Shake up to improve pathways to register

President of the NSW Architects Registration Board, Dr Deborah Dearing has announced plans for the biggest shake up in architectural registration in almost 20 years. Ahead of planned changes in 2018, Dr Dearing has appointed architect and Board member, Melonie Bayl-Smith to the new role of Convenor of Pathways to oversee the implementation of a more integrated approach to registering as an architect.

From April 2018, all states and territories will retire the old paper-based exam - famous for its scenario-based questions and negative marking designed to penalise guessing by candidates. Importantly, the new exam will be delivered online with a range of newly drafted scenarios - many of which are taken from real life experiences. 

“The National Exam Paper is designed to test the knowledge and application of the National Standard of Competency for Architects, but it hasn’t really changed since the year 2000. It was time for an update” said Bayl-Smith.

The Convenor will work closely with the Board, Registrar and the Architects Accreditation Council of Australia to supervise all the paths to registration in NSW, and ensure a streamlined approach to the new pathways with colleague Convenor’s across Australia. 

“Architects come in all shapes and sizes, and from many different backgrounds. Architecture is a highly mobile profession – with architects regularly moving interstate and overseas. So it’s important that we have a full range of pathways available to aspiring architects and which cater to this mobility. We assess qualifications gained overseas, and evaluate the experience of architects registered in other countries. There’s also a pathway for those who never studied architecture at all. What all these pathways have in common is they benchmark the experience and capabilities of an applicant against the National Standard of Competency for Architects,” said Bayl-Smith

Dr Dearing thanked long-standing Convenor of the Architectural Practice Examination, architect Ian McCaig of Giles Tribe Architects.  “Ian has provided consistent and committed leadership in the role of Convenor for more than a decade. In that time, more than 1,000 aspiring architects have completed their journey to registration”.

Melonie Bayl-Smith is a regular contributor to events at the NSW Chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects, and is a former Chapter Councillor and member of the Education Committee. Melonie will assume a newly expanded role of Convenor of Pathways on 1 December 2017.

More about the pathways to register

Check out the summary of the many pathways to register as an architect in NSW.

The pathways include;

• The Architectural Practice Examination - a 3-stage process with 254 applicants in 2016-2017
• The Locally Experienced Practitioner Pathway - with 17 applicants in 2016-2017
• The Experienced Practitioner Assessment for Overseas Practitioners - with 18 applicants in 2016-2017
• The Built Work Program of Assessment - with six applicants in 2016-2017

More about Melonie Bayl-Smith

Melonie Bayl-Smith is a registered Architect in NSW and Victoria, and Director of Bijl Architecture. Over the past 15 years, Melonie and her practice have undertaken many design-led projects across residential, educational and public sectors. Her considered and purposeful approach to architecture and design is evident in Bijl Architecture’s award-winning and widely-published projects.

Known as an outspoken advocate for architectural education, gender equity and good design, Melonie is Adjunct Professor at UTS School of Architecture where she teaches in the M.Arch. program, lecturing in professional practice and tutoring in the design studio. Melonie has recently completed a two-year term as Chapter Councillor for the NSW Chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects (2015-17).

Melonie is an active researcher; evidenced by the publication of peer-reviewed academic papers and presentations at conferences worldwide, includes “BuildAbility”, a large-scale international research project examining the future of construction education for architects and associated professionals. This project was supported by a Byera Hadley Scholarship (2009) and a NAWIC International Women’s Day Scholarship (2010).

A Part 3 APE examiner for the ARB NSW since 2007, Melonie has a deep understanding of the processes and interactions around the registration process. In 2015, Melonie co-authored the new Overseas Qualification Assessment (OQA) process for the AACA and is an appointed assessor for the NPrA, LEP and OAA assessment and registration pathway.