The union is for every architectural worker, whatever the title or scale of the practice. A registered architect with decades of experience and a first-year student face the same Award and the same race-to-the-bottom fees, so they belong in the same union.
Membership scope
We represent
- Architects organising workplaces Registered architects building union strength where they work. The union is led by architects, and covers everyone who makes architecture alongside them.
- Graduates of Architecture Graduates working towards registration, often putting in the longest hours for the least pay relative to the work.
- Part 1, Part 2 & Part 3 candidates Candidates moving through the stages of registration, from logbook hours to the final Architectural Practice Examination.
- Architectural drafters and technicians The people producing the drawings, models, and documentation every practice runs on.
- Interior designers in architectural practice Interior designers working inside architectural studios, under the same Award and the same conditions.
- Urban designers Designers shaping streets, precincts, and public space across the built environment.
- Landscape architects Landscape architects, brought under the union through our 2024 application to the Fair Work Commission.
- Urban and Regional Planners Planners working across statutory and strategic planning, in private practice and in government.
- Academics and researchers in architecture The people teaching and researching architecture in Australian schools and institutions.
- Students of Architecture (Free!) Architecture students, free to join with no dues. Sign up through the students page.
- Practice managers and support staff The studio managers, administrators, and support staff who keep practices running day to day.
Architecture students join free, with no dues. Start at the students page. Everyone else can join in about five minutes.
We represent workers in firms of every size and in every corner of Australia, from sole practitioners to large multinational offices, from capital cities to regional towns, at every career stage.
Architectural work is shaped by design, construction, regulation, and public interest, and workers at every one of those stages face the same underlying problem: the work gets paid below what the law requires. Everyone who contributes deserves fair conditions and a collective voice to advocate for them.