VIC/TAS Branch Update – December 2024
In 2024, the VIC/TAS branch prioritised advocacy, mental wellbeing, IR and business and finance. Key efforts included building reform advocacy and hosting engaging face-to-face events, including the first BoSP in Melbourne. Katherine Ygosse recaps the year’s highlights.
As we reflect on the second half of this year, we’d like to acknowledge the successes and milestones we’ve achieved together, and to acknowledge the incredible contributions of our committee members and partners.
We recently welcomed Debbie Thomson from ARCH to the branch committee as our new Tasmanian representative. Welcome Debbie! Moving forward, we are committed to recruiting more representatives from member practices in Tasmania to guide and support local initiatives. If you are interested in getting involved, contact Katherine Ygosse.
One of our standout accomplishments this year has been the continued success of the ACA Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Launched as a pilot project in 2023 through the leadership of Kirby Roper and George Theodoridis, the EAP service is now run nationally, led by Sascha Byrne. Thanks to the support from our VIC/TAS branch, the ACA EAP offers greater accessibility to EAP services for smaller practices around Australia.
ADVOCACY
We’ve made excellent progress with our advocacy, thanks to the hard work and commitment of Paul Viney, Brendan Shannon and Brad Hooper. We’ve met industry representatives, the government, opposition and local representatives, and have discussed Victorian reform matters at the Australian Construction Industry Forum (ACIF) alongside guest, Minister Sonia Kilkenny.
Partnering with Dr Peter Raisbeck and Kirsten Day from the Melbourne School of Design, we’ve explored common pain points in architecture practices, procurement methods, and broader industry issues through engagement with Tier 1 and Tier 2 builders. Key advocacy areas have included addressing Victorian Building Reforms and the Cladding Safety Report. Where possible, we have collaborated with the Institute and ArchiTeam, ensuring a unified voice on industry matters.
Through ongoing engagement with local governments, we’ve highlighted the value of architects in tackling issues like regional housing and streamlining planning approvals. Our survey on Victorian practice financial conditions (led by Sarah Bennett) has provided critical data to shape our future advocacy. Early findings reveal revenue shifts, rising costs, and client spending changes, with firms adapting through staffing adjustments, cost-cutting and service diversification.
Finally, committee member Richard Bryant and Tim Rodgers from Six Degrees are driving improvements in Design Documentation Standards as part of the VBA’s working group, continuing our commitment to improving the quality of the built environment. This follows the release of the guide for class 2 residential buildings.
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
We remain committed to representing architects in Industrial Relations matters, with special thanks to IR Working Group Chair George Theodoridis for his work, particularly on the Closing Loopholes legislation this year.
EVENTS
BoSP Melbourne
The launch of our first Business of Small Practice (BoSP) event in September was a standout success. The event featured insights, advice, humour and stories from practice from a fantastic panel of directors and owners – Erica Slocombe (Mihaly Slocombe), Jane Merrylees (Merrylees Architecture) and Lynn Chew (Kerstin Thompson Architects). The lively discussion was facilitated by Kirby Roper. Special thanks to Kieran Benson (Kirby Architects) for spearheading the event and Michael Rizio (Phoenix Stone) for his support and insights. We look forward to growing the BoSP series with a new sub-committee to lead the direction of future events. If you are interested to get involved, get in touch!
We were privileged to host our first in-person Architects Mental Wellbeing Forum (AMWF) event earlier this year, led by Richard Bryant and featuring Wayne Schwass from PukaUP, inspiring open conversations about mental health. Thanks to Brickworks for hosting this important event.
We also held a Financial Literacy Workshop with ACA Business Advisory Partner, Management for Design and an insightful Succession Planning Panel with experts from Macquarie Bank, Pitcher Partners, JCB Architects and GroupGSA. Huge thanks to Matt Tence and Emily Gilfillan from our committee – and to our generous local and national partners for their support.
We capped the year with festive Christmas drinks high up on the terrace, hosted by Macquarie – perfect weather and great company!
As we move into 2025, stay tuned for exciting new initiatives, including deeper dives into succession planning and more BoSP events.
ARCHITECTURAL ADMINISTRATION AND ACCOUNTING GROUP (AAAG)
The ACA proudly supports the AAAG, which fosters valuable networking and knowledge-sharing for this group of practice managers, HR specialists, directors and business owners. This year’s sessions featured expert discussions on legislation updates, Quality Assurance, KPIs, organisational structures, leadership and culture. To learn more, contact Katherine Ygosse.
CONGRATULATIONS PAUL VINEY!
After many years serving as Branch President and National Secretary, followed by National Vice-President, Paul took up his new role as ACA National President at the recent AGM. He has big shoes to fill, but Paul works so incredibly hard for the benefit of the ACA, national, branch and all members. We look forward to supporting him as he leads the ACA over the next term alongside our National Executive Committee and CEO. For more on Paul’s ambitions in his new role and his thoughts on the future of the profession, you can read more in an interview here.
ACA VIC/TAS COMMITTEE
We’d like to express our thanks to all members for being part of the ACA and to all of our committee members for their dedication, passion and commitment to the profession. We’d love to see additional committee members from Tasmania, but also another regional representative, so if you are interested, please get in touch!
Head to our branch page for the list of our volunteer committee, the projects they are leading and branch activities. Visit the Meet the Committee section to read more about each volunteer’s interests and goals with the ACA.