General questions
Organised by Renew, Sustainable House Day provides the opportunity to explore some of Australia’s most unique and inspiring homes. With a community of over 40,000 people, this major annual event is a trusted source of expert advice, insight, and peer-to-peer education about building, retrofitting or renovating sustainably. Find out more on our About page.
Households generate at least one fifth of Australia’s total greenhouse gas emissions. The products, technologies and knowledge to make our homes and personal transport greener already exist, so reducing the carbon emissions from Australian households is a key opportunity to reaching our goal of achieving a net-zero emissions world. Reducing the carbon intensity of our houses also has the extra benefits of saving residents’ money and creating homes that are healthier and more comfortable to live in.
Many Australians are overwhelmed by the amount of information on what actions they can take in their home or rental properties, and need guidance sifting through sources and opinions. Sustainable House Day provides important advice and resources that help Australians put their desire to live more sustainably into action.
Renew is a national, not-for-profit organisation that inspires, enables and advocates for people to live sustainably in their homes and communities. Renew engages with more than 250,000 people each year around Australia and beyond. We work with more than 10,000 members and a network of 14 active members’ branches throughout the country. Our community of climate change action includes readers of our two market-leading sustainability magazines Renew and Sanctuary, attendees of our Speed Date a Sustainability Expert event series and Sustainable House Day, users of our online resources and calculators, people contacting our advice service, and our research and advocacy partners.
Renew advocates in government and industry arenas for policies that promote renewable energy and cut emissions, make our homes healthier, more affordable and climate resilient, and protect consumer rights in our rapidly changing energy markets through our Climate Resilient Homes campaign. Renew also provides consultancy services based on our technical expertise in energy, water and communications. Our Green Rebuilt Toolkit provides resources and advice to homeowners who are rebuilding after being impacted by bushfire.
Renew has been the sole organiser of Sustainable House Day since 2017.
The next Sustainable House Day will take place on March 19th 2023. This day is the cornerstone of our annual calendar of events.
Sustainable House Day’s online homeowner event on March 19th 2023 is free, and you will be able to register to attend in November 2022. Additionally, you will be able to buy tickets for our expert sessions when the program is announced in early November 2022. You can sign up for our email list to get updates on our program and other announcements.
Sustainable House Day is a hybrid event, with both online sessions and in-person events around the country hosted by our Community Partners.
The decision to open homes online was made to account for the continuing uncertainty of in person events amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and to increase the accessibility of the event to people across the country.
- Share our events, house profiles and video tours in your networks or on social media.
- Sign up for our email list to get updates and announcements in the lead up to the event.
- Encourage your friends and family to attend our online and in-person events.
- Watch and share our house tour videos and browse our open houses.
- Donate to Renew to support Sustainable House Day and our wider mission to inspire, enable and advocate for people to live sustainably in their homes and communities.
Renew, Sustainable House Day’s organiser, provides advice on sustainable building and design to its members, through its magazines Renew and Sanctuary and through consults with its energy experts. Learn about becoming a member here.
Your Home, produced by the Australian government, is another fantastic resource for those interested in building or renovating their home sustainably.
Homeowner questions
Thanks for your patience as the SHD program has evolved! We will be in touch in September 2022.
If you have never opened your home for Sustainable House Day, you can create an account by registering here. You will then have access to our detailed house application form. The form can be saved and edited again later, so it does not need to be completed in one sitting.
If you have previously opened your home for a past Sustainable House Day, you will not need to submit a new application form. Simply fill out this form to indicate your interest in this year’s event. You will always be able to log in to the website and edit your existing house profile at a later date.
Homeowner applications close on December 1, 2022.
Opening your home this year will require you to create a profile detailing your homes sustainability credentials, along with a short video house tour (unless you made one last year). Resources on how to create this video will be available soon, and we will have volunteers who can support you if you need further assistance.
As people explore your profile and watch the tour video, they may have questions for you. To enable this peer-to-peer education, we will require your availability for a two-hour window on 2 October, to answer any questions via the comments section on your profile.
Some homeowners may be invited to participate in online events hosted throughout the month leading up to Sustainable House Day, or on the day itself. We will get in touch if we believe your home would be a good fit for these events.
Community groups will hold in person events on Sustainable House Day. See our Community Partners page to find out how to get in touch with partners in your area — or, if you’d like to organise an event yourself.
No, you will not need to resubmit your house profile. Simply fill out this form to indicate your interest in this year’s event. You will always be able to log in to the website and edit your existing house profile at a later date.
Sustainable House Day will inform homeowners of accepted properties via email on a rolling basis throughout the application period.
You can edit your house profile at any time by logging in the Sustainable House Day website using your username and password. Click on “My Profile” and your house profile will appear under “My Listings”. Click on the house profile, and then click the “Edit House” button under the place where your house image will appear.
Our Video Resource Guide is available here. If you need further assistance, email shd@renew.org.au with “Video assistance” in the subject line.
After all house profiles are approved, Sustainable House Day will go through a process of matching homeowners to our online events and will be in touch if we think your house is a good fit. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, not all homeowners will be able to participate in these events. However, all homeowners will be given a time slot on Sustainable House Day to answer comments live on your house profile. Sustainable House Day will be in touch with your time slot and more information in August.
No, you don’t need to make a new video. However, if you would like to add a video update on improvements to your house in the past year, you are welcome to do so.
You can send us your house tour video through WeTransfer at this link.
No, your address will not appear on our website. Only your suburb and state will appear on your profile.
We are encouraging community groups to organise in-person events with local homeowners on Sustainable House Day. If you are interested in getting involved, or helping to organise a local event, find out how to become a Community Partner here.
How to get involved
Find out how to become a Community Partner here.
Find out how to become a Council Partner here, or email mohit.gulati@renew.org.au.
We will soon be posting our Members’ Branch Prospectus for Sustainable House Day. Until then, you can email shd@renew.org.au with any questions.
Find out how to become a sponsor here or email mohit.gulati@renew.org.au for more information.
Thanks for your interest! Please send an email to shd@renew.org.au with your area of expertise and “Expert” in the subject line and we will look at how you might be able to support the event.