KieranHindley

Dear all,

I will be flying to Sydney on the 31st of January on a WHV. I have graduated from university this summer with a 1st in an RICS accredited building surveying degree and I am looking to get some form of work experience in Australia. I understand that term "building surveying" is different in Australia to that of the UK.

I was just wondering what area will be closest to that of a building surveying in the UK?
How likely are companies willing to give me work experience given the degree won't match?

P.S. I enjoyed mainly dilapidations, party wall act disputes, landlord and tenant law, and surveying the most.

Thanks, ALL!!

verystormy

Pretty unlikely. You can only work for an employer for 6 months, so they wont be interested in investing in training. Hence on a WHV people generally do things like bar work / restaurant work

KieranHindley

Hi, thank for the reply!

Yes, I understand that. I should have specified, I am looking for one week or maybe two of unpaid work experience or work shadowing.

verystormy

To be honest I think even that would be hard.

First, although I don't know the detail differences, but it is easy to think there will be big ones. For example, buildings are built different. In many areas for example there are no foundations laid. Roofs are often tin and even things like plastering are different.

Also many different issues. For example one of the biggest issues building face is destruction by boring insects.

Also, the use of surveyors is very different and not as wide spread as there often not needed for house purchases.

Couple all this with Australian grads desperate for experience.

scrubbedexpat020

Oceania staff contacts

Contact RICS and ask them if they have any suggestions.

Toe Dipper

As a trained building surveyor I can help out here.

I agree with others that employers will be reluctant to help out on such a short term basis, even if unpaid.

On the question of similar roles, the UK building surveyor is not the same as an Australian version. Here they are known as certifiers, i.e. confirm that building works are in compliance with DA approvals (aka planning approval) and the Building Code of Australia (like the Building Regs)

Party walls? - forget it, they operate up to the boundaries, not sharing (may be different in Victoria & NSW)

Dilapidations? - not as strict as the UK form and this term often just means a schedule of condition

Surveying? - this means land surveying here, not building surveying as engineers are used for this specialisation

Not sure on landlord & tenant, as I hated this part and avoided it like the plague

Unless you want to be a certifier, then your best bet is to look towards project management (either from the client or contractor side.) However, there will be a reluctance to consider you without a track record, and you may have to become a site manager, but this needs certification

To be honest, I think you have two options:

either get a bit of experience behind you in the UK, or take a punt, come over and contact every large surveying practice you can and hope that they have a Pom there who can grasp your position. (What have you got to lose?)

Oh, and one last thing, when looking at Australian build quality, think of a blindfolded tradesman following the drawings he left in the ute and you might get the drift of Australian build quality!!!

Best of luck

TD