Make Design Count
Be counted. Be recognised.
The Design Institute of Australia has now closed its national survey to inform its submission to the Australian Bureau of Statistics for the 2027 update of the Occupation Standard Classification for Australia (OSCA).
We extend our sincere thanks to all who contributed. Your insights are critical in strengthening the evidence base that will shape how designers are recognised, supported and valued in Australia for years to come.
The DIA is now compiling and analysing the survey results, which will form a central part of our submission to the ABS, due on 24 April 2026.
This work represents an important step in ensuring the design profession is accurately understood and effectively represented at a national level.
If design isn’t counted, designers don’t count.
Most designers don’t spend much time thinking about how their profession is officially classified, but it matters.
In Australia, every occupation is recorded by the Australian Bureau of Statistics within a national framework called the Occupation Standard Classification for Australia (OSCA). This system is used by the government to understand what different professions do, how they contribute to the economy, and how they are recognised across education, migration pathways and workforce policy.
Design is currently included within the national workforce framework under Group 242 Design Professionals, yet occupation descriptions and task lists can lag behind contemporary practice and fail to reflect how designers work today. When classifications fall out of step with the profession, the consequences are subtle but far reaching: workforce data becomes inaccurate, education pathways drift from industry realities, emerging roles may not be recognised in migration settings, and funding and policy decisions are shaped by incomplete or outdated understandings of design practice.
This is why advocacy matters.