diff --git a/03-Azure/01-03-Infrastructure/04_BCDR_Azure_Native/Infra/App1/deploy-lab.ps1 b/03-Azure/01-03-Infrastructure/04_BCDR_Azure_Native/Infra/App1/deploy-lab.ps1
index 43f1e861e..978dfc490 100644
--- a/03-Azure/01-03-Infrastructure/04_BCDR_Azure_Native/Infra/App1/deploy-lab.ps1
+++ b/03-Azure/01-03-Infrastructure/04_BCDR_Azure_Native/Infra/App1/deploy-lab.ps1
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ Specifies the Azure subscription that contains the lab resources.
 .PARAMETER ResourceGroupName
 In case of resourcegroup deployment, specifies the target resource group name.
 .PARAMETER PreferredLocation
-Specifies the preferred Azure region for resource deployment. "" indicates no preference.
+Specifies the preferred Azure regions (ordered by preference) for resource deployment. An empty array indicates no preference.
 .PARAMETER AllowedEntraUserIds
 Optional list of Entra user object IDs permitted to access the lab resources.
 #>
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ param(
 
     [string]$ResourceGroupName = "",
 
-    [string]$PreferredLocation = "",
+    [string[]]$PreferredLocation = @(),
 
     [string[]]$AllowedEntraUserIds = @()
 )
diff --git a/03-Azure/01-03-Infrastructure/04_BCDR_Azure_Native/Infra/App1/lab-defaults.json b/03-Azure/01-03-Infrastructure/04_BCDR_Azure_Native/Infra/App1/lab-defaults.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..7c830a20d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/03-Azure/01-03-Infrastructure/04_BCDR_Azure_Native/Infra/App1/lab-defaults.json
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+{
+  "$schema": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/microsoft/MicroHack/refs/heads/main/lab-defaults-schema.json",
+  "groups": [ "" ],
+  "deploymentType": "resourcegroup",
+  "labsPerSubscription": 4,
+  "preferredLocation": "swedencentral, norwayeast, spaincentral",
+  "estimatedDailyCostsUsd": 20.0
+}
diff --git a/99-MicroHack-Template/labautomation/README.md b/99-MicroHack-Template/labautomation/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e2a194978
--- /dev/null
+++ b/99-MicroHack-Template/labautomation/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+# Labautomation
+
+This folder is optional. Please delete it if you don't want to have a lab automation script (to spin up lab environments in Azure).
diff --git a/99-MicroHack-Template/labautomation/deploy-lab.ps1 b/99-MicroHack-Template/labautomation/deploy-lab.ps1
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..03547a904
--- /dev/null
+++ b/99-MicroHack-Template/labautomation/deploy-lab.ps1
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+<#
+.SYNOPSIS
+Deploys the lab resources scoped to a subscription or resource group.
+.DESCRIPTION
+Provides a controlled deployment flow for lab environments, optionally limited to a resource group and specific Entra user IDs.
+.PARAMETER DeploymentType
+Defines the deployment scope; allowed values are subscription or resourcegroup.
+.PARAMETER SubscriptionId
+Specifies the Azure subscription that contains the lab resources.
+.PARAMETER ResourceGroupName
+In case of resourcegroup deployment, specifies the target resource group name.
+.PARAMETER PreferredLocation
+Specifies the preferred Azure regions (ordered by preference) for resource deployment. An empty array indicates no preference.
+.PARAMETER AllowedEntraUserIds
+Optional list of Entra user object IDs permitted to access the lab resources.
+#>
+param(
+    [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
+    [ValidateSet('subscription','resourcegroup', 'resourcegroup-with-subscriptionowner')]
+    [string]$DeploymentType,
+    
+    [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
+    [string]$SubscriptionId,
+
+    [string]$ResourceGroupName = "",
+
+    [string[]]$PreferredLocation = @(),
+
+    [string[]]$AllowedEntraUserIds = @()
+)
+
+$scriptPath = Split-Path -Parent $MyInvocation.MyCommand.Definition
+
+# Validate parameters
+if($DeploymentType -eq 'resourcegroup' -and [string]::IsNullOrEmpty($ResourceGroupName)) {
+    throw "ResourceGroupName must be provided when DeploymentType is 'resourcegroup'."
+}
+
+# set the effective location (example)
+if($PreferredLocation.Count -gt 0) {
+    $effectiveLocation = $PreferredLocation[0]
+} else {
+    $effectiveLocation = "swedencentral" # Default location if no preference is provided
+}
+
+# set the effective resource group based on deployment type (example)
+if($DeploymentType -eq 'subscription') {
+    $stableHash = Get-MhhStablehash $AllowedEntraUserIds -Length 24
+    $effectiveResourceGroup = "lab-$stableHash"
+    Write-Host "Deploying lab resources at the subscription level in subscription $SubscriptionId..."
+    New-AzResourceGroup -Name $effectiveResourceGroup -Location $effectiveLocation -Verbose
+}
+else {
+    $effectiveResourceGroup = $ResourceGroupName
+}
+# feed the effective resource group back to the console
+@{"HackboxCredential" = @{ name = "ResourceGroupName" ; value = $effectiveResourceGroup; note = "The name of the resource group where lab resources are deployed" }}
+
+# $template = Join-Path $scriptPath "template.bicep"
+# $template = Join-Path $scriptPath "template.json"
+# New-AzResourceGroupDeployment -ResourceGroupName $effectiveResourceGroup -TemplateFile $template -Verbose
+
+# You can send back information to the hackbox console (credentials) - Simply return a hashtable like this:
+# @{"HackboxCredential" = @{ name = "AdminPassword" ; value = "TopSecret"; note = "Useful info here" }}
+
diff --git a/99-MicroHack-Template/labautomation/lab-defaults.json b/99-MicroHack-Template/labautomation/lab-defaults.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e54697288
--- /dev/null
+++ b/99-MicroHack-Template/labautomation/lab-defaults.json
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+{
+  "$schema": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/microsoft/MicroHack/refs/heads/main/lab-defaults-schema.json",
+  "groups": [ "" ],
+  "deploymentType": "resourcegroup",
+  "labsPerSubscription": 4,
+  "preferredLocation": "swedencentral, norwayeast, spaincentral",
+  "estimatedDailyCostsUsd": 25.0
+}
diff --git a/lab-defaults-schema.json b/lab-defaults-schema.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..39eac5544
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lab-defaults-schema.json
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+{
+  "$schema": "http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#",
+  "title": "Lab Defaults",
+  "description": "Smart defaults for the lab lifecycle wizard. Only include fields you want to override — missing fields are ignored.",
+  "type": "object",
+  "properties": {
+    "groups": {
+      "type": "array",
+      "items": { "type": "string" },
+      "description": "Group-based feature activation names (e.g. [\"GHCPUsers\"]). Each group provisions a feature for the created Entra ID users."
+    },
+    "deploymentType": {
+      "type": "string",
+      "enum": ["resourcegroup", "subscription", "resourcegroup-with-subscriptionowner"],
+      "description": "Azure deployment scope."
+    },
+    "labsPerSubscription": {
+      "type": "integer",
+      "minimum": 1,
+      "maximum": 100,
+      "description": "Number of lab environments to pack per Azure subscription."
+    },
+    "preferredLocation": {
+      "type": "string",
+      "description": "Comma-separated list of preferred Azure regions, in priority order (e.g. \"swedencentral, norwayeast\")."
+    },
+    "estimatedDailyCostsUsd": {
+      "type": "number",
+      "minimum": 0,
+      "description": "Estimated daily cost per lab environment in USD. Used for cost forecasting in the lab lifecycle wizard."
+    }
+  },
+  "additionalProperties": false
+}
\ No newline at end of file