BUILT ENVIRONMENT JOURNAL

What does a building surveyor do in Australia?

UK surveying professionals are expressing increasing interest in working in Australia – but you must be sure to understand the distinctive character of the market there before making the move

Author:

  • Craig MacDonald

21 January 2021

Sydney Opera House © Craig MacDonald

More than 7 years after I wrote for RICS on the challenges I faced as a building surveyor relocating from the UK to Australia, my article continues to help others peer through the looking glass. And just as it was for Alice, things on the other side are not what you’d expect – increasingly so the more time passes.

When I wrote that article, I included the kind of information I would have liked to have had when I was working out how to move to Australia. As a result, I've had UK-based building surveyors from various walks of life reach out to me seeking guidance when making a similar move. The past 12 months alone have seen a rise in such messages: I can only speculate about the impact that Brexit and COVID-19 have had on the prospects for UK professionals.

With this increasing interest, then, it’s a good time to provide an update. In this article, I will take a look at some frequently asked questions about relocating to Australia as a building surveyor.

What is building surveying in Australia?

RICS Oceania has sought to mitigate confusion caused by the region’s shared terminology by using “chartered surveyor (building surveying)” to refer to the role RICS and its members understand as a building surveyor.

In Australia, the property and construction sector remains generally ambivalent about this term, so the role is typically referred to as a building consultant. On a job website such as Seek [seek.com.au] or Jora [au.jora.com], or on LinkedIn, you will find what you are looking for if you search for this.

RICS Oceania has made efforts to trademark "chartered building surveyor" in response to an attempt by Australian Institute of Building Surveyors (AIBS) to do the same. However, the construction sector in most states and territories continues to recognise the AIBS definition of building surveyor, sometimes also referred to as a "building certifier" or "building code consultant". This role focuses primarily on compliance with the Building Code of Australia (BCA),  and closely corresponds to the role of the building control surveyor in the UK.

This issue of terminology is among many currently being addressed by the Australian Building Code Board (ABCB)’s public consultation on the National Registration Framework for Building Practitioners, for which RICS issued positioning statements. The public consultation closed on 23 August.

Used by itself, the word "surveyor" is closely associated with the enormous national mining and engineering industries in Australia, and the work undertaken for them by cadastral surveyors. This definition transcends those sectors, and reflects the way the term is commonly understood in Australia.

Meanwhile, even though chartered surveyors (building surveying) are used to exercising a broad skill set in project management and contract administration, roles in both of those fields remain reserved to individuals with dedicated qualifications for separable skill sets.

Australia still has use for chartered surveyors (building surveying) as building consultants, when they undertake commercial technical due diligence (TDD) and life-cycle reporting, or prepare schedules of dilapidation and negotiation. Rarely will the role extend into project management or contracts, but it’s not unheard of. It is more likely that your qualification will land you in a specific project management role that overlaps with building consultancy from time to time.

Typically, firms and the people responsible for hiring building consultants include RICS-qualified expats who occupy project management roles at corporate real-estate firms, so these are a good place to start looking for jobs.

As for project management and contract administration roles elsewhere, such as tier-1 builders or Australian project management firms, you will as a chartered surveyor (building surveying) have to go to some lengths to demonstrate not just your experience but also that your qualifications reflect the necessary competencies. Having your qualification subject to a skills assessment by an Australian assessing authority may help; this is also a requirement of some classes of visa.

What specific regional knowledge do I need?

Generally speaking, you will always be applauded for learning as much as you can about regional requirements and expectations, and this learning is eligible for CPD. However, if you have gained adequate commercial experience anywhere in the world beyond academia, you will be able to apply it in the Australia and New Zealand market. There are certainly nuances, details and peculiarities, but these are not insurmountable and will not keep you from successfully landing a job.

Confidence, competency, and communication can take you far. If you begin to focus outside commercial and corporate real estate, though, matters become more challenging. Indeed, there are even barriers that will stop you completely.

For example, a building surveyor may be perfectly competent in undertaking a residential pre-purchase inspection; however, some states and territories have laws that require a licence to do so. RICS building surveyors may be unable to meet the requirements for this licence because it is designed to reflect the experience of AIBS professionals or tradespeople looking to "get off the tools", to use the Australian vernacular.

“When gearing your CV for the Australian market, it will stand you in good stead to have a grasp of some of the specific terminology”

What terminology do Australian professionals use?

When gearing your CV for the Australian market, it will stand you in good stead to have a grasp of some of the specific terminology. Table 1 provides a useful – though by no means exhaustive – guide to corresponding terms.

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Glossary of UK building surveying terms with Australian equivalents

UK Australia  
Acquisition survey   Purchaser TDD  
Approved Documents (Building Regulations)    National Construction Code (NCC)  
BREEAM   Greenstar of NABERS
 
Building control officer or surveyor   Building surveyor  
Building regulations    Building Code of Australia (BCA)  
Building surveyor   Building consultant  

 

Construction contract

 

 

 

AS 4000: 1997 General conditions of contract

 

 
Construction skills: Certification scheme card   White card  
Contract administration   Superintendent  
CV   Resume  
Dilapidations schedule    Make good schedule  
Foil insulation sarking   Sisalation  
Gas Safe Register   Varies by state e.g. Energy Safe Victoria  
Health and safety   Varies by state but can be occupational health, or workplace health and safety  
Health and Safety Excecutive   Varies by state e.g Worksafe in Western Australia  
Ironmongery   Hardware  
Party wall   Separating wall  
Portacabin   Donga  
Power socket or plug   General power outlet (GPO)  
Proprietary profiled metal roof sheeting   Colorbond, Klip-Lok or Trimdek  
Repainting   Redecoration  
Snag list    Defects inspection or "dilap"  
Tarmacadam or tarmac   Compacted bitumen asphaltic concret
 
Retirement fund or savings   Superannuation or "super"  
Window sealant    Caulking  
Woodwool slab   Stramit  
Close

Glossary of UK building surveying terms with Australian equivalents

UK Australia  
Acquisition survey   Purchaser TDD  
Approved Documents (Building Regulations)    National Construction Code (NCC)  
BREEAM   Greenstar of NABERS
 
Building control officer or surveyor   Building surveyor  
Building regulations    Building Code of Australia (BCA)  
Building surveyor   Building consultant  

 

Construction contract

 

 

 

AS 4000: 1997 General conditions of contract

 

 
Construction skills: Certification scheme card   White card  
Contract administration   Superintendent  
CV   Resume  
Dilapidations schedule    Make good schedule  
Foil insulation sarking   Sisalation  
Gas Safe Register   Varies by state e.g. Energy Safe Victoria  
Health and safety   Varies by state but can be occupational health, or workplace health and safety  
Health and Safety Excecutive   Varies by state e.g Worksafe in Western Australia  
Ironmongery   Hardware  
Party wall   Separating wall  
Portacabin   Donga  
Power socket or plug   General power outlet (GPO)  
Proprietary profiled metal roof sheeting   Colorbond, Klip-Lok or Trimdek  
Repainting   Redecoration  
Snag list    Defects inspection or "dilap"  
Tarmacadam or tarmac   Compacted bitumen asphaltic concret
 
Retirement fund or savings   Superannuation or "super"  
Window sealant    Caulking  
Woodwool slab   Stramit  

What are the salary expectations?

This is a common and important question. After all, your motivation for a move to Australia may be mainly financial, so you will want to make sure you get the salary you’re looking for.

Just as important, however, is understanding the cost of living in Australia compared with the UK. While salaries may be more than twice the figures of those for similar roles in the UK, currency conversion means that not all the extra cash stays in your pocket.

You should use property rental websites such as realestate.com.au or Domain [domain.com.au] to gauge weekly rent in various areas, and supermarket websites such as Aldi, Coles or Woolworths to estimate how much you might spend on groceries. You might be surprised – or shocked.

It’s entirely possible to estimate online the minimum salary you’d be comfortable agreeing to. A wealth of information is available on the Department of Home Affairs website, which confirms that the minimum annual pre-tax salary of a worker with a visa subject to the temporary skilled migration income threshold is currently A$53,900, while an Australian pay calculator can accurately extrapolate your post-tax salary.

All I can add to this anecdotally is that it is possible to earn up to twice that amount as a building consultant or project manager – or a hybrid of both – as a first-time skilled visa worker. Of course, this depends on your qualifications and experience. A qualified chartered surveyor (building surveying) is still considered to have a unique skill set in Australia; corporate real-estate firms recognise its value and are well versed in deploying it.

Be prepared, however: in some scenarios, visa applications and sponsorship schemes may require an employer to demonstrate that it first gave sufficient time to advertise the role in the Australian market before proceeding with a temporary skilled migration worker.

Last, you should consider how any outstanding student loan or other debt outside Australia will be handled. The UK’s Student Loans Company will ask you to complete an income overseas assessment, following which it will demand a flat-rate repayment updated annually. You might see the rate jump a couple of hundred dollars per month more than you expected when this happens, and each payment you transfer will be subject to the foreign exchange rate.

There will be more detail on the subject of visas and sponsorship, along with other RICS members sharing their experiences, in a later article.

craig.macdonald@cromwell.com.au

Related competencies include: Ethics, Rules of Conduct and professionalism