The New Zealand Registered Architects Board (NZRAB) is a statutory board tasked with registering, monitoring and, if need be, disciplining architects. This is done to protect the public and, by that, the reputation of the architectural profession. The NZRAB became fully operational on 1 July 2006, when it replaced the Architects Education and Registration Board. The registration and discipline arrangements now in place are considerably more rigorous than previously, reflecting the community’s increased concern about the quality of buildings in recent years.

Functions

registers architects who have been assessed by their peers as competent to practice independently
maintains an online register, so the public can confirm that an architect is registered
quality assures the competence of architects every five years
investigates complaints and, if need be, disciplines architects.

Registration

Currently around a third of registration applications are declined. Many of these involve applications that have little chance of success and should not have been submitted. The Registered Architects Board urges you, before applying, to consider carefully whether you are ready. If you are unsure, get objective advice.

Professional Conversation

A professional conversation is a form of assessment that allows an applicant to demonstrate their understanding and give examples of their knowledge, experience and attitude. It is essentially an exchange between two equals, led by the applicant and supported by other types of evidence that have been collected by the applicant and by clarification questions asked by the assessors.

What is the Board looking for?

Fundamentally, the assessors who check each applicant ask the question “Is this person ready to operate as a stand-alone architect – is the applicant ready to put up his or her shingle?” A Registered Architect has to understand and have experience of all the procedures and judgments required to run an architectural practice and provide a full range of architectural services. He or she must be able to do this without the safety net of being in a practice with other more experienced architects. You are not ready for registration if you still rely on colleagues to “fill in the gaps”.

Why are applications declined?

It is very rare for an application to be declined because the applicant lacks design skill or flair. The issues almost always involve a lack of experience or understanding of the practicalities of operating an architectural business and managing a building project from beginning to end in the New Zealand environment. Here are some common reasons why applicants get into difficulty:

a lack of familiarity with setting fees, tendering procedures, and establishing and administering contracts
an inadequate understanding of the Resource Management Act, District Plans, the Building Act, the Building Code and Compliance Documents, Code Compliance Certificates, and the consent process
a poor understanding of the New Zealand context, including responses to the New Zealand climate and seismic design
poor understanding of the legislative framework for conducting business in New Zealand
a poor understanding of the Code of Minimum Standards of Ethical Conduct for Registered Architects
limited breadth of experience and excessive specialisation in work done so far
poor communications skills.

Applicants may be given a free repeat assessment with new assessors, if the first panel is in doubt about whether or not the applicant has met the minimum standards for registration. Repeat assessments in this context are expected to be very rare.

Experience required

Applicants often face the difficulty that their employers have not been able to involve them in all aspects of managing building projects. If this is an issue for you, well before applying, talk to your employer and request a wider range of duties to gain the required experience.

From overseas?

Some applicants who have been Registered Architects in other countries have struggled because they have not built up enough knowledge and experience of the New Zealand context. As noted earlier, almost invariably when applications are rejected, it is not because of a lack of architectural skills. Much more commonly, it is because the applicant lacks knowledge and experience in terms of the practicalities in the New Zealand context. Again, get objective advice.

In terms of the assessment itself, remember that the case studies that you will present are intended to be talking points which you use to demonstrate that you have the required knowledge and experience of the architectural process. It is up to you to select appropriate projects to make up case studies and make your presentation to the assessors on that basis. The assessors must judge whether you are ready for registration on the basis of what you say and the material that you present. The face-to-face assessment is not an exam – it is a professional conversation, in which, in effect, you are making a case for registration. You need to persuade the assessors of your competence and you should prepare on that basis.

For more information, please contact one of our offices

Last Updated: 01 February 2012

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