Peter Barrington Gold Medal Award
About the Award
The Peter Barrington Gold Medal Award was established in 1985 as an endowment by the Hammerson Group of Companies in recognition of contributions to the property profession by Peter Barrington. The purpose of the award is to encourage research and excellence in the study of land economy through the presentation of a major work in support of an approved academic program. The Award is open to all Australian students undertaking a course of study at the Masters or PHD level in a property professional field at an Australian academic institution.
Applications are now closed, and will reopen in 2025.
For any enquiries, please contact [email protected].
Winner of the 2024 Award
Congratulations to Jack Hewton from Curtin University who has been awarded the 2024 Peter Barrington Award for his thesis “Precarious Housing, Rental Assistance and Wellbeing: Unpacking Multi-Dimensional Links”.
As the awardee, Jack Hewton will present his research in 2025, open to API Members.
The Award is open to all Australian students undertaking a course of study at the Masters or PHD level in a property professional field at an Australian academic institution.
Submissions from other academic faculties (eg. accounting, law, business administration) shall also be accepted for consideration where the subject matter of the research is considered to be relevant to the advancement of land economy.
The entry shall be a thesis or paper which has been prepared as a component part of the Masters or PhD course of study undertaken by the student. Whilst there is no word limit, the written submission should reflect the level of research and analysis expected of a Master or PhD thesis.
All submissions are to be accompanied by an endorsement from the student’s Master’s or PhD supervisor.
Submissions must be lodged via email (with the paper attached as a PDF document). Completion with a cover sheet recording the details of the author, a brief summary of the thesis, and a supporting statement from the supervisor from the educational institution at which the study is being undertaken.
Judging of entries for the Peter Barrington Gold Medal Award shall be completed by a Panel constituted from the APREF Research Committee. The Panel shall review entries, giving due consideration to the contribution of the work to the advancement in the knowledge or practice of land economy.
An assessment rubric will be used by the appointed Panel judges in ranking the submissions. Papers graded a Pass will not be eligible for the Award. Marks for individual papers will not be provided to applicants and will be used for internal review and assessment purposes only.
The winner shall be awarded a framed certificate of merit, complimentary API membership for one year, and a cheque to the value of $A1000. The winner will also be expected to present their research to the API membership, most likely via the APREF Research Seminar Series.
This award shall be presented at an API function. The date of presentation shall be at the discretion of the Chairperson of the APREF Board.
Winner of the 2023 Award
Congratulations to William Thackway from University of New South Wales awarded last year’s 2023 Peter Barrington Award for his thesis “Developing the use of machine learning models to detect physical and social indicators of gentrification.”
As the awardee, William Thackway presented his research in 2024, and the recording can be accessed here.
Winner of the 2022 Award
Congratulations to Dr Caroline Porto Valente from University of Technology Sydney awarded APREF 2022 Peter Barrington Award for her thesis “Energy poverty and older Australians: The extent, causes and impacts.”
As the winner/awardee, Dr Porto Valente will present her research as part of the APREF Research Seminar Series in 2023, open to API Members.
Winner of the 2021 Award
Congratulations to Dr Christopher Phelps from Curtin University awarded APREF 2021 Peter Barrington Award for his thesis “Essays Connecting Australian Dwelling Price Growth and Subjective Wellbeing to Within-City income and Wealth Differentials.”
As the winner/awardee, Dr Phelps will present his research as part of the APREF Research Seminar Series in 2022, open to API Members.
History of the Award
The Peter Barrington Gold Medal Award was established in 1985 as an endowment by the Hammerson Group of Companies in recognition of the contribution to the property profession by Peter Barrington. The purpose of the award is to encourage research and excellence in the study of land economy through the presentation of a major work in support of an approved academic
Jyoti Rao for her thesis Fundamental Functionings of Landowners: Understanding the relationship between land ownership and wellbeing through the lens of ‘capability’. In 2020 the Peter Barrington Award was awarded to Dr Tiffany Hutcheson for her thesis Investment in Property by Australian Superannuation schemes.
To ensure the longevity of this prestigious award, it will now be managed under the umbrella of APREF.
