By Jeremy Ham, SurfCoast Architecture
If you're planning a new home or renovation on the Surf Coast and you've started researching who to hire, you've probably come across both terms — architect and building designer — and wondered what the difference actually is, and whether it matters.
It does matter. The distinction affects your legal protections, your design outcome, and — on a coastline as regulated as this one — your chances of getting through the planning system smoothly. Here's what you need to know.
What's the actual difference?
In Victoria, the title "architect" is legally protected. To use it, a person must be registered with the Architects Registration Board of Victoria (ARBV). That registration requires a recognised degree in architecture, a period of practical experience (typically two years of documented work under supervision), and a professional examination. It's a meaningful bar.
The title "building designer" is not protected in the same way. Building designers can produce construction documents and manage projects competently — many are experienced professionals — but their qualifications, training depth, and ongoing requirements vary considerably. There is no single licensing body and no equivalent registration process to that of an architect.
This doesn't mean every architect is better than every building designer. But it does mean that when you engage a registered architect, you know exactly what standard of training and accountability sits behind the title.
Why does this matter more on the Surf Coast?
Anywhere in Victoria, registration matters. On the Surf Coast, it matters even more — and here's why.
The Surf Coast Shire is one of the most heavily overlaid planning environments in regional Victoria. Properties across Torquay, Jan Juc, Anglesea, Aireys Inlet, Lorne and beyond are routinely subject to combinations of:
Bushfire Management Overlays (BMO) — affecting materials, construction method, vegetation clearance and cost. A BAL-29 or BAL-40 rating can add $30,000–$80,000 to a build.
Environmental Significance Overlays (ESO) — restricting removal of native vegetation, affecting site coverage, setbacks and even which materials can be used externally.
Neighbourhood Character Overlays (NCO) — sets out limitations on heights, building areas, site coverage, setbacks in order to retain the coastal character of the neighbourhood- requires very creative solutions.
Vegetation Protection Overlays (VPO) — protecting significant trees in ways that directly affect where you can build and how.
Navigating these overlays requires more than design skill. It requires an intimate familiarity with how the Surf Coast Shire interprets and applies its planning scheme — knowledge that comes from years of working in this specific environment, lodging permit applications here, working with local planning consultants, and learning how council planners think.
A building designer who primarily works in metropolitan Melbourne may produce a beautiful design that, when it reaches a council planner, encounters an overlay condition they didn't account for. That means delays, redesign, additional cost, and in some cases a permit refusal that could have been avoided.
What does an architect actually do that's different?
Beyond credentials, there are practical differences in how a registered architect approaches a project.
Design thinking from first principles. An architect is trained to interrogate the brief before accepting it — to ask not just "what do you want?" but "why do you want it, and is there a better way to achieve the outcome?" The result is often a home that solves problems the client hadn't articulated, not just one that ticks boxes.
End-to-end service. A full architectural engagement covers concept design, design development, documentation, tender management (getting accurate quotes from builders), and contract administration during construction — which means your architect is on site regularly, reviewing work, and making sure what gets built matches what was designed. Many building designers offer documentation only, leaving the client to manage the builder relationship themselves.
Professional accountability. Registered architects carry professional indemnity insurance and are subject to ARBV oversight. If something goes wrong, there is a formal complaints and disciplinary process with real consequences. This matters when you're making one of the largest financial decisions of your life.
ARBV membership and ongoing development. Registration isn't a one-time qualification. It requires ongoing professional development and renewal — which means a registered architect's knowledge of building codes, energy efficiency standards, planning changes, and construction methods is kept current.
When might a building designer be appropriate?
Building designers can be a good fit for straightforward projects where planning complexity is low — a simple addition to a standard suburban block with no overlays, for example, or a small internal renovation that doesn't require a planning permit at all.
But on the Surf Coast, "no overlays" is the exception rather than the rule. If you're buying land or an existing home in Torquay, Jan Juc, Anglesea, Aireys Inlet, Lorne, Wye River or anywhere along the Great Ocean Road corridor, the chances are high that your property has at least one overlay condition that will shape what you can build and how much it will cost.
Before you assume your project is simple, it's worth finding out what overlays apply to your property. It's a free check — the Planning Maps Online site lists all overlays by address — and it could change your thinking about the level of expertise your project needs.
The Surf Coast question specifically
Thirty years of designing on this coastline has taught me one consistent lesson: what looks like a straightforward project rarely is, once you understand the site properly. The blocks are often difficult to build on, vegetated, the planning overlays are often stacked, the coastal conditions are specific, and council's expectations are higher than many clients expect.
The Surf Coast attracts buyers who've made a considered choice to live somewhere genuinely beautiful. The homes they build here should reflect that choice — not just in aesthetics, but in how they sit on the land, how they perform in the coastal climate, how they hold their value, and how they respond to the constraints of this particular stretch of coastline.
That's what a registered architect brings to the table. Not just technical compliance, but the design intelligence to turn a complicated site into a home you'll love for decades.
Ready to talk about your project?
Whether you've just bought land, you're planning a renovation, or you're still in the early stages of thinking about a new home on the Surf Coast — a conversation with Jeremy costs nothing.
Call Jeremy on 0402 952 810 for a free, no-obligation chat about what's possible for your project. Or get in touch online.
SurfCoast Architecture — ARBV Registered Architects since 1997. Torquay, Surf Coast Victoria.
