Planning and Development: New Build Standards

Under the Design and Build component of our Environmental Sustainability Plan 2019–2025, the University has embedded Environmentally Sustainable Design (ESD) principles across capital projects. The plan also calls for the UON ESD Tool to be applied to refurbishment projects, with an aim of achieving at least a five-star Green Star (or equivalent) rating.

Our long-term target was for all new University buildings to achieve a minimum six-star Green Star Design & As Built rating by 2025.

University building standards in place by 2025

The University’s Environmental Sustainability Policy (effective from 8 December 2022) was in force throughout 2025. Its new-build provision states that University building design practices will maximise opportunities to achieve a minimum six-star Green Star Design & As Built rating. This commitment is supported by the Environmental Sustainability Plan 2019–2025, which established the six-star new-building target and incorporated sustainable design into the University’s capital works programme.

The original Environmental Sustainability Plan 2019–2025 also commits to applying the University’s ESD Tool across refurbishment projects to target five-star Green Star or equivalent outcomes. These objectives integrate environmental performance into the design and upgrade of University buildings; they are not a claim that every building or refurbishment has been individually certified.

A completed six-star building: Q Building, Newcastle City Campus

Q Building at the University’s Honeysuckle City Campus became the first building in regional New South Wales to achieve a certified six-star Green Star Design & As Built rating from the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA). Its certification was announced in February 2022, demonstrating the University’s application of sustainable building standards before the 2025 reporting deadline.

The University’s February 2022 certification announcement confirms that the rating covered both the design and the completed construction of the $25 million building. It provides an example of an independently certified building rather than a proposed target.

The building incorporates several design and construction measures:

• A sustainably sourced cross-laminated timber (CLT) structure surrounding a concrete core.
• 104 rooftop solar panels and a 20-kilolitre rainwater capture system.
• 344 electrochromic Sage Glass panels that automatically adjust their tint to manage heat and glare.
• Energy- and water-efficient fittings, LED lighting and building system tuning; 96% of construction waste was recycled.

^{Q Building at Newcastle City Campus, the first six-star Green Star Design & As Built certified building in regional NSW.}

Sustainable building standards in use during 2025

In March 2025, the University reported a major construction milestone at its new Central Coast Campus in Gosford: the building structure had reached its full height. The project was still under construction in 2025, with operation planned for 2026; it should therefore be distinguished from Q Building’s completed certification.

The project-specific Central Coast Campus ESD report documents a six-star Green Star Buildings pathway and targets 30% lower energy use than National Construction Code 2019 requirements, 90% construction waste diversion, and landscaping across 30% of the site with at least 80% Indigenous species. These are design and construction targets, not completed certification results.

The Q Building demonstrates the University’s commitment to sustainable design through an independently certified development, while the Central Coast Campus reflects the continued integration of these principles into new campus infrastructure.