A new alliance has been formed between two of the nation’s largest established state building design associations and is set to strengthen professional standards of building designers across Australia.

The National Alliance of Building Designers (NABD) has been created through a collaboration of the Building Designers Association of Queensland (BDAQ) and the Building Designers Association of Victoria (BDAV).

More than 2500 members across Australia will be united in the new peak representative body for building designers.

The NABD has several key objectives which include leading relevant discussions in the profession and the wider building industry, improve the professionalism and recognition of building designers nationwide, formalise education programs, share expertise and pursue continuous development.

Current BDAV president Michael O’Sullivan will lead the NABD with one of the first priorities for the newly formed group to advocate Federal and State Governments to formally recognise building design as a profession.

“This Alliance is a considerable achievement – it will ensure greater recognition for the expertise, creativity and excellence that building designers bring to the wider industry,” O’Sullivan says.

“This alliance will improve the level of professional standards across the country as well as increase the profile of building designers.”

NABD will work with existing state and territory associations to discuss the most suitable option for licensing or registration requirements in each region – Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria are currently the only states with mandatory standards for building designers.

O’Sullivan says the NABD is committed to working with these associations to develop the right framework to support building designers in their regions.

“Through our scale and experience in regulations across state and territory jurisdictions, the Alliance will be a knowledge hub to raise the bar of professional standards across Australia.”

The NABD invites other states and territory associations to join the industry body, with no additional costs to members if the respective association becomes part of the Alliance.

A series of policy points will be announced in the coming months as the foundation for the NABD’s discussions with Federal and State Governments.

Lisa Rapley

NewVoiceForBuildingDesignersWithCreationOfNational-1736088664.png

Let’s connect!