Ecovillages in Australia
Ecovillages in Australia
Across Australia, a growing number of people are exploring new ways of living that reconnect communities with land, nature, and each other. Ecovillages are one response to this search for a more balanced way of life.
Rather than conventional subdivisions where neighbours rarely interact, ecovillages are intentionally designed communities that combine private homes with shared land stewardship, community governance, and ecological responsibility.
In this guide, we explore what ecovillages are, how they work in Australia, and introduce one of the projects currently developing in Northern NSW.
What is an Ecovillage?
An ecovillage is a community intentionally designed to support both human wellbeing and ecological health. While each project is different, most ecovillages share several common characteristics:
• Homes clustered within a larger shared landscape
• A strong connection to land and nature
• Community decision-making and governance
• Shared infrastructure or facilities
• A focus on long-term sustainability
Ecovillages can exist in rural, peri-urban, or even urban settings, and often combine private homesites with common land used for agriculture, conservation, or community activities.
Why Ecovillages Are Growing in Australia
In recent years, many Australians have begun questioning the structure of modern neighbourhoods. While suburbs provide convenience, they often lack the deeper social fabric that allows communities to thrive.
Ecovillages attempt to address this by designing neighbourhoods where:
• children grow up with more freedom and connection to nature
• neighbours know and support each other
• land is cared for collectively
• long-term stewardship replaces short-term development
Australia has seen a gradual increase in these kinds of projects over the past two decades.
Australian Ecovillages
Over the past few decades, several ecovillage and intentional community projects have emerged across Australia. Each has developed its own approach to land stewardship, governance, and community life.
One of the earliest examples is Crystal Waters Ecovillage in Queensland, established in the 1980s and widely regarded as one of the first ecovillages in the world. Other well-known projects include Narara Ecovillage on the NSW Central Coast, Currumbin Ecovillage in Queensland, and Witchcliffe Ecovillage in Western Australia.
These communities vary in size, structure and ownership models, but they share a common intention: designing neighbourhoods that support ecological responsibility, stronger relationships between neighbours, and a more connected way of living.
As interest in regenerative living grows, new projects continue to emerge across Australia, each contributing its own ideas about how communities can care for land while supporting the people who live there.
Ecovillages in Australia – Overview
Australia is home to a growing number of ecovillage and intentional community projects, including:
• Crystal Waters Ecovillage (Queensland)
• Currumbin Ecovillage (Queensland)
• Narara Ecovillage (New South Wales)
• Afterlee Ecovillage (New South Wales)
• Witchcliffe Ecovillage (Western Australia)
• Murundaka Cohousing Community (Victoria)
Each project has its own governance structure, development model, and relationship with the surrounding region, reflecting the diversity of approaches within the broader ecovillage movement. For more information, visit https://www.genaustralia.org.au/
A New Ecovillage Project in Northern NSW
In the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, a new cooperative community project is taking shape: Afterlee Ecovillage.
Located in Kyogle Shire, the project is being developed as a member-owned cooperative community, where families and individuals collectively steward the land while establishing their own homesites.
The project currently includes:
• up to 65 homesites
• shared community land
• plans for village infrastructure and services
• a cooperative governance model
The land is already secured and the project is gradually moving through its development stages.
Visiting Afterlee Ecovillage
The best way to understand an ecovillage is to visit the land and meet the people involved.
Afterlee Ecovillage hosts guided site tours on the second Saturday of each month. These tours provide an opportunity to walk the land, learn about the project, and ask questions about how the community is developing.
After the morning tour, visitors are welcome to stay and meet members of the cooperative during the monthly working bee, where people come together to care for the land and continue shaping the project.
This gives prospective members the chance to experience both the landscape and the community that is gradually bringing the ecovillage to life.
If you are interested in exploring ecovillage living in Northern NSW, you can learn more about the Afterlee project here:
• The Project
• Our Land
• Our Legal Structure
• Join the Community