Gold Coast Campus Master Plan

Graphic of students in a courtyard outside
Graphic of a lobby of a building filled with people

Gold Coast campus renewal: see what’s changing

We’re reimagining the Gold Coast campus to better support students — and to create a more flexible, modern workplace for staff.

You told us that student experience is the top priority. Now, we’re acting on that feedback with a set of practical, forward-looking proposals. These changes aim to make smarter use of space, support hybrid and collaborative work, and create a campus that reflects how we teach, work, and connect today.

This page gives you a closer look at what’s proposed — including the core concepts behind the design recommendations and the thinking behind purposeful space planning, all grounded in data and extensive consultation. You’ll also find FAQs and support information to help you understand what’s changing and why.

Consultation for 2025 has now closed. Further opportunities to contribute will be available as we move into the design phase in 2026.

Take a look at what's planned:

For students For staff

Thank you

Thank you to everyone who took part in the 2025 consultation, including more than 1,400 staff and students who completed the survey and the many people who contributed through workshops, drop in sessions and online feedback. Your input has set a clear direction for the next stage of planning.

Read more below

What You Told Us

Across surveys, workshops and drop-in sessions, two priorities came through strongly:

  • Enhance the student experience
  • Create a more connected, collaborative environment for learning and work

These priorities will guide the next phase of planning.

What Happens Next

Throughout 2026, we will work closely with students and staff to shape how these priorities are delivered. This will include further consultation, idea testing and opportunities to help design solutions.

The consultation findings and design recommendations are now with the Executive Steering Committee. Once the preferred approach is endorsed, we will publish the planned sequence of work and the next steps.

Early Improvements Underway

Several practical improvements are already progressing, based on ideas raised during consultation:

  • Gold Coast gym space
  • Improved transport options, including the Varsity bus and a new on-campus bus stop
  • Australia Post parcel collection boxes
  • A refreshed and more welcoming student support space

These quick wins aim to improve everyday campus life while broader planning continues.

Prize Draw Winner

Congratulations to Tenzin, winner of the iPad prize draw.

Stay Involved

Updates will be shared on this page as the project progresses. Thank you to everyone who contributed to the consultation and helped set the direction for the next stage of the Gold Coast Future Campus.

Our two key priorities

Supporting student success

Creating more vibrant, welcoming spaces for students is central to this renewal. When students feel comfortable, connected and supported on campus, they are more likely to stay, succeed and thrive.

Challenge:
Students have told us they often feel little reason to come to campus when there’s no one to interact with and no spaces that truly meet their needs.

  • Feedback highlights a lack of social energy and connection points across campus
  • Many students want more places for cultural connection, quiet reflection and sensory safety
  • Under-utilised spaces are not serving students — and current layouts limit our ability to improve them

Our response:
Prioritise student amenity by creating flexible, thoughtfully planned environments that support connection, comfort and belonging.

  • Design social and collaborative spaces that bring students together
  • Provide safe, inclusive and sensory-friendly zones
  • Place student activity near high-traffic hubs to build energy on campus
  • Free up space to deliver more for students where it counts

Making space work better

We want to create a campus where staff have access to the right mix of spaces to work well, connect with colleagues and support students. By using our space more purposefully, we can provide a more collaborative and equitable experience for staff while also creating room for more student-centred areas.

Challenge:
Attendance data shows that much of our allocated workspace sits unused on a typical day, while many teams still lack the range of spaces they need.

  • The highest recorded daily attendance in 2024 was 36.2 percent
  • The average weekly maximum was 27 percent
  • Many teams need better access to meeting rooms, focus spaces and areas for collaboration

Our response:
Design workspace that better reflects how people actually work on campus.

  • Create shared team areas that support collaboration and connection
  • Provide a mix of bookable and flexible spaces for focus work, meetings and teaching
  • Free up underutilised space so we can improve student areas
  • Ensure space is allocated in a fair and transparent way

The six pillars of campus renewal

These six pillars underpin the campus renewal. They are the shared foundation guiding design decisions, supporting a more purposeful and inclusive future campus.

 

Pillar What it means
1. A campus that puts students at the centre A connected student hub, more social and study-friendly spaces, and easier access to services.
2. Smarter, more flexible staff workspace Shared zones that support hybrid work, collaboration, and equity in space access.
3. Inclusive spaces that support wellbeing and belonging Low-sensory, culturally safe environments that reflect our diverse community.
4. Flexible, high-quality teaching and learning spaces Rooms, tech and scheduling that match how students learn and how staff teach.
5. Vibrant outdoor and activation zones Covered, Wi-Fi-enabled areas for events, connection and casual use.
6. Clear support and staged transition A dedicated team, practical tools and regular updates to support staff through change.
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FAQs

A Master Plan is a high-level document that considers improvements to buildings, landscape, experience and connections, playing an important role in determining the look, feel and function of the urban environment. Developing a Master Plan creates a long-term vision and strategic roadmap for improving the places people love.

A homezone is a shared team area designed to match how we actually work on campus. It replaces under-used, individually assigned offices with a smarter, fairer setup.

Each homezone includes:

  • Plug-and-play workstations – just connect your device and go
  • Focus zones – quiet spaces for online teaching or deep work
  • Bookable meeting rooms and shared spaces
  • Lockers and lockable storage for personal gear and work resources

You don’t have one fixed desk — instead, you have a dedicated team zone that supports everything from solo focus to collaboration.

It’s not open plan. It’s professional, purpose-built, and promotes:

  • Better equity – access to the same high-quality spaces for all
  • Stronger collaboration – teams are zoned together, not scattered
  • Smarter use of space – freeing up room for students and shared amenities

Right now, we’re in the consultation phase, testing whether these proposals are on the right track.

If the feedback supports it, we’ll move into detailed design and planning approvals in 2025. With the right approvals in place, some of the ground floor changes could begin as early as the end of next year. Other areas would follow in stages.

There are no immediate changes, and staff and students will be kept informed throughout the process.

Yes. The proposed model includes bookable private offices, focus rooms and quiet zones for online teaching, deep work or student meetings. These will be available within team homezones or nearby shared areas.

Homezones will be developed in partnership with teams, based on how they work and collaborate. A shared set of guidelines will be co-designed to ensure consistency, while still allowing teams flexibility in how they use their space.

No. This is about using space more effectively. Much of our existing space sits empty on most days, while other areas are not well suited to how people actually work.

This direction is backed by substantial data and feedback. There is broad consensus that attendance is low and that we need to optimise available space to provide a better experience for students and more fit-for-purpose environments for staff.

Thank you to those who completed the feedback survey and asked a question during our drop-in session. 

If you have more questions, please contact the project team at future-campus@scu.edu.au and we’ll make sure your questions are heard and followed up.

Get in touch with the team

future-campus@scu.edu.au