Architect, Building Designer or Draftsperson: Who Do You Need?

Most people building a house in Queensland engage one of three professionals to produce the design: an architect, a building designer, or a draftsperson. The titles get used loosely, the fees differ substantially, and the right choice depends on the project rather than on prestige.

The short version is that all three can produce drawings that get approved. What differs is the depth of design thinking, the level of documentation, and how much they carry the project through construction.

Architect is a protected title in Queensland — only those registered with the Board of Architects may use it. Registration requires an accredited degree, recorded practical experience and an examination.

What you are paying for is design capability and documentation depth. On a difficult site, an unusual brief, or a project where the spatial outcome matters more than the square metre rate, that capability is the difference between an adequate house and a very good one.

Architects typically charge a percentage of construction cost, and usually offer to administer the contract during construction as well. On a complex build that administration has real value.

Building designers are licensed by the QBCC in Queensland, in classes that determine the scale and complexity of work they can take on. Many produce excellent residential work at a lower fee than an architect.

For a straightforward new home, a renovation, or a duplex on a workable site, a good building designer is frequently the right answer — particularly one who knows the local council's requirements well.

As with builders, check the licence class on the QBCC register and confirm it covers your project type.

A draftsperson produces drawings, generally working from a design that already exists or from a fairly prescriptive brief. The fee is lowest and the design input is smallest.

This works when you know exactly what you want and the site is uncomplicated. It works poorly when the project needs someone to solve a problem — a difficult slope, a character overlay, an awkward orientation.

The risk is paying for drawings that get approved and produce a house nobody thought hard about.

Match the professional to the difficulty of the problem. A flat block, a conventional brief and a clear idea of the outcome does not need an architect. A steep character block with a complex brief probably does.

Whoever you engage, ask what the fee covers: concept only, or full documentation including engineering coordination and the detail a builder needs to price accurately. Thin documentation is the leading cause of provisional sums and variations.

We are happy to review existing drawings for buildability and cost before you commit to construction, and to recommend designers where you do not have one. Our Brisbane custom build page explains how design and site investigation fit together.

Agree the scope in writing: concept design only, or full documentation including engineering coordination, energy assessment and the level of detail a builder needs to price accurately without provisional sums.

Agree how many revisions are included. Design iteration is normal and open-ended iteration is expensive, so a defined number of rounds protects both sides.

Agree who lodges the applications and who responds to information requests during assessment, because that work takes time and someone has to own it.

And agree what happens during construction — whether they answer builder queries, review variations, or hand over entirely at approval. Thin documentation and no one available to clarify it is the most common cause of avoidable variations.