Licensing and quality standards
Queensland Chapter State Manager Alice-Anne McRobbie and Chapter President Paul Trotter attended meetings of the Ministerial Construction Council in 2019. These meetings are Chaired by the Hon. Mick de Brenni, Minister for Housing and Public Works, Minister for Digital Technology and Minister for Sport and are a critical forum for members of Queensland’s construction sector. See here.
At the December MCC meeting, President Paul Trotter had a significant ‘win’ for the Queensland architecture profession with an agreement by the Minister to establish a subcommittee to review the licencing and competency standards of project managers. Read the December communique from the Ministerial Construction Council here.
Subsequent meetings between the Chapter and the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC), along with upcoming meetings with Minister de Brenni will assist to finalise the process of establishing the sub-committee as early as possible in 2020.
Continuing professional development and professional skills
State Chapter Manager Alice-Anne McRobbie has been appointed to the Ministerial Construction Council Compulsory Continuing Professional Development (CCPD) Professional Skills Working Group and the overarching CCPD Subcommittee.
These meetings are convened by the QBCC and the subcommittee’s remit includes reviewing and advising how CCPD points for structured and unstructured training are awarded across different construction industry sectors. The Subcommittee is also working to develop and recommend a clear definition of structured and unstructured training.
Building Information Modelling
The Chapter Education Committee Chair, Lisa Moore, recently attended the BIM Education Round Table meeting convened by the Department of State Development, Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Planning. The critical issue of Building Information Modelling (BIM) skills – linked with the Australian Standards and Architects Accreditation Council of Australia (AACA) competency standards – was discussed by meeting attendees from peak bodies and the University of Queensland, Bond University, Griffith University and the Queensland University of Technology.
The Queensland Chapter is a member of the AIA/ACA BIM Taskforce, chaired by Nathan Hildebrand. This Taskforce recently surveyed the architecture sector in 2019 for their views on BIM including technology, people and processes. The results of this survey will be released early in 2020. The Taskforce has also developed a guideline to ISO19650, which is available online.
Gold Coast Committee activities
The Gold Coast Committee undertook two major advocacy tasks in late 2019, supported by Chapter President Paul Trotter, Chapter Council and State Manger Alice-Anne McRobbie, including:
- Successfully advocating that the Old Burleigh Theatre Arcade located at 64 Goodwin Terrace, Burleigh Heads should be placed on the Gold Coast Local Heritage Register; and
- Developing a detailed submission in response to the Gold Coast City Plan Major Draft Updates 2 & 3.