The Best Job in Building No One Knows About

Building surveyors, also known as certifiers or inspectors, assess whether buildings meet required safety, compliance, and regulatory standards.

They are an essential checkpoint in the construction process. Homes cannot simply be designed and built; they also need to demonstrate compliance with the relevant building requirements.

This makes building surveying capacity directly relevant to housing delivery. Increasing construction activity without enough qualified professionals to assess and certify that work can create another bottleneck in the housing pipeline.

Their role is ultimately about making sure the push to build more homes does not come at the expense of safety, quality, or consumer protection.

While essential in an essential industry there is a shortage, and of all the trades and professions attached to building, surveying is one of the more accessible ones.

Building surveying can be a very attractive pathway for women, as well as anyone looking for a career in construction that combines time on site with office-based work.

“Building surveyors still get the benefit of being out on site and involved in real projects, but their role is focused on inspection, compliance and assessing whether building work meets the required standards, rather than carrying out the physical construction work itself. That makes it a great option for people who want to be part of the building industry without spending their working life up to their necks in mud and dust,” says Jeremy Turner, Technical & Policy Manager at AIBS.

“It is also a profession that rewards technical knowledge, attention to detail, communication and sound judgement, creating a wide range of opportunities for people from different backgrounds to build successful careers."

So, given the demand for building surveyors why is there a shortage? One of the biggest challenges is simply a lack of awareness of the profession.

“Most people understand that buildings need to be certified and inspected, but they often do not realise that building surveyors are the professionals responsible for carrying out much of this work. As a result, building surveying is not always front of mind for school leavers, university students or people considering a career change.

“That lack of recognition makes it harder to attract new people into the profession at the same time as demand for qualified building surveyors remains strong. Raising awareness of what building surveyors do, the important role they play in delivering safe and compliant buildings, and the career opportunities available is therefore an important part of addressing the workforce shortage.”

Building surveying offers a clear pathway for career progression. With experience and the appropriate educational qualifications, building surveyors can progressively gain higher levels of accreditation and registration, moving from Level 3 through to Level 1, which enables them to work across the full range of building work.

From there, there are many different directions a career can take. Building surveyors can go on to manage building surveying firms, hold senior management positions within local government, or work in state and territory government policy and compliance teams.

They may also work as specialist consultants to design teams, act as expert witnesses in building disputes and litigation, or move into related fields such as insurance, facilities management, asset management and project management. Their strong technical and regulatory knowledge can also open opportunities in areas such as fire engineering.

“It is a profession with significant scope to specialise, move into leadership or pursue a career across different parts of the broader building and construction sector,” Turner says.

The core skills of building surveying are highly transferable, particularly across Commonwealth countries that have broadly similar approaches to building regulation.

While building surveyors moving overseas will need to familiarise themselves with the local legislative and regulatory requirements, the fundamental skills remain very similar: interpreting technical and legislative requirements, assessing building proposals, conducting inspections and determining whether buildings comply with the relevant standards.

“This means Australian building surveyors can have opportunities to work internationally with relatively limited retraining, depending on the jurisdiction and its registration requirements. The technical, regulatory and problem-solving skills developed through the profession can provide a strong foundation for an international career,” he says.