Keep Fix Upgrade Wins a $10,000 Circular Economy Grant

On 4 November 2026, Dave and I were awarded one of three $10,000 grants in the University of Newcastle's 2026 Circular Economy Grand Challenge. The cheque was made out to Keep Fix Upgrade, the free tool we have been building alongside Good Architect.

What Keep Fix Upgrade is

Keep Fix Upgrade helps people in NSW work out what to keep, fix or upgrade first in the home they already live in. Type in your address and it shows you where to start, with rough costs. It is free.

Most households will never hire an architect to choose a hot water system or fix a draughty window, but those choices still decide how comfortable a home is and what it costs to run. Keep Fix Upgrade is how we put that advice within reach of anyone in NSW.

Why existing homes

Many of the houses people already live in have no insulation and single glazing in aluminium frames. Keeping those homes and making them better is a far better use of resources than knocking them down and starting again. It is the same thinking behind the additions and renovations we design at Good Architect, applied to the smaller jobs that never reach an architect.

The challenge

The Circular Economy Grand Challenge is run by the University of Newcastle's Integrated Innovation Network (I2N). A circular economy keeps materials in use for as long as possible instead of sending them to landfill, and the challenge asks people from different backgrounds to combine their skills on practical sustainability problems.

During the challenge we had 25 in depth conversations with people who had upgraded their homes. They told us the hard parts were knowing what to choose, finding a tradie they could trust and comparing quotes. That shaped what we built. We also have a CSIRO advisor on board.

We were one of ten finalists. In the final round, three judges reviewed our pitch video and one page summary.

What the judges said

One judge wrote:

A lovely solution which has thought about the multiple dimensions of the problem and different stakeholder needs to bring it all together into one solution. Already piloted some data to demonstrate the idea is viable technically and have strong and relevant partnerships. Liveability and sustainability of Australian housing stock is very low, and retrofit of existing buildings means we leave resources in place and improve rather than rebuild.

Another asked for more data, such as comparisons of insulation and the savings from lower electricity use, avoided tip fees and second hand products sold on. All three judges' comments are on the Keep Fix Upgrade about page, in their own words, with more photos from the night.

What the grant pays for

The $10,000 goes towards testing the tool with real households. You can read about all six of this year's winning teams in the University of Newcastle's story on the winners.

Try it on your own home

If you live in NSW, put your address into Keep Fix Upgrade and see what to keep, fix or upgrade first.