Process · Licensing
Dec 2025
One of the most consistent questions we get from new clients: do I need an architect for this? The honest answer for the vast majority of Queensland residential projects is no — a QBCC-licensed building designer can do it. The reason most people don't know this is partly historical and partly that the two professions occupy a deliberately blurry middle ground. Here's the clear version.
The Queensland licensing framework
In Queensland, "building designer" is a regulated title under the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC). There are three building design licence classes:
Building Design — Low Rise. Class 1 and Class 10 buildings; Class 2–9 up to two storeys and a 2,000 m² floor area limit.
Building Design — Medium Rise. As above, plus Class 2–9 up to three storeys and a 3,000 m² limit.
Building Design — Open. No height or floor area restriction — the practitioner can prepare plans and specifications for buildings of any height or floor area, and administer their own designs through contract administration.
Midlight holds the Open licence. Practically, that means there is no Queensland residential project, and very few Queensland commercial projects, that fall outside our legal scope.
"Architect" is a separately regulated title under the Board of Architects of Queensland via the Architects Act 2002. To call yourself an architect in Queensland, you must hold a registered architect's qualification (typically a five-year accredited architecture degree plus two-plus years of practice and a professional exam). The title is protected; the function — designing buildings — is not.
What only an architect can do
There is no class of building in Queensland that legally requires a registered architect. The Architects Act regulates the use of the title, not the practice. The few situations where an architect is functionally required:
Some heritage-listed projects where conservation management plans must be prepared by a registered architect.
Some government tenders that specify architectural registration as a procurement requirement.
Some commercial leases or institutional projects where the client's brand or compliance regime requires architect involvement.
For 95% of Queensland residential builds, renovations, and small-to-medium commercial projects, the choice between architect and building designer is a choice, not a requirement.
The cost and timeline difference
Generalisations are dangerous here, but the broad pattern:
Architect fees on a custom home typically run 8–15% of construction cost, sometimes higher for highly bespoke or award-aimed work.
Building designer fees for equivalent scope typically run 4–8% of construction cost.
Timeline — building designers typically deliver documentation faster, partly because the firms are smaller and the process is leaner, partly because architects tend to spend longer at concept development (more iteration, more drawings).
Neither approach is "better" in isolation. They serve different briefs. An architect typically over-delivers on design ambition and documentation depth; a building designer typically over-delivers on cost certainty, timeline, and pragmatic compliance navigation. A skilled practitioner in either profession can deliver a great house. A poor practitioner in either profession can deliver a bad one.
When we'd say "you want an architect"
Three scenarios we point clients toward the architect path:
Heritage-significant or formally listed buildings where conservation management is in scope.
Highly bespoke residential work with no precedent — clients chasing a particular architectural language, willing to invest in long iteration, comfortable with a 15–24-month brief-to-DA timeline.
Multi-residential or commercial projects with complex programmatic briefs where the design problem isn't fully formed at the start.
When we'd say "a building designer is the right call"
The bigger residential field. Custom homes with a clear brief. Renovations and extensions to existing houses. Secondary dwellings. Splitter blocks. Townhouse and small-multi developments. Bayside investment houses. Most Brisbane character renovations. Anything where the project value is under $2 million and the brief is clear: a building designer will usually deliver an excellent outcome on a faster timeline at lower fee.
What licence-checking gets you
The QBCC licence isn't decorative. It carries:
Mandatory professional indemnity insurance — typically $2 million minimum cover.
QBCC dispute resolution access if something goes wrong on the project.
Documented qualification and continuing professional development.
You can search the QBCC licence register for any practitioner. If they don't hold a current QBCC building design licence, they're not legally permitted to advertise as a building designer in Queensland and you have no licensing recourse if the work goes wrong. Always check.
The five-year horizon
Two trends to expect: continued tightening of CPD and insurance requirements at the licence level (which is good — it raises the floor), and continued blurring of the architect / designer line in marketing, especially online. The protected title still matters; the practical scope difference is small for most residential clients. Pick the practitioner whose work you respect and whose pricing fits the project, and worry less about the title on the business card.
If you'd like to talk through whether a building designer or an architect is the right fit for your project, get in touch.
By Ashton Genrich — Building Design — Open, QBCC 15387939