the preparation of the entry as the focus is on the content in the online format, rather than the ‘gloss’ of a traditional hard copy submission.

High quality images are encouraged to be uploaded to assist with marketing and branding for your entries.

Criteria – UDIA VIC

The criteria are weighted to give entrants an understanding of what the judges will be focusing on. This weighting is reflected in the judges’ scoring sheets.

Submissions open Tuesday, 10 February 2026

Submissions close Friday, 22 May 2026

You may make changes to your submission up until the closing date, after this date, submissions will be considered complete. Any items or documents submitted after this time will be accepted or declined at our discretion.

All Judges are experienced practitioners from various sectors of the urban development industry.

Judging of project entries will include a review of the written submission against the criteria for each category and an on-site inspection by the panel of judges.

Entrants are expected to make a verbal presentation to the judges as part of their site inspection. You should allow no longer than one hour for the site inspection including the presentation. The onsite presentation is a key component of the judging and should be delivered by your most senior representative who is intimately familiar with the project. Additional time will be allocated for project site tour entered in multiple categories.

UDIA Victoria reserves the right to transfer award submissions to another category if it is considered to be a more appropriate fit. In this instance, the entrant will be notified and they will be given the option to amend their submission.

The decision of the judging panel is final and will not be subject to challenge by an entrant or other parties.

After submissions close the Judges will review your applications, shortlist successful projects or re-categorise projects if they are more appropriate fit in a different category. Once shortlisting is complete, the Institute coordinates the site inspections with the judging panels.

Our independent judging panel will review project submissions from mid August and people interviews from September.

No. Changes to the site inspection date and time are not permitted under any circumstances. It is strongly recommended that you block out the judging period in all key company representative’s diaries in advance to ensure availability.

Yes. Under no circumstances should an entrant be in contact with or approach a member of the judge’s panel outside the hour of their scheduled site inspection. Should the Institute be made aware of such behaviour, your entry will be disqualified immediately.

The UDIA Awards 2026 shortlisted entrants will be announced in August.

Winners and Finalists will be announced at the Ceremony on Friday, 27 November 2026.

Tickets are not allocated to entrants. You must purchase your own ticket(s). It is strongly recommended you purchase ticket(s) to the ceremony once the event goes ‘live’.

Each winning development will receive a trophy plus a certificate for all the consultants involved in the winning project. Additional trophies and certificates can be ordered following the Awards Ceremony via the UDIA and winners will be notified via email immediately after with instructions on how to do so.

Awards Team
Ph: 03 9832 9600
Email: awards@udiavic.com.au