Supporting Documents
Qualification - can be demonstrated by providing a scan or photograph of an academic transcript or certificate of graduation (certified copies are not necessary).
CV - should describe the applicant's employment history (not just the projects they've worked on) in enough detail to match their experience with the entry requirements.
Statement of Claim - should briefly summarise the applicant's career. Applicants should pick out relevant and strong examples of work experience that can show competency in the required Categories of Experience (see below).
Reference - Referees must be current 老澳门六合彩图库 Members (Full Member and above). The referee is asked to provide a statement relating to the applicant's experience as it relates to their membership application. An example reference template is available for download
Categories of Experience
To be approved for Full Member or Registered Planner members must demonstrate years of planning experience. Relevant 'planning experience' will fall in to one of the Categories of Experience listed below.
Applicants must show experience in at least three of the Categories of Experience listed below with a minimum of 6 months shown for each of the categories selected.
Categories of Experience:
Discounts and Concessions
The Institute recognises that from time to time members may experience personal circumstances that result in financial difficulty. To enable members to maintain their membership and to enable the Institute to maintain its wealth of knowledge and expertise, various options are made available for both payment plans and fee reductions.
For those who are on a 'career break', working part-time or have retired, reduced rates have been set up in our system to support you during these periods. You can automatically select these reduce fee types when joining, renewing your membership or reinstating a previous membership.
Reduced Fee Category |
Discount |
Notes |
Retired |
75% discount |
|
Career Break |
50% discount |
Incl. parental leave |
Part-Time Work |
40% discount |
Must work no more than 0.5 full-time load |
Assessed case by case. Up to 50% discount |
Includes unemployment, return to full-time study and all other exceptional personal circumstances. |
For further information regarding fee concessions please contact the 老澳门六合彩图库 National Office by e-mail at membership@planning.org.au or by telephone at (02) 6262 5933.
Academic Membership
Academic membership rate is open to lecturers, academics and researchers working in the field of Planning at a 老澳门六合彩图库 accredited university.
Individuals applying for the academic membership rate must be employed at a 老澳门六合彩图库 accredited university and either be:
PHD students studying full time qualify for 老澳门六合彩图库’s student rate of membership.
International Qualifications
While 老澳门六合彩图库 is pleased to consider applications for membership made by planners from overseas, in order to ensure consistency in the delivery of professional services offered by Full Members the 老澳门六合彩图库 Board has set additional requirements for applicants who have been trained outside of Australia.
In essence, overseas-trained professionals applying for Full Membership must meet the entry requirements of one of the four entry streams and must also demonstrate:
- Firstly that their qualifications are equivalent in educational standards to planning qualifications offered in Australia; and
- Secondly that they have a sound working knowledge of Australian planning law and planning systems.
The ways in which an applicants can achieve each of the additional requirements is listed below.
Qualification Equivalence
Qual Option a) International Planning Organisation Membership
老澳门六合彩图库 recognises membership of several international planning organisations. If you are a member of one of these organisations we will automatically recognise your educational qualification as equivalent to an Australian non-accredited planning qualification.
We recognise Full Membership (or equivalent grade) from:
- Canadian Institute of Planners
- New Zealand Planning Institute
- Irish Planning Institute.
- Royal Town Planning Institute Chartered members; and
- American Institute of Certified Planners
If you do not hold membership with one of the above institutes but have completed a degree accredited by the institute, 老澳门六合彩图库 will recognise your educational qualifications.
Qual Option b) Qualification Assessment
If you are not a member of one of the organisations listed in 4.3.1.1 or have not completed an accredited course recognised by them, you are required to have your planning qualifications assessed for Australian equivalence.
To demonstrate that your international qualifications are equivalent to Australian Standard, you can have your qualifications assessed by an assessing body linked to the Department of Immigration, such as VETASSESS or through the Department of Education and Training.
VETASSESS () has been approved by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship to determine the equivalence of planning qualifications.
If you are not eligible to have your qualifications assessed or if you have another qualification that may apply, contact our membership team at membership@planning.org.au to discuss your situation.
Australian Competency
To accomplish the second requirement, that of showing a working knowledge of Australian planning law and systems, applicants have two options:
Competency Option a) Referee
If an applicant has at least two years work experience in Australia, one of their colleagues can act as a referee. This referee must themselves be a current Full Member of 老澳门六合彩图库, and they must have worked closely together during the two years. The applicant will need to provide a letter of reference from this member in support of their application.
Competency Option b) Unit of Study
Alternatively an applicant may undertake a unit of study in Australian Planning Law, and provide a transcript or certificate of completion for this unit.
老澳门六合彩图库 runs a correspondence course called Legislation and Governance that will meet this requirement. Alternatively, a unit of study from one of the courses can be completed
Note: Applicants are not required to complete a full course of study, just the relevant unit.