why perth? simply because of location?

A few reasons. I have family over in Perth, my girlfriend has work lined up over there and its an excellent place to be at the moment in terms of new architecture. Alot of development is occuring. It seems to be a great place to learn.

donaldson and warn
iredale pedersen hook

oh and chk out
bernard seeber

iredale pederson hook do some really nice work

large firms like Cox or JCY are always looking for people

bunch of cox! i say.

what sort of salary can be expected as an intern in these kind of practices? is there any difference between perth and sydney/melbourne?

this always depends on what you expect as an "intern"

"interns" from many northern european countries, who are obliged to take a year out to work, are subsidized by their schools/governments to work overseas. is this your situation?

or what are your skills? do you have office experience? if so, and assuming you have all the necessary working papers, you will be paid as much as any australian candidate with the same experience. if they can live on these rates, then you should be able to.

as could be expected, salaries are highest in Sydney, as cost of living is highest in Sydney. Melbourne would be next.

that said, there is a large "boom" going on in Australia in general, and particularly in Western Australia and Queensland, fueled by the minerals and resources industries. they are desperate in many places for 'workers' of any kind. might not be interesting architectural work, but there are jobs going begging.

in the major centres of Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane, there are not enough experienced architects and documenters to go around, so the wages are still moving upwards.

but as an intern, you have to be able to offer something. or else, then take what is on offer and enjoy the experience. after all, that is usually what it means to be an intern.

no, students from my school / country arnt subsidized, cos its considered normal to get paid for that sort of work, also if your "just" an intern.. you'll probably get enough to survive.
that is probably why i asked in the first place, right?.. cos if there is nothing (which could be the case, you hear a lot of stories..) i'd have to give up that idea of doing an internship in australia.

i know money is a sort of 'bad' topic, as an architect, as an intern even more. and i agree, its the experience what is most important and all, but after all youre working and being productive (hopefully as an intern as well) and i think your work should be rewarded. uhm apparently thats the case anyway..just want to make clear why i asked :)

dlb thanks a lot for that info, really appreciate your long answer.

i am not saying you won't be paid anything.

i don't know of any office in Australia that operates without paying at least a minimum wage. but it may only be enough to survive on - not much extra spending or traveling money.

so you would likely have to pay your way over and not necessarily make enough to pay for the flight home. but you should be able to make enough to get by on.

again, it really depends on what you can offer an office. if you have absolutely no skills (CAD, model-making, graphic work, research ability) then you will be doing errands and filing, or inputing data on projects or drawings.

cost of living in Perth should still be good - if you can find a place to stay that doesn't require much traveling and is reasonable.

i think my school is ok (at least that's what i was told), i think we learn something there. also in the last internships i did (eventhough they were rather short) i could usually participate in some design process. so i think i can offer more than just making coffee.

again, thanks a lof for commenting

you might run into trouble with visas, the typical working holiday visa (which is easiest to get as a studnet) will only allow you to work in one place for six months, otherwise you have to be a skilled worker or sponsored to work in australia

saying that i was there last year and while i didn't end up working in an office (couldn't be bothered really) my friend did and got along fine. he could support himself in sydney on what he was paid (can't exactly recall) and none of us found the cost of living too bad (saying that we do normally live in one of the most expensive cities in europe so ... )

i would definitly advise having a good wodge of money before you go, enough to pay for the first month or so of rent, deposit and cheap living.

and make sure to set aside some travel time ... truly one of the most beautiful places in the world.

I'm Malaysian and currently seeking the opportunities to do my internship programme in Australia this year. May I know which parts of Australia are the best options for me doing internship about six months? This surely would be great for me to have information regarding this.