AFDA 2026
Category
Events
AFDA 2026
Registrations for the 2026 Australian Furniture Design Award are now open.
Presented by Stylecraft and NGV, the AFDA is open to all Australian designers to submit their concept for consideration in one of Australia’s richest design prizes. For 2026 the Jury will be looking for thought-provoking furniture and lighting designs for small spaces that offer new solutions for sustainable production, while reflecting how many live and work today.
All competitors shortlisted for Stage One will receive an honorarium of $1,000 (ex GST) to assist with the realisation of their design as a resolved prototype for exhibition in Stage Two. The winner will receive a $20,000 cash prize, and the opportunity to develop a commercial range or product with Stylecraft.
You must register prior to entry. Registrations open 16 October 2025.
Register on the NGV website here.
The Australian Furniture Design Award celebrates innovative furniture and lighting design by Australian designers.
Founded in 2015 by Stylecraft and the JamFactory, the Award is now in its sixth iteration.
‘For over 70 years, Stylecraft has been guided by the principle of active collaboration with the global and Australian design community. The Australian Furniture Design Award is unique in the national design landscape for its combination of recognition, professional development, financial support and commercial opportunity for an Australian designer. We are excited to build upon the legacy of this important award in 2026.’ – Anthony Collins, Managing Director, Stylecraft.
AFDA is a two-stage competition with the first stage being an open call for a new and original furniture or lighting design concept and information on the entrant’s professional practice. From the entries received, a shortlist of entrants will be invited to proceed to Stage Two and present a resolved prototype of their design for exhibition and judging at the Stylecraft showroom during Melbourne Design Week 2026.
Please note: Both the design concept submitted in Stage One and the realised design submitted in Stage Two must not have been published, exhibited or commercially produced prior to the time of the AFDA exhibition, 13 May 2026.
‘AFDA presents an invaluable platform for local furniture and lighting designers to showcase their extraordinary work. This Award celebrates the incredible creativity and innovation empowering this design discipline, as well as its contribution to design discourse and Australian culture.’
– Tony Ellwood AM, Director, NGV.
2026 Theme: Living Well Living Small
As urban living becomes denser and Australians increasingly inhabit smaller homes and apartments, AFDA 2026 challenges designers to imagine furniture and lighting that enhance comfort, functionality, and wellbeing within compact spaces – revealing intelligent approaches to space, material, and making with proposals that are innovative, thoughtful and practical.
Designs should seek to reflect the values of conscious living, using sustainable, responsibly sourced, upcycled or recycled materials. Submissions may also choose to explore the shift taking place from linear, extractive, non-renewable design production to circular, non-extractive, or bio-design.
In their evaluation the Jury will look for products that are adaptable, multi-functional, and capable of evolving over time to suit changing lifestyles. Lighting and furniture should maximise efficiency without compromising beauty, offering solutions that are flexible, intuitive, and reflective of contemporary life.
Although submissions will be presented as resolved prototypes in Stage Two, submissions should allow meaningful conversations with the Jury around production methodologies were the Submission to be evolved for commercial production – this could mean exploring existing or emerging manufacturing technologies or conversely drawing upon traditional craft knowledge and skill.
Importantly, submissions should reveal the potential for commercial viability within the Stylecraft range. The Jury will be attentive to designs that not only innovate but could realistically transition from concept to product, demonstrating both market awareness and the clarity of the designer’s thinking and approach. The award seeks work that embodies careful consideration of space, materials, and human experience, while inspiring new possibilities for living well in smaller environments.
Ultimately, AFDA 2026 is about design that elevates everyday life. Showing that even within compact spaces, furniture and lighting can be beautiful, purposeful, sustainable, and adaptable, enabling Australians to live consciously and comfortably in the homes they have today, and the homes of tomorrow.
Previous Winners
Previous Winners
Sydney-based designer Seaton McKeon won the inaugural award in 2015 with The Sun The Moon and Me, a freestanding light and mirror. In 2017, Alice Springs-based designer Elliat Rich received the award for her sculptural vanity, Place.
In 2020, Sydney-based industrial designer James Walsh won, impressing the jury with Anthropic bench, which combined rammed earth with recycled glass filings to produce a sustainable and hard-wearing composite.
In 2022, Ashley Eriksmoen received the award in 2022 with The Dream, or: the view from here is both bleak and resplendent – a signature work that conveys the potential of post-consumer waste for transformation and reuse.
In 2024 Marta Figueiredo’s Chronicles of Resilience cabinet was the winner with a personal and vulnerable work that highlighted women’s health. The cabinet features three rotating drums, each detailed with tiles decorated in a workshop ran by Figueiredo with a group of women experiencing endometriosis.