{"id":5465,"date":"2025-03-12T20:58:05","date_gmt":"2025-03-12T20:58:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bespokecareers.com\/?p=5465"},"modified":"2025-03-12T21:03:36","modified_gmt":"2025-03-12T21:03:36","slug":"australian-architecture-design-industry-shows-strong-recovery-faces-diversity-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bespokecareers.com\/articles\/australian-architecture-design-industry-shows-strong-recovery-faces-diversity-challenges\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian architecture &#038; design industry shows strong recovery, faces diversity challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A new report by Bespoke Careers reveals significant shifts in Australia\u2019s architecture and design industry, covering workplace attendance trends, salary satisfaction, and diversity concerns.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bespokecareers.com\/articles\/australian-architecture-and-design-market-report-2025\/\">2025 Architecture and Design Market Report<\/a> provides a comprehensive snapshot of industry confidence, hiring trends, and key workforce priorities.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bespokecareers.com\/team-member\/lindsay-urquhart\/\">Lindsay Urquhart<\/a>, CEO of Bespoke Careers comments: \u201cThe past year has tested the resilience of businesses across architecture and design. Economic pressures, shifting workplace expectations, and an increasingly competitive talent market have all shaped today&#8217;s hiring landscape.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Despite these challenges, market confidence is growing. Workplace expectations continue to evolve, but with greater stability in the market, businesses have more clarity to plan ahead.<\/p>\n<h3>Key findings:<\/h3>\n<p>\u2022 1 in 5 practices increase in-office days<br \/>\n\u2022 Australians spend more time in-office than UK and US professionals<br \/>\n\u2022 Gender pay-gap in Australia nearly three times wider than the UK and US<br \/>\n\u2022 Women hold just 37% of leadership roles<br \/>\n\u2022 Sydney leads in wellbeing, while Melbourne lags<br \/>\n\u2022 Salary satisfaction improves dramatically post-pandemic<br \/>\n\u2022 Work-life balance and company culture more important than salary<br \/>\n\u2022 Contract roles on the rise as firms seek flexibility<br \/>\n\u2022 Sydney and Brisbane outpace Melbourne in salary growth<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Is 2025 a turning point for Australia\u2019s architecture and design industry?\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/SBNkj9l4Ugg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>1 in 5 practices increase in-office days<\/h3>\n<p>The report shows that 1 in 5 Australian architecture and design practices have increased office attendance over the past year, signalling a shift away from fully remote or hybrid models.<br \/>\nSydney leads this transition, with 37% of professionals working in-office five days per week, compared to 35% in Melbourne and 34% in Brisbane.<\/p>\n<h3>Australians spend more time in-office than UK and US professionals<\/h3>\n<p>On average, Australian architecture and design professionals spend 3.8 days per week in the office, 11% more than their UK and US counterparts, equivalent to slightly more than an extra day per fortnight.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond attendance, Australian professionals also show greater enthusiasm for office-based work, with an average preference of 3.14 days per week in-office, 13% higher than those in the UK and US.<\/p>\n<p>As Lindsay comments, \u201clonger lockdowns in the UK and US cemented hybrid work as the norm. In Australia, shorter lockdowns meant an earlier return to the office, reinforcing a stronger preference for in-person work. But the tide is shifting both here in Australia and overseas, with more employers now feeling confident to encourage greater in-office presence.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3>Gender pay-gap in Australia nearly three times wider than the UK and US<\/h3>\n<p>The report highlights significant gender pay disparities in the industry, with Australia\u2019s architecture and design sector reporting a 20.6% pay gap between men and women. This stark contrast is nearly three times higher than the gender pay gap in the UK (7.3%) and the US (8.7%).<\/p>\n<p>Brisbane has the widest gap at 24%, followed by Sydney at 20.6%, while Melbourne records a comparatively lower but still concerning 13% gap.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA 20% pay gap is a stark reminder that there\u2019s still work to be done,\u201d said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bespokecareers.com\/team-member\/luke-russo\/\">Luke Russo<\/a>, Manager at Bespoke Careers Brisbane. \u201cWhile progress is being made, closing this gap needs to remain a priority.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3>Women hold just 37% of leadership roles<\/h3>\n<p>The report also highlights gender disparity in leadership, with men holding 63% of senior roles in Australia\u2019s architecture and design industry. Sydney has the largest gender gap, with only 30% of leadership positions held by women, while Melbourne fares better at 46%.<\/p>\n<h3>Sydney leads in wellbeing, while Melbourne lags<\/h3>\n<p>The Wellbeing Index ranks Sydney highest at +25, with professionals reporting strong mental health support, fewer overtime hours, and a higher sense of feeling valued in their roles.<\/p>\n<p>Brisbane follows at +20, while Melbourne lags behind at +18, with lower job satisfaction despite ranking highest for career path satisfaction, suggesting optimism about future growth despite current workplace concerns.<\/p>\n<h3>Salary satisfaction improves dramatically post-pandemic<\/h3>\n<p>Salary satisfaction in Australia has made a significant recovery since 2021, when it hit a low of -25. In 2025, the national score is -1, indicating a more stable outlook. Sydney leads in salary satisfaction (+1), while Brisbane (-2) and Melbourne (-4) still show some dissatisfaction.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSalary satisfaction has steadily improved post-pandemic, reflecting renewed industry confidence,\u201d said Lindsay.<\/p>\n<h3>Work-life balance and company culture more important than salary<\/h3>\n<p>When it comes to changing jobs, work-life balance emerged as the top reason for Australian professionals, followed by company culture and flexibility. Salary, while still important, ranked below these factors in overall job priorities.<\/p>\n<p>For professionals over 35, company culture was the most significant reason for moving jobs, while those under 35 prioritised work-life balance.<\/p>\n<h3>Contract roles on the rise as firms seek flexibility<\/h3>\n<p>The report also identifies a rise in contract roles as firms seek more flexibility in hiring. Currently, 6.4% of the architecture and design workforce in Australia holds contract positions, with Brisbane leading at 10.53%.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs firms navigate market demands, contract workers are becoming an essential part of hiring strategies, offering agility and specialised expertise,\u201d said Lindsay.<\/p>\n<h3>Sydney and Brisbane outpace Melbourne in salary growth<\/h3>\n<p>Sydney and Brisbane saw higher-than-average salary increases compared to Melbourne, indicating strong demand for talent. Sydney\u2019s 5.59% salary growth was the highest, followed by Brisbane at 5.39%, while Melbourne lagged behind at 4.01%.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative; width: 100%; height: 0; padding-top: 56.2500%; padding-bottom: 0; box-shadow: 0 2px 8px 0 rgba(63,69,81,0.16); margin-top: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.9em; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 8px; will-change: transform;\"><iframe style=\"position: absolute; width: 100%; height: 100%; top: 0; left: 0; border: none; padding: 0; margin: 0;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.canva.com\/design\/DAGbiBAhURk\/qPqse5e5auNgAlyOHb7n9w\/view?embed\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><br \/>\n<\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New report reveals increased office attendance, improved satisfaction, while gender pay gap concerns persist<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":5403,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","footnotes":""},"categories":[21,68,69],"tags":[],"location":[],"class_list":["post-5465","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-employers","category-jobseekers"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bespokecareers.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5465","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bespokecareers.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bespokecareers.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bespokecareers.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bespokecareers.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5465"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.bespokecareers.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5465\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5503,"href":"https:\/\/www.bespokecareers.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5465\/revisions\/5503"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bespokecareers.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/media\/5403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bespokecareers.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bespokecareers.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bespokecareers.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5465"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bespokecareers.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/location?post=5465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}