The Australian Standards are a set of documents that provide guidelines, specifications, and procedures to ensure products, services, and systems are safe, reliable, and consistent. They cover a vast range of industries, from building and construction to consumer goods, and are crucial for maintaining quality, promoting innovation, and protecting the public and environment.

While Australian Standards are currently funded through a user-pays model, making them freely accessible would have significant positive impacts, particularly for those related to public safety and essential industries. As RAA president, I have established a working group to support an advocacy approach to this issue which we feel is a barrier to positive outcomes in the built environments of regional communities in Australia.

Brent Dunn of Takt Studio for Architecture was part of the Founding Committee of the Regional Architecture Association (RAA) in 2021. Ideas about it had been circulating for a number of years prior to it starting, but it took the bushfires, floods, and pandemic to really show that it was time to reach out and connect regional architects.

Katharina Hendel of Takt Studio for Architecture joined the Regional Architecture Association (RAA) committee at its inception in 2021, driven by a passion for advocacy, networking, and improving support for regional practitioners. Having relocated to a regional area herself in 2010 to establish an architectural practice together with her partner and co-director, Katharina recognised a significant gap in the resources and professional networks available to architects outside metropolitan centres. She currently holds the role of vice president.

Marcus Piper is a founding committee member of RAA, on board from the moment he received a call from then-president Cameron Anderson back in 2021. As a non-architect, his initial motivations for joining the committee were the people, the professional and social engagement in the regions and his belief that design plays an important role in the way our regions are evolving.

​​​​​​​After close to five years of investing his time in the establishment and growth of RAA, Marcus is stepping down from the committee at the end of June 2025. On behalf of members, committee and the broader RAA network, we would like to thank him for his immense contribution to the organisation on all levels and wish him well for the future.

Renee McGuinn of LocalArchitect South Coast has been a RAA committee member since December 2023. Her initial motivation for joining came from her history of involvement in  industry committees which she always found to be fantastic platforms for creating meaningful change. Renee says “they also offer a strong sense of community—something that can be hard to come by when you're practicing in regional areas. At the time, there was limited support for regional architects from existing organisations, and the RAA felt like a promising step toward filling that gap. I wanted to be part of building that support network from the ground up.”

Integrated Design Group director Andrew Elia joined the RAA committee at the 2023 AGM.  Having been involved with the Country Division of the AIA since 2008, Andrew has really appreciated the RAA’s continued position giving a voice to regional architects, but also as an industry body, advocating for good outcomes for local communities.

Emily Knight of Sydney based Emily Knight Design has been a RAA committee member since November 2023, having been inspired to give back to an organisation that made her feel very welcome and whose events she particularly enjoyed attending. It follows that Emily’s biggest achievement in her time on the committee has been her contribution to the planning and smooth running of in person events.

Sarah Aldridge of Byron Bay practice SPACEstudio is currently in the role of secretary and has been on the committee since the RAA’s inception in 2021. As a committed regionalist, Sarah strongly believed there was a desperate need for a representative body for regional practitioners, recognising that advocacy on behalf of regional practitioners at governance level is essential to the sustainability of regional practice.