Australia’s architecture sector is becoming more internationalised, according to the Industry Profile released by the Architects Accreditation Council of Australia.

“Mechanisms like the new Mutual Recognition Arrangement with the USA mean increased talent flows between Australia and other leading economies,” said AACA CEO Kate Doyle.

In 2016-17, the Department of Immigration issued 129 temporary skilled visas issued to architects and 284 permanent skilled visas, a significant increase on previous years. The AACA also increased its international activity, conducting 255 successful overseas qualifications assessments and 48 successful overseas architect assessments (for highly experienced architects) in 2016-17.

Overall numbers of registered architects in Australia have remained largely unchanged at 11,800 (taking into account architects registered in more than one jurisdiction) in December 2017, with increased registrations in NSW, Victoria and Western Australia offset by falls in other jurisdictions.

The Industry Profile document also contains new insights from the 2016 Census of Australia:  31% of architects are women (up from 28 % in 2011), 80% work full time, 52% work more than a 40 hour week, and 34% are business owners or sole traders,” said Ms Doyle.

According to the Industry Profile, there were approximately 1300 graduates from professional masters programs offered by 18 Australian universities in 2017 (of whom around a third are international students).

Read the full Report. Industry Profile