GOVERNMENT + ARCHITECTS - Collaboration for Smarter Regional Public Works

WHEN 4.45-7.30pm, Thursday 16th April 2026

LOCATION Artie Smith Oval Pavilion on Yuin Country, 84 Cambewarra Rd, Bomaderry NSW

2 formal points available, performance criteria addressed are 3, 9, 23, 24, 44, 48 from the AACA National Standard of Competency for Architects 2021

RAA events are open to associated disciplines and interested community members as well as RAA members. This RAA event is free to attend, registration required.

RAA is pleased to announce its first Community Conversation, an evening in person event on the NSW South Coast that seeks to engage discussion amongst architects, government and industry leaders along with interested parties from the local area.

THE EVENT
Public procurement plays a critical role in shaping the quality of the built environment across regional NSW. This evening forum brings together government representatives, architects, and industry leaders to explore how procurement processes can better enable good design outcomes and fair access for regional practices.

Local Architect South Coast director and RAA treasurer, Renee McGuinn, will open the evening by reflecting on her firsthand experience navigating public procurement — a topic she explored in issue #1 of RAA’s publication Field: Architecture Gone Regional.

As Renee writes in her article In the Public Interest: “Clients I had worked with for nearly a decade told me I no longer had the ‘capacity’ to deliver their projects. So I started again from the bottom… At the same time, the rules of engagement were shifting.”

Her experience highlights a broader challenge facing regional practitioners — where access to public work is increasingly shaped by systems that don’t always reflect the realities of regional practice.

This event invites both architects and local government to unpack these challenges together and explore more responsive approaches.

Jillian Hopkins, registered architect and Director of Design Quality at the Government Architect of NSW will also join the conversation. She is a champion for good procurement practices in the design and delivery of public projects and has been a key contributor to the Sustainable Buildings SEPP, NSW Housing Pattern Book and the GANSW Strategy and Design Prequalification Scheme.

Danae Vitnell, Economic Development Manager at the Goulburn Mulwaree Council will present her perspective on the topic too, ahead of a roundtable discussion led by RAA president, Tim Lee. 

Attendees are invited to submit questions ahead of time by emailing info@regionalarchitecture.net.au

*Please note that event program and details are subject to change.