WHY CHOOSE AN AAPC MEMBER?

Under existing trade practices, there is no legal obligation for consultants providing planning services to hold a formal town planning qualification.

Instead, it is incumbent upon prospective clients to make their own enquiries, and satisfy themselves that the consultant holds recognized town planning qualifications, is correctly insured, adheres to a code of conduct, or maintains continuous professional development.

Choosing a Town Planning practice that is a member of the Australian Association of Planning Consultants assures a standard of professionalism, knowledge, experience and behavior.

Under its Constitution, the AAPC requires all member practices to be represented by a Director or Senior Planner who is a corporate member of the Planning Institute of Australia, and consequently holds appropriate tertiary level town planning qualifications, and/or has gained a recognized level of experience as a practicing town planner.

In addition, all AAPC members are bound by a Code of Conduct, which requires ethical and professional behaviour by the practice.

DOWNLOAD AAPC CODE OF CONDUCT >>>

 APPOINTING A PLANNING CONSULTANT

The roles and responsibilities of Consulting Planners have increased considerably in recent years, now requiring a greater breadth of knowledge and expertise to navigate new layers of policy, legislation and practice in the context of growing community expectations and needs.

 For example, some recent trends include:

• A growing requirement to address detailed planning (and associated) matters at early stages of a project;

• A significant increase in statutory documentation requirements;

• Greater pre-consultation requirements with referral agencies, stakeholders and planning authorities; and

• A growing need to address previously peripheral issues such as employment strategies and sustainability, especially at early stages of planning.

These factors have increased the level of difficulty experienced by Consultant Planners and their clients in scoping briefs, budgets, and estimating fees.

The AAPC therefore recommends that when engaging a Planning Consultant, a contractual appointment should be made in writing, with an agreed brief, terms, conditions and fees clearly set out.

As the planning profession is deregulated, there is no industry standard for the engagement of consultants, nor schedule of fees for planners or urban designers. The marketplace determines the contractual arrangements of any given project, including rates and fees.

Nonetheless, for the convenience of member practices and their existing or prospective clients, a generic sample of a Professional Services Agreement is available for reference in the drafting of individual engagement contracts. The sample Professional Service Agreement is provided for information only, and should not be regarded in any way as binding on AAPC members.

DOWNLOAD SAMPLE PROFESSIONAL SERVICE AGREEMENT HERE >>>

FEES

Fees charged by AAPC members are a commercial matter between the member and their clients and are outside of the AAPC’s jurisdiction.

Fees will vary based on many factors, including the nature and complexity of the service being provided and the practice's costs and overheads.

For convenience and reference, the AAPC has consulted with its constituent members to ascertain current industry levels for service costs and consulting fees.

The resulting Fees Indicators (refer Schedule E of the sample Professional Service Agreement) represent a reasonably accurate reflection of current costs and charges used by planning practices. The AAPC makes available these Indicators for reference in preparing and considering budgets and estimates.

The Fees Indicators are not to be regarded as binding or obligatory in any way.

Send mail to info@aapc.org.au with any questions or comments regarding this web site.
Last modified: 28-Feb-2006