The Business of Architecture*

The ACA invites members to an online general meeting on Wednesday 11 February 2026 at 4.30pm AEDT to consider amending its Constitution to separate Branch and National President roles. Your participation is vital in shaping the future of the ACA and supporting a sustainable and effective model for our officeholders.

In 2025, the ACA celebrates a significant milestone – 40 years since our inaugural meeting established a national voice for architectural businesses. Emma Brain highlights the ACA’s beginnings and early aspirations, shares a record of the founding members, and congratulates the ACA’s inaugural Honorary Fellow, Robert Peck.

Join the ACA QLD/NT community for an intimate International Women’s Day lunch, celebrating this year’s theme Give to Gain. Enjoy reflections and conversation from our stellar panel, featuring Erin McDonald (Blaklash), Leone Lorrimer LFRAIA GAICD (executive leader) and Eloise Atkinson LFRAIA (Deicke Richards).

Join our first BoSP for 2026 in Brisbane with Rachael Bernstone, founder of Sounds Like Design. This practical and engaging professional development session will explore how architects can define and design their own version of success. Book now!

The Regional Architecture Association (RAA) is hosting its next regional event in Guildford in regional Victoria from 12–14 March. The program will cover systems that support sustainability across various scales of community, business and development. Discounted tickets are available for ACA members.

Representing the ACA through the Australian Construction Industry Forum (ACIF), Angelina Pillai, Kukame McPierzie and John Held met with Ministers and Shadow Ministers at Parliament House to advocate for the interests and concerns of architectural practice owners.

The ACA's national and state branches have been very active in advocacy throughout 2025, tackling critical issues from affordable access to Australian Standards and graduate training support to fairer procurement models and wellbeing in the profession. Policy & Advocacy Coordinator Emma Brain offers a summary.

Before we break for the festive season, we asked our committee members and staff to recommend their favourite books and podcasts of the year. Some have a business angle. Others are just things that got them thinking. We hope you enjoy working your way through these recommendations.

The ACA is pleased to share the 2025 HR Policy Templates, updated and expanded to reflect the changing needs of architectural practices and recent legislation, and featuring a new template on Artificial Intelligence in practice. Developed by our HR advisors Catalina Consultants, these plain-English templates offer practical, customisable support for every member practice. 

In late 2025, the ACA Vic/Tas had an important advocacy win from the Labour Hire Licensing Amendment debate in the Victorian Parliament. In collaboration with Consult Australia, we advocated effectively to ensure changes to Victoria’s labour hire laws don’t inadvertently affect the established secondment practices used by architecture and engineering firms.

Welcome to the ACA Business Concierge – your new AI-powered support tool for members. Designed specifically for architectural practices, this smart assistant provides quick answers to your business and employment questions. Access the Business Concierge today!

The ACA Business Concierge is a new AI-powered service developed exclusively for members of the ACA, providing quick practical guidance on the business of architecture. Learn more about how it works, see sample prompts and read answers to our FAQs.

An important ACA member benefit is our suite of Employment Agreement templates to support members. Our IR advisor Fair Work Lawyers undertakes a review of our template employment contracts regularly, ensuring they are user friendly and legally compliant, and reflect recent legislative changes. Download the 2025 update today!

We are pleased to share the ACA’s new membership brochure, a colourful, easy-to-read booklet that outlines the many ways the ACA supports and advocates for Australian architecture practices. It highlights our role as a trusted business advisor, with benefits including practical tools, contracts and advisories, regular business-focused updates and webinars, and advocacy and research.

It’s critical that all architectural businesses understand their obligations under the Architects Award. The update of the Architects Award and other Awards relevant to architectural practice incorporate all changes up to and including 1 July 2025, including new pay rates. Download today!