The Architects Accreditation Council of Australia (AACA) lists all of the accredited courses by geographical location. The University of Canberra has the only accredited course in the capital. The State of New South Wales features four schools with accredited courses. They are the University of Sydney; University of New South Wales; University of Technology (Sydney); and University of Newcastle. Both the Queensland University of Technology and Queensland University offer accredited courses as do the University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia in that state. The University of Tasmania offers an accredited course, and Western Australia features two recommended schools. They are the University of Western Australia and Curtin University of Technology. Finally, in Victoria, the University of Melbourne, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Deakin University and Oceania Polytechnic all offer accredited programs.
Course durations vary from five years of full-time study to six years part-time study. Many accredited courses require students to undertake a year of work experience with an architectural business. This is often taken halfway through the program, splitting the theoretical and practical training into two separate sections. To receive accreditation from the Institute and State Board, a program must last at least five years.
The differences between the programs are often determined by their geographical location as different architecture is required in different places. Queensland, for example, has a tropical climate and courses are tailored to architecture suitable for such weather, and cities such as Sydney and Melbourne are more temperate. Some courses such as that at the University of Melbourne specialize in theory and academic excellence, and others offer a more practical approach. Different programs will suit different students.
Other programs do exist that offer training in architecture without leading to full accreditation by industry bodies. Charles Darwin University offers a three-year Bachelor of Design course that many students take before moving to Deakin University, entering on the fourth year of their program to complete their training. In addition, Monash University in Melbourne introduced an architecture program in 2008. The course has achieved a satisfactory initial assessment, the fist step in a three-stage process leading to full accreditation from the Australian Institute of Architects and the Victoria State Board.