The New Zealand Registered Architects Board (NZRAB) has just announced that in January 2017 New Zealand and Australian architects will be able to access a new fast-track procedure for registering as architects in the United States of America.

This follows the New Zealand Registered Architects Board and the Architects Accreditation Council of Australia signing a Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) with the US National Council of Architectural Registration Boards.

The same fast-track procedure will be available to US architects wanting to be register in New Zealand or Australia.

Cross-border registration between Australia/New Zealand and participating US states and territories will be as of right for architects of good standing with at least three years professional experience post registration or licensing, though some participating US states and territories may want to do some additional checks.

NZRAB chair Warwick Bell commented: “This Australia USA New Zealand MRA will open the door to an expanding trade in architectural services across the Pacific. For a New Zealand practice, doing business in the United States will be easier, especially if the practice wants some senior staff to be able to work as registered/licensed architects in both locations. For an individual architect who is migrating this is a great thing too.

“The NZRAB already has fast-track cross-border registration arrangements with Singapore, Japan and Canada developed in the context of the APEC Architect Project. The Australia USA New Zealand MRA is different, however, in that it is a one-off arrangement that allows for a greater degree of openness,” Mr Bell concluded.

This new MRA does not change the automatic right to cross-Tasman registration for all Australian and New Zealand architects under the Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Arrangement.