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Architect

Design buildings and oversee their construction in line with building codes and client needs.

Registration: Architect registration with the state architects' board

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Salary

Cited figures from Job Outlook and QILT. ExamExplained does not publish predictive earnings or projections.

FigureAUDSource
Full-time weekly earnings$1950Job Outlook (2025-06-01)
Graduate starting salary$65,000QILT (2025-03-01)

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What a architect actually does

Most of the working day is spent at a desk in front of CAD or BIM software, running through design options, redrawing details after a consultant comment, or producing planning and construction-issue drawings. Add in client meetings, site visits and trips to council to argue a DA. A graduate at a mid-sized practice will spend the first couple of years on documentation and small redesigns, learning Revit and the National Construction Code. Senior architects spend less time drawing and more time running a project: managing the consultant team, briefing the contractor, signing off variations, and chasing clients for decisions. Hours sit at 38-45 in normal periods but stretch to 50-60 around DA submission, tender deadlines and the run-up to practical completion. Site days mean boots, hi-vis and an hour or two on the road, occasionally interstate.

Typical tasks

  • Prepare design concepts and DA submissions.
  • Coordinate consultants and contractors.
  • Document construction-issue drawings.

Skills you'll use

  • Revit, ArchiCAD or another BIM tool plus AutoCAD
  • National Construction Code, BCA, Australian Standards
  • 3D modelling and visualisation (Rhino, SketchUp, V-Ray, Twinmotion)
  • Reading and producing construction-detail drawings
  • Contract administration under AS4000 or ABIC contracts
  • Verbal and written client communication
  • Sketching and presentation to non-design audiences
  • Managing consultants (structural, services, fire, hydraulic)

How to become one

  1. 1Finish Year 12 with English and Maths (Methods or Advanced preferred)
  2. 2Complete a 3-year accredited Bachelor of Design (Architecture) or Architectural Studies
  3. 3Complete a 2-year Master of Architecture - the registrable qualification
  4. 4Work at least 2 years (3300 hours) under a registered architect across documentation, contract administration and design phases
  5. 5Pass the Architectural Practice Examination (APE), which has a logbook, written paper and oral interview run by the state architects' board
  6. 6Apply for registration with the state architects' board (eg. NSW Architects Registration Board, ARBV in Victoria)
  7. 7Continue to log CPD hours each year to maintain registration

Where you can work

  • Small boutique architectural practices (most of the industry)
  • Mid-sized commercial and residential firms
  • Large multi-disciplinary practices working on civic, health and education projects
  • In-house architecture teams at developers and government
  • State and local government planning and design teams
  • Heritage and conservation practices
  • Sole practice serving residential and small commercial clients

Career progression

Typical stages and salary bands. Salary figures are sourced from Job Outlook, QILT or industry bodies; brackets are 25th-75th percentile not absolute floors or ceilings.

  1. Graduate of Architecture
    0-3 years
    Typical roles: Architectural graduate, Documentation drafter, Junior designer
    Salary band: $60,000 - $75,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)
  2. Registered Architect
    5-9 years
    Typical roles: Project architect, Senior designer, Registered architect (post-APE)
    Salary band: $90,000 - $125,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)
  3. Senior Architect or Associate
    10-15 years
    Typical roles: Senior architect, Associate, Studio leader
    Salary band: $130,000 - $180,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)
  4. Director or Principal
    15+ years
    Typical roles: Director, Principal architect, Practice owner

Is this for you?

You might love this if

  • You like the slow back-and-forth of design (you'll redraw the same plan dozens of times)
  • You can hold both the artistic vision and the building-code reality at once
  • You're comfortable presenting ideas to clients who don't read drawings
  • You're willing to study for at least 5 years and another 2-3 years to registration
  • You're patient with a slow-moving industry and slow career progression

This might not suit you if

  • You want to be on the tools building things yourself (look at carpentry, building or engineering)
  • You can't stand long hours at a screen
  • You want a fast-moving startup career with quick wins
  • You expect graduate pay to match other professions like engineering or law
  • You hate redlining your own work after a senior says "do it again"

Three ways in

Uni, TAFE and trade routes for architect. Not every career has all three; we only list pathways that actually lead to this occupation.

University

Bachelor degrees that lead to this career.

TAFE / VET

Nationally accredited Certificate and Diploma qualifications.

No direct TAFE pathway to this career.

Apprenticeship trade

Earn while you learn through an Australian Apprenticeship.

Not an apprenticeship trade.

Sources

ExamExplained does not publish predictive salary figures. For current Australian earnings data check Job Outlook directly. Career classifications follow the ABS ANZSCO 2022 release.