Ever wish there was a handy reference guide to explain to clients exactly what it is you do as a designer? The DIA have formed a Working Group to focus on the upcoming review of the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) framework. The group will be conducting interviews, running surveys and co-facilitating a Town Hall session with the ABS over the coming months.

What is this about?

The design industry always has, and always will be, constantly evolving to not only meet the changing requirements of our communities but to also refine benchmarks and define new ways of delivering outstanding results.

Given the constant changes across the profession, new domains of design enquiry and practice have emerged since the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) first developed the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) framework in 2006 (with partial revisions in 2009, 2013 and 2019). 

In 2023 the ABS will be reviewing the ANZSCO classifications and there is an opportunity for the DIA to represent the needs of the design industry during this review period. The DIA will provide the review with suggestions to refine existing categories of design occupations, and add new categories, to represent the current state of design work being undertaken across the nation.

DIA have formed a Working Group to focus on this opportunity and is:

• exploring the opportunity to develop new classification descriptions for designers working in the service/experience/strategic/human-centred design domains, and

• considering requirements to potentially revise existing classifications and skill levels (Interior Designer, Industrial Designer, Graphic Designer, Fashion Designer, Textile Designer, Set/Exhibition Designer, Jewellery Designer, Multimedia Designer, UI/UX Designer).

Outlined below is the DIA Working Group advocacy plan in response to ABS 2023 Review of the ANZSCO profiles relating to existing design disciplines. New and emerging design disciplines will be included in the DIA comprehensive report.

What will the DIA’s Working Group do?

The Working Group has been established by the DIA and is reporting to the CEO, Jo Kellock. It is chaired by Dr Laura Kostanski, and members include Simon Goodrich and David Robertson AM.

The Working Group will deliver the following in early 2023 (dates to be confirmed):

• Suite of professional design occupation descriptions relevant for ANZSCO classification for the next decade (ie suggested changes to existing profession descriptions, and details of new profession descriptions to be put forward for inclusion),

• Alignment of professional design occupation descriptions and skill levels with other existing codes (referencing work undertaken previously by DIA),

• Initial evidence of design-industry demand for, and support of, the design occupation descriptions (ie interview/survey results, testimonials, case studies from practitioners, educators, government agencies, client networks),

• Description of employment numbers (via broader DIA industry survey to be released in February), and

• Recommendations on tools and methods to engage in the ABS review process (ie strategic engagement and advocacy plan).

How can designers be involved?

The Working Group will be conducting interviews, running surveys and co-facilitating a Town Hall session with the ABS over the coming months. If you would like to learn more, and potentially participate, please provide your contact details using the form here, and we’ll connect with you as opportunities arise.

Further information is available by contacting the working group directly at admin@design.org.au 

Why are the Working Group looking at service/experience/strategic/human-centred design disciplines?

It should be noted that the Working Group is referring to “service/experience/strategic/human-centred design domains” as a catch-all for the various job roles which have emerged in the design industry over the past 15-20 years. While it is tempting to just refer to “service design” or “experience design” as the focus of Working Group activities, we are aware that sometimes practitioners provide one or both of these services, along with additional design services, to their clients. 

As the definition of these jobs is a core focus of the Working Group, it is not being pre-supposed that there will only be the need to define “service design” and/or “experience design” professions. Thus, the Working Group will need to consider the full range of available terminology and make recommendations on what can be classified as a design profession and what it should be referred to as.

Why is it important to potentially add new design classifications to ANZSCO?

Service/experience/strategic/human-centred designers have described anecdotally a series of concerns they currently face. These concerns include, but are not limited to:

• There are many international and local definitions of service/experience/strategic/human-centred design disciplines, but none which officially represent a collective Australian-designer informed perspective (which leads to confusion amongst the general population about what these roles are and the services which are offered), 

• Multiple government policies, strategies and programs targeting workforce participation and education offerings can overlook, or underestimate, the needs of these design disciplines (which leads to incomplete job-pathway descriptions for aspiring professionals and an inability for students to differentiate between educational programs in the market),

• It can be difficult to succinctly describe to others what this work involves (which leads to inordinate amounts of time being spent in client meetings describing the basic components of the profession, and hampers the ability of design agencies to differentiate the quality and impact of their service offerings in the marketplace),

• It is hard to recruit people for new jobs at all levels of expertise (which leads to agencies either not attracting the skills they require to deliver services, and/or spending a lot of resources to provide on-the-job training for new recruits), and

• Many resources are consumed in developing educational offerings for these design disciplines and current market offerings are varied (which leads to difficulty both in ensuring future workforce-ready graduates; and, in offering practitioner accreditation and ongoing professional development to distinguish the quality of marketplace service offerings).

There are no doubt many nuances to these concerns, and additional concerns shared amongst practitioners. The Working Group will need to explore and define the full scope of concerns as part of their activities. Documenting this list of concerns will enable the DIA to establish an evidence base and sound rationale for the recommendations to go forward to the ABS review of ANZSCO.

What are the current ANZSCO 232 design classifications?

ABS identify 9 design-related occupations. Falling under the 9 occupations are 17 specialisations and 8 alternative titles e.g., Exhibition Designer is a specialisation of Graphic Designer and Product Designer is an alternative title to Industrial Designer.

• Interior Designer (ANZSCO 232511)

• Industrial Designer (ANZSCO 232312)

• Graphic Designer (ANZSCO 232411)

• Fashion Designer (ANZSCO 232311)

• Textile Designer (ANZSCO 232312)

• Set/Exhibition Designer (ANZSCO 232411)

• Jewellery Designer (ANZSCO 232313)

• Multimedia Designer (ANZSCO 232414)

• UI/UX Designer (ANZSCO 261113)

Refer to the attached Career Comparison – Design Sector document for further details and market insights into the design occupations.

What other frameworks might the Working Group need to refer to?

In reviewing ANZSCO, the Working Group may also consider where relevant:

• Australian Skills Classifications

• The International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO)

• Australian Research Council research classifications

• Australian Qualifications Framework

• Frameworks and definitions provided by international design organisations, including the World Design Organisation, UK Design Council etc

• Standards Australia advisory groups

To participate, please provide your contact details using the form here, or for further information you can contact the working group directly at admin@design.org.au