Purpose

APEC Architect participating economies acknowledge the public benefit of the mobility of architects in the provision of architectural services, the positive value of cultural diversity and the mutual benefits of cooperation in developing a framework to facilitate these goals.

The aim of the APEC Architect framework is to establish a mechanism to facilitate the mobility of architects for the provision of architectural services throughout the APEC region by reducing current barriers to the export of professional services. Its central function is to maintain a Register of APEC Architects who have fulfilled common elements of the education and training requirements for professional recognition in participating economies and are currently registered/licensed as architects, and who have a proven record of professional experience as registered practitioners.

Through the identification of these common aspects of professional recognition, reinforced by a period of professional experience, registration as an APEC Architect defines a level of competence that will satisfy designated registration criteria in other participating economies without further assessment. A host economy may additionally adopt special requirements for the recognition of APEC Architects to address aspects of professional practice specific to that economy, such requirements however must be fully transparent.


Structure

Overall responsibility for operation of the APEC Architect Register rests with a Central Council composed of nominees of independent Monitoring Committees established for this purpose in each participating economy, and authorised by the Central Council to carry out its functions. Policies governing the operation of the APEC Architect Register and strategies adopted for its implementation are determined jointly by the representatives of participating economies appointed to the Central Council.

The APEC Architect Register is divided into sections, each administered by the Monitoring Committee of a participating economy, for the enrolment of architects registered/licensed in that economy who meet APEC Architect criteria. Monitoring Committees are responsible for the management of their respective sections of the Register on behalf of the Central Council.


APEC Architects

An APEC Architect is a person who is registered, licensed or otherwise professionally recognised as an architect in a participating economy, and whose name is enrolled on a section of the APEC Architect Register maintained by that economy. APEC Architects are bound by host economy codes of professional conduct to protect public health, safety and welfare.

The criteria adopted by the Central Council for admission to the APEC Architect Register, and use of the description ‘APEC Architect’, are based on identification of a common sequence and elements in the education, training and assessment of architects as qualified to provide professional architectural services in the home economy. These consist of:

• an accreditation or recognition procedure for education programs in architecture;
• a minimum period of post-graduate practical experience, with specified requisites;
• fulfillment of registration, licensing or other requirements for full professional recognition,
• a minimum period of professional practice as a registered or licensed architect, with specified requisites.

Architects deemed by the Central Council to fulfil these requirements are eligible for registration as an APEC Architect. To retain their registration, APEC Architects must comply with obligations imposed by their home economies for maintaining professional competence and observing codes of professional conduct. Host economies may choose to impose special requirements for the recognition of APEC Architects for practice in their economies, but any such requirements must be fully transparent.


Monitoring Committees

Each participating economy is required to establish a Monitoring Committee to take responsibility for administration of the APEC Architect framework in that economy, after receiving authorisation by the Central Council to do so. Monitoring Committees act with delegated authority from the Central Council to implement its policies and carry out it duties.

The primary duty of a Monitoring Committee is to operate a section of the APEC Architect Register for the enrolment of APEC Architects registered/licensed in that economy. It must confirm that candidates for APEC Architect registration have complied with criteria adopted by the Central Council and assess the professional practice experience they have obtained as registered/licensed architects. Each Monitoring Committee is also responsible for ensuring the continued maintenance of required standards.

Monitoring Committees are the constituent bodies of the Central Council. They must nominate one or more representatives to the Council, with each Monitoring Committee entitled to one vote. They are called upon to contribute from time to time to the administrative and review functions of the Central Council and generally to act as centres of information on all APEC Architect matters, and to promote its purposes.

The decisions taken by the Central Council are reached by consensus and are not binding on the regulatory authority of any participating economy


Authorisation of Monitoring Committees

Newly formed Monitoring Committees wishing to establish a section of the APEC Architect Register must first be authorised by the Central Council to do so. Applications for authorisation must be accompanied by information on the professional recognition/ accreditation systems in place in the economy and details of its proposals for assessment of APEC Architect criteria, and any other information the Council deems necessary. Advice on the structure of the Monitoring Committee and its arrangements for administration of the section of the APEC Architect Register within its economy will also be required. Monitoring Committees that have been granted authorisation may establish a section of the APEC Architect Register.


Central Council

The Central Council has ultimate responsibility for all matters relating to the APEC Architect framework. The Council comprises at least one representative appointed by the Monitoring Committee of each economy authorised to operate a section of the Register. Non-authorised economies may also be invited to attend Council meetings as non-voting observers. The Central Council’s primary duty is to decide the standards and criteria required for registration as an APEC Architect and to establish operational procedures for management of the APEC Architect Register. These are reviewed periodically by the Council to ensure their continued relevance to the practice of architecture within the APEC region and the effectiveness of the systems employed to assess them. The Council is responsible for the authorisation of Monitoring Committees to maintain a section of the Register and for subsequent review of their continued conformance with APEC Architect registration criteria.

Effective communication with relevant authorities in participating economies, architects and consumers alike, is essential for successful operation of the APEC Architect Register. The provision of information on its objectives and achievements, and promotion of the role it plays in facilitating the mobility of architects within the region are also important functions of the Central Council.


Administrative Provisions

Responsibility for providing administrative services for the APEC Architect Central Council and acting as the project Secretariat is undertaken in rotation by participating economies. The economy performing this role at any time may share its duties with other economies or it may be exempted from them on request. During its term of office, the Secretariat is required to administer all Council business, manage its meetings and coordinate the activities of the independent Monitoring Committees. It acts as a centre of information for the project and maintains the APEC Architect website


Desired Outcomes – Facilitating the Mobility of Architects

The introduction of the APEC Architect Register has created an effective mechanism for achieving the strategic priority of the APEC Human Resources Development Working Group ‘to facilitate the mobility of qualified persons by developing a means for the mutual recognition of their skills and qualifications’. By providing evidence that agreed standards of competence required for professional recognition have been satisfied, APEC Architects may be exempt from many current restrictions on access to independent practice, such as preregistration examination and host economy experience, that are normally imposed on architects from other countries. Even though they may still be tested on practice issues specific to the host economy, the savings in time and costs for all involved, architects and regulatory authorities alike, are substantial.

The APEC Architect Reciprocal Recognition Framework, which records the registration / certification requirements of participating economies for the professional recognition of APEC Architects from other economies, may be viewed on the Central Council website at www.apecarchitects.org

Through its identification of common standards of professional competence and the quality assurance systems applied to ensure that they are maintained, the APEC Architect framework provides a reliable and transparent basis for the further negotiation of reciprocal arrangements between APEC economies for the mutual recognition of architects. The APEC goals of progressive liberalisation of access to markets for the provision of professional services will become a reality as the benefits of the APEC Architect framework are recognised and endorsed throughout the Asia Pacific region.