The Architects Accreditation Council of Australia (AACA) has given the news of a free trade agreement between Australia and the United Kingdom a ringing endorsement, believing it will benefit industry professionals in both nations.
AACA CEO Kathlyn Loseby says the deepening of ties will create a range of opportunities that were unable to be accessed before the trade agreement was reached.
“We congratulate both the Australian and UK governments on reaching this important agreement and thank DFAT for the inclusive and constructive role they have facilitated for us as part of this process,” she says.
“In addition to the substantial benefits trade liberalisation will deliver for both producers and consumers, the FTA also opens up critical opportunities for a range of professionals, including architects.
“Under the terms of the FTA, professionals will benefit from provisions to support mutual recognition of qualifications and greater certainty for skilled professionals entering each of our respective labour markets.
“This new arrangement enhances the global exchange of skills, expertise, collaboration and employment opportunities – something we have not had with the UK for decades.
“The AACA, with DFAT’s authorisation, is in the final stages of negotiating a Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) that will ‘recognise the professional credentials of architects registered in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand’ and ‘support their mobility by creating the opportunity to practise beyond their borders’.”
The MRA will ‘facilitate the registration of an architect registered in the United Kingdom as an Australian architect or New Zealand architect; and the registration of an Australian architect or New Zealand architect as an architect in the United Kingdom’, giving architects in all three nations the ability to work in places they may have deemed out of reach before the trade deal was struck.
Instigated under the leadership of former AACA CEO Kate Doyle, the MRA is the culmination of years of engagement work with the New Zealand and United Kingdom Architects Registration Boards.
“While COVID-19 has put a halt temporarily to international travel and migration, we are forging ahead with this MRA so that when Australia’s borders re-open both our architects and our communities here will be poised to benefit from a much more straightforward skills recognition process,” Loseby says.
“Architects are among the most highly qualified professionals alongside the legal and medical fraternities. Architecture is also one of the professions that benefits most from collaboration.
“Recognising architects’ credentials globally will literally open up a whole new world of tremendous opportunities to transform the lived experience of our built environment.”
The MRA is due to be concluded early in 2022.
Image Credit: politico.eu/article/uk-australia-strike-agreement-over-post-brexit-trade-deal
