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September 2003

U.S. and Australian Architect Associations Kick Off Architectural Practice Agreement

Washington, DC—The National Council of Architectural Registration Boards is pleased to officially roll out a Protocol for Practice in a Host Nation with the Architects Accreditation Council of Australia (AACA). Under the Protocol's agreed-upon requirements, architects in Australia and U.S. architects holding the NCARB Certificate will be able to practice in one another's country while in association with a licensed architect.

The Protocol represents the first phase of a process that will culminate in a Mutual Recognition Agreement between NCARB and the AACA. NCARB's 55 member boards ratified the Protocol in June 2002. The AACA, which represents Australia's eight state and territorial architects' registration boards, also ratified the Protocol in 2002.

Both U.S. and Australian representatives will continue to determine equivalencies in their respective educational, training, and examination standards. The Council also will be working with the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) in order to evaluate the Australian education and accreditation processes. Once such equivalencies are in place, NCARB and AACA will negotiate the terms of a full Mutual Recognition Agreement—the long-standing goal of cooperative exchanges between the countries since 2001.

NCARB and the AACA continue to recognize the ever-widening effects of globalization on domestic architectural practice. While the AACA is developing cooperative agreements with other countries, NCARB has ratified a Protocol for Practice in a Host Nation with the Czech Republic, a Mutual Cooperation Agreement and Bilateral Accord with China, and a Full Mutual Recognition Agreement with Canada. More recently, NCARB has signed a Protocol for Practice in a Host Nation with New Zealand. With the American Institute of Architects (AIA), NCARB has also signed a Memorandum of Intent and Understanding with the national registration authorities of Canada and Mexico.

NCARB and AIA representatives also have signed an Accord on Co-operation and Professionalism in Architecture with the Architects' Council of Europe (ACE). ACE's membership comprises the professional architectural organizations in all European Union states and through them represents all architects within the EU.

About NCARB
The National Council of Architectural Registration Boards comprises the architectural registration boards of all 50 states as well as those of the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands. NCARB assists its member state registration boards in carrying out their duties and provides a certification program for individual architects. NCARB's mission is to work together as a council of member boards to safeguard the health, safety, and welfare of the public and to assist member boards in carrying out their duties.

About the AACA
The Architects Accreditation Council of Australia is recognized as the national organization responsible for establishing, coordinating, and advocating national standards for the registration of architects in Australia and for the recognition of Australian architects overseas by the relevant registration authorities. AACA is constituted of and accountable to all State and Territorial Architects' Registration Boards in Australia.

For more information, please contact:
Michiel M. Bourdrez, AIA
NCARB's Director, Education and International Services
202/879-0535

Christine Harding, AACA Registrar
(02) 6230 0506