Architect or building designer for a new SA house?

Architect vs building designer: what is the difference?

In South Australia, “architect” is a title protected by statute. Section 38(1) of the Architectural Practice Act 2009 states: “A natural person must not hold himself or herself out as an architect or permit another person to do so unless registered on the register of architects.” Section 40 stops a person who is not a registered architect from using a “prescribed word, or its derivatives” to describe themselves or a service they personally provide, and defines a prescribed word as “architect” or any other word or expression prescribed by the regulations.

YourHome, the Australian Government’s guide to sustainable homes, states: “Designers fit into one of 2 main categories: architect or building designer. Both are accredited and regulated, and either can design your house.” It qualifies this for building designers: “Regulation and registration of building designers also vary between states and territories.” It adds that “The skill and cost depend on the individual architect or designer.”

YourHome then states that “Building designers are registered by the state in Tasmania, Queensland and Victoria”, and, describing accreditation through the Building Designers Association of Australia, that “New South Wales and South Australian members are accredited through an internal process.” The South Australian sources read for this note, the Act and the Architectural Practice Board, deal with architects only.

Who can call themselves an architect in SA?

Under the Act, a registered architect is “a person registered on the register of architects”, and section 24 requires the Registrar of the Architectural Practice Board of South Australia to keep that register. Businesses are covered too: section 38(3) and (4) apply the holding-out rule to bodies corporate and partnerships unless registered on the register of architectural businesses.

The Board’s About an Architect page says the use of the title is protected by law, that only people or businesses registered with the Board may use the title or its derivatives, and that “A person or company not on the South Australian Register is not an architect or architectural business.” It adds that those using the terms architect or architectural services, or similar derivatives, without registration “may be in breach of the Architectural Practice Act 2009.”

Section 41 lists exceptions. They are an employee of a registered architect or architectural business using “architectural assistant”, “architectural technician” or “architectural drafter”; the titles “landscape architect”, “naval architect” or “computer systems architect”; a person who holds an architectural qualification describing themselves as holding it; using “architectural” only to indicate a business supplying goods in connection with architecture; and, under section 41(e), a “name, title or description” prescribed by the regulations, “in such circumstances, and subject to such restrictions, as may be prescribed by the regulations.”

Do I need an architect to build a house in South Australia?

Division 4 of Part 3 of the Act, headed “Restrictions relating to provision of architectural services”, consists of sections 38 to 41, which deal with holding out as an architect and the use of the title and its derivatives. Consumer and Business Services, in its January 2025 consumer guide, states: “An architect or draftsperson can help you design a home and draw up plans, or you can draw them up yourself.” It follows with a tip: “Drawing the plans yourself is not recommended unless you know what you are doing. The plans, specifications and technical details will be used by the council to approve the project and by the builder to quote and build.” That is consumer guidance, not a statement of the law.

YourHome puts it this way: “You can use either an architect or a building designer to design your house. You can choose someone with their own practice, or your builder may have a designer on staff.” Whether the drawings for a particular application contain what is needed is for the relevant authority assessing it, which can request further information.

• Planning consent, building rules consent and development approval in SA

Do I need an architect for an extension?

The CBS consumer guide’s planning checklist for an extension includes getting “advice from a building designer, architect, builder or engineer about the feasibility of your extension”, getting advice from the local council about restrictions, and deciding “whether to deal directly with a building designer, architect or builder to develop and prepare drawings and plans”.

Where a builder prepares the plans, the guide warns: “If you don’t end up using that builder, you may not be able to use the plans without their permission.” It also says advertised house designs are generally protected by copyright, and that “This can also apply to a design you commissioned an architect or builder to produce.”

• Home extensions in Adelaide

What does registration as an architect in SA involve?

The Board states that an architect has attained the necessary architectural qualifications, “completed at least two years practical experience after graduating from a recognised architectural course, and has then passed the Architectural Practice Examination.” It says architects must follow the Architects’ Code of Conduct, maintain professional indemnity insurance and complete a minimum amount of Continuing Professional Development every year.

Section 59(1) of the Act provides that a registered architect must not, unless exempted by the Board, provide services as a registered architect unless insured or indemnified “in a manner and to an extent approved by the Board”. The Australian Business Licence and Information Service lists the registration categories as practising, non-practising, architectural business and limited.

How do you check whether someone is a registered architect?

The Board’s website offers a search of the South Australian Register of Architects and Architectural Businesses. Its About an Architect page says the Board can be contacted, or the website used, to check a person’s or business’s registration, to enquire about making a complaint against an architect, and to notify the Board about possible misuse of the title.

For a building designer, the sources read for this note do not identify a South Australian statutory register. YourHome’s advice for any designer is to “sight their professional indemnity insurance”, seek references from previous clients and, where possible, visit houses they have completed.

Where does an engineer fit in?

YourHome lists specialists that an architect or designer can coordinate, starting with “a structural engineer to design the structure, required for building approval” and “a geotechnical engineer to conduct soil tests for structural design”. It is a national guide; which documents a South Australian application needs is confirmed with the relevant authority assessing it.

The CBS guide names an engineer among those to ask about the feasibility of an extension, and for retaining walls it says: “For structural advice, contact an engineer.” What the structural documentation in a set covers is explained in a separate note.

• What a building documentation set contains

How do you choose between an architect and a building designer?

YourHome advises engaging a designer “based on their experience, qualifications, and demonstrated capacity to deliver the type of house described in your brief and for your climate zone.” It also suggests discussing how involved you want to be before appointing anyone, noting that “Levels of client involvement in the design process are a common source of disagreement between the parties”.

What goes in a design brief, and the design stages from feasibility onward, are covered in separate notes.

• What goes in a new home design brief
• From feasibility to schematic design
• Design and planning