The Government Architects Network of Australia (GANA) was established in 2004 and has played an important role in connecting the government architects around the country. While each state and territory operates in a distinct political and legislative context, GANA provides a valuable network for resource-sharing and benchmarking. The following roundtable presents a snapshot of the current GAs’ roles. The discussion reveals the ongoing relevance of many of the issues identified by their GA counterparts in 2007 when these advisory roles were still relatively new, including the capacity to give independent advice, the impact of the machinery of government on access and influence, and the imperative to improve legislation to support better design outcomes.1 It also explores the capacity of GANA to offer a national voice on built-environment issues in the absence of a national architecture policy or a dedicated ministerial avenue to address the Commonwealth government.
— Susan Holden and Kirsty Volz
Susan Holden/Kirsty Volz: Can you please describe your role in government?
Abbie Galvin: The Office of the New South Wales Government Architect (GANSW) began in 1816 and was responsible for designing public building projects across the state. In 2016, on its two hundredth birthday, the office transitioned into one that provides strategic services to government rather than delivering projects. We currently sit in the Department of Planning and Environment. Our key purpose is to realize public value through great design, and we do that through policy, strategic research, design guidance and design advice. That advice is provided at many levels of government, and can be through direct communication or through design review and advisory panels, especially through the NSW State Design Review Panel, policy and planning reviews, design competitions, and the secondment of GANSW staff to other offices within
