Significant changes and transformation in the institutional organisation of the Australian architecture profession occurred in 2014. There were attempts in some states to deregulate the profession, the Architects Accreditation Council of Australia (AACA) continued to push for a system of national registration, and a major review of the National Competency Standards in Architecture (NCSA) was completed. It is therefore timely to consider the history of the incorporation of the AACA in 1974 and its role in the development and evolution of the NCSA.

The AACA’s formation was motivated by the desire for a single body to oversee matters of national professional concern and was initiated by the Royal Australian Institute of Architects and received the co-operation of the state and territory architects registration boards. Its primary objects were to promote, recognise and accredit Australian higher education architecture programs, to define acceptable standards of professional experience, to provide for the examination of those seeking registration as an architect, and to define acceptable criteria for the practice of architecture. The criteria were published in NCSA 01 (1993) under a federal program for the development of national competency standards for the Australian professions generally – a microeconomic reform strategy for a multicultural Australia.

Since 1993, the NCSA has evolved and its authority has expanded. In addition to defining the skill sets expected of a competent architect entering the profession, it is now embedded in accreditation procedures for Australia and New Zealand architecture programs, informing higher education curricula and directly shaping the architects of the future.

Archival material held by the Institute of Architects and AACA has been examined with financial support from the NSW Architects Registration Board (2012). This history of the AACA’s role in the institutional realm of the Australian architecture profession provides a foundation for identifying and understanding the profession’s possible futures.

Item Type:	Published Creative Work
Keywords:	national standards, Architects Accreditation Council of Australia, national competency standards
Research Division:	Built Environment and Design
Research Group:	Architecture
Research Field:	Architectural History and Theory
Objective Division:	Cultural Understanding
Objective Group:	Understanding Past Societies
Objective Field:	Understanding Australia's Past
Author:	Orr, K (Professor Kirsten Orr)
ID Code:	107613
Year Published:	2015
Deposited By:	Architecture
Deposited On:	2016-03-21
Last Modified:	2018-02-16
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