Novocore Hush Australiana is a cork-backed hybrid plank designed around two priorities most Australian buyers care about: a quieter floor underfoot, and a waterproof surface that handles kitchens, laundries and busy living areas without the maintenance of timber. This review covers what’s actually in the plank, where the cork backing earns its keep, where it doesn’t suit, and how it compares to other hybrid flooring brands we stock.
What you’re actually buying
Hush Australiana uses a rigid hybrid core with a printed Australian-species decor layer, a wear layer over the top, and a cork backing pre-attached to each plank. The cork is the point of difference — most hybrids ship with an IXPE foam underlay, and cork delivers more sound absorption and a softer feel underfoot. The surface carries an SE+ antimicrobial treatment, which inhibits bacterial growth on the wear layer itself.
- Rigid hybrid core, fully waterproof from top to bottom
- Cork backing pre-attached for sound absorption and softer underfoot feel
- Antimicrobial wear layer (SE+) that inhibits bacteria on the surface
- Australian-species decor — Spotted Gum, Blackbutt and similar local tones
- Click-lock joinery, glueless install over a level subfloor or existing ceramic tiles
Where Hush Australiana works well
The cork backing is the reason most of our customers pick Hush over a standard SPC. If you’re laying upstairs in a townhouse or apartment, or you’ve got a hollow timber subfloor where every footstep echoes through to the room below, the cork dampens both impact and airborne sound noticeably better than a thin foam underlay. It also feels warmer underfoot in winter, which matters in southern Sydney homes without underfloor heating.
The waterproof core means it suits the rooms where laminate or engineered timber would struggle: kitchens, laundries, downstairs living on slab, and even main bathrooms if the perimeter silicone is done properly. Because Hush will go down over existing ceramic tiles, it’s a tidy retrofit option for renovators who want to avoid the cost and dust of tile removal — provided the tiles are level, sound, and the door clearance allows for the extra build-up.
Where it doesn’t suit
Cork-backed planks are slightly more forgiving than rigid SPC, but they’re not magic. If your subfloor has a high spot outside roughly 3 mm over a 2 m span, you still need to self-level before install — undulation will telegraph through and stress the click joint. The cork also means a marginally taller overall plank, so you may need to undercut door jambs or reset thresholds.
The antimicrobial surface is a useful feature, not a substitute for cleaning. It slows bacterial growth on the wear layer; it doesn’t sanitise the floor. Treat it like any hybrid: damp mop, no soaking, no harsh solvents.
The Australiana decor range
The decor library leans into the Australian timber tones most buyers ask for: Spotted Gum reads warm with reddish undertones, Blackbutt sits in the mid-honey range, and the lighter natural-oak-style decors suit north-facing open-plan rooms. The print quality on Hush is among the better hybrids in this price bracket — the grain repeats are long enough that you don’t see the same plank twice across a normal room.
How it compares to other hybrids
Compared to a standard SPC plank with IXPE underlay, Hush is quieter and softer underfoot, but the per-square-metre cost is higher. Compared to an RCB hybrid, Hush is firmer and more dimensionally stable, but RCB is slightly more forgiving on imperfect subfloors. We’ve broken the core decision down in our SPC vs RCB guide. For where Hush sits on price against the rest of the market, the hybrid flooring cost guide covers the supply-and-install ranges in Sydney and Brisbane.
Should you buy it?
If acoustic comfort matters — upstairs rooms, townhouses, apartments with body-corporate noise rules, or households with kids and dogs — Hush Australiana is one of the easier hybrids to recommend. If you’re laying in a slab-on-ground build where sound isn’t a concern, a standard SPC plank will deliver the same waterproof performance for less. For the wider category, see our guide to waterproof flooring options. We carry Hush Australiana across our Sydney and Brisbane showrooms — bring a sample home and look at it under your own light before you commit.
Ready to shop? Browse our full hybrid flooring range online, or drop into our Sydney or Brisbane showroom to see the range in person.