The DIA’s Design Careers Awards Guide 2023 released
The DIA has released a new Practice Note titled Design Careers Awards Guide 2023. The publication is a crucial element of a larger DIA initiative to support designers of all disciplines in their career planning.
New DIA Practice Note on Employment Awards
After six months of research and legal advice, DIA has released a new Practice Note titled Design Careers Awards Guide 2023. Supported by a Creative Victoria Workers Fund grant, this resource is intended to help all designers and design managers across the country easily access information to enable them to understand their entitlements.
We are aware that the nature of a designer’s work arrangements is changing rapidly. Designers may be practicing outside of their discipline qualification from project to project and / or day to day. New design disciplines are emerging and where there is limited regulation, design practices are moving toward a multidiscipline model. Design teams are also working in corporations such as accountancies, banks, government agencies etc.
This resource is intended to help designers and designer managers access information with ease to enable them to understand their entitlements as an employee or their obligations as an employer. It does not replace the advice of the statutory authorities.
The guide covers all current occupation profiles across multiple design disciplines and their respective Employment Awards. It also outlines Australia’s Modern Award system which is overseen by the Fair Work Commission (FWC). The system is complex, which creates challenges.
In this first edition which will be reviewed annually or when required, we discuss your employee and employer rights and responsibilities as well as providing direct links to potential employment awards. Each discipline includes a description of award coverage, classification and other matters.
Which Design Disciplines are covered?
The disciplines covered are those that have (or are equivalent to) profiles defined in Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) which was jointly developed in 2006 by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Stats NZ and the then Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. Back then, under the Presidency of David Robertson AOM, DIA had considerable input into having designers recognised as a profession at Skill Level 1. Designers generally fall under the Minor Group ANZSCO 232 titled Architects, Designers, Planners and Surveyors.
Under these design occupations are subcategories and further specialisations e.g., Product Designer is an alternative title to Industrial Designer, Exhibition Designer is a specialisation of Graphic Designer. Some emerging design occupations e.g., Service Designers are not listed in ANZSCO and could (depending on the nature of their work) fall under UX Design or Product Design (as in digital products). The former being a subcategory of ANZSCO 2324 Graphic and Web Designers and Illustrators and the latter ANZSCO 2323 Fashion, Industrial and Jewellery Designers. If this sounds confusing, it is and it highlights the issues facing designers and design practices trying to work out where they fit.
So, we have done some of the navigating for you and have also set up a working group to make a submission to the 2023 ABS Review of Occupation Profiles for the design sector. Keep an eye out for further comms from DIA on this consultation process.
But for now, the disciplines covered in the Design Careers Award Guide include the above considerations and also take into account the makeup of the DIA membership. They include:
Industrial Design
Product Design
Architecture
Building Design / Architectural Drafting
Interior Design
Interior Decorating
Furniture Design
Graphic Design
Web Design
Multimedia Design
Digital Media
Service Design/ UX Design / UI Design
Television, Film & Theatre Set Design
Exhibition & Display Design
Fashion Design
Textile Design
Jewellery Design
Design Management
Design Education
The Design Careers Awards Guide is intended as a guide only on where to access information. It is not advice. We encourage DIA members and designers to seek professional legal advice if they have questions about their specific circumstances. Changes to Modern Awards happen as cases come before the courts and judgements are made.
DIA will be rolling out a series of workshops in 2023 on Employment Awards where designers will have to opportunity to ask an expert panel about questions in the guide.
The Design Careers Awards Guide has been produced with assistance from a Creative Victoria Workers Fund grant.
An online Q&A Information Session will be held on 14 March at 1pm AEDT.
The guide is FREE for DIA members and $29.95 plus GST for non-members.
Become a DIA Member or head to the Store to purchase.