Bachelor of Building Surveying

Name: Bachelor of Building Surveying
Price: <a href='#fees-and-scholarships'> Commonwealth supported place </a> AUD

VU course code: NBBS | Level of study: Undergraduate

ATAR

Not required

Duration

3 years full time or longer for part time

Delivery mode

Online Real Time

Fees

Commonwealth supported place

Location

Online

Next start date

28 July 2025

Application closes

20 July 2025

Overview

Gain the vital skills and knowledge to become an in-demand building surveyor with a Bachelor of Building Surveying at Victoria University (VU).

Prepare for critical roles improving the safety and quality of our built environment at the only university in Victoria offering a Bachelor of Building Surveying.

In this unique specialised building surveyor degree, you’ll develop your skills and knowledge online and in real-time, without the need for traditional classrooms or labs.

Graduate ready to work as a registered building surveyor, accredited by the Victoria Building Authority (VBA) and the Australian Institute of Building Surveyors (AIBS). As a degree-qualified building surveyor with three years of relevant work experience, you’ll be able to work on buildings of any size and height.

You’ll become a specialist in:

building and construction legislation and auditing
inspection procedures
building codes and regulations
industry standards in professional practice
building safety and design, including fire safety
sustainable construction techniques and materials.

Nearly every construction job needs building surveyors. With a current shortage of registered building surveyors in Australia’s growing construction industry, your in-demand skills will include:

assessing building plans and documents
providing independent oversight of construction work
checking that structures comply with legislation and relevant building codes
ensuring buildings are safe to occupy
confirming that buildings are energy efficient and accessible to all.

Enjoy the flexibility of studying this course 100% online, with just nine scheduled hours of classes per week.

: On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

Plan, implement and manage the delivery of efficient and effective building surveying strategies over the course of building construction processes in diverse contemporary contexts using independent thinking and professional judgement.

Generate innovative solutions for complex building surveying challenges that comply with relevant codes and standards and take account of technical innovations, ethical practices, and environmental sustainability;

Critically evaluate the sources and validity of various types of information and utilise established processes for effective information management;

Articulate and effectively advocate for building surveying objectives and outcomes to specialist and non-specialist stakeholders using a variety of professional forms of communication;

Exemplify collaboration, interpersonal and supervisory skills to positively influence personal work, community, and professional networks;

Exhibit ethical and cultural awareness and collaborative skills necessary for working within divergent global and Australian contexts; and

Exemplify responsibility and accountability for own learning and professional practice within the broad parameters of the building surveying industry.
: Everything you learn in your Bachelor of Building Surveying covers the latest, up-to-date knowledge informed by our industry partners, which include:
Hendry Group
McKenzie Group Consulting
Skip Consulting
Engineers Australia
The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning
VicRoads
Australian Institute of Building Surveying (AIBS)
National Measurement Institute
city councils for Melbourne, Brimbank, Hume, Maribyrnong and Kingston.
As a VU student, you’ll connect with our industry partners via regular real-world projects, learn from guest speakers, visit work sites, and attend industry expos.
: You’ll learn from committed academics with extensive industry experience, alongside construction management and building design students.
In third year, you’ll bring together everything you’ve learned in the course to focus on an applied real-world project sourced from an industry partner. Working within a small team, you’ll take responsibility for the design, planning and organisation of your project – setting yourself up for success in the workplace.

Entry requirements

When assessing your application, we consider your educational achievements and work experience, as well as your skills and personal attributes (where relevant).

Applicants for this course will need to meet the entry criteria outlined below. If you don’t meet the entry criteria, you may be able to gain entry by first completing a related course or unit(s). We call this a ‘pathway’.

You may also be eligible for course ‘credits’, where you are granted a unit or units towards your qualification for equivalent previous study or work experience, so you can graduate sooner.

ATAR requirements

No minimum ATAR required

This course does not have a minimum ATAR requirement for entry. Read the entry criteria for this course below.

Why ATAR is not applicable

You do not need an ATAR score to apply for this course. Instead, you need to have successfully completed secondary school and to meet any requirements outlined below. Our courses and support programs are designed to prepare students from diverse cultures for success, regardless of their ATAR, age, education or socioeconomic background.

Entry criteria

Minimum entry criteria include:

English-language requirements
academic requirements.

Your work and life experience will also be considered.

To find specific entry requirements for this course, please select the section below that is most relevant to you.

Meeting the minimum entry criteria does not guarantee entry into this course.

: This information is relevant if, in the 2 years prior to studying with us, you have completed (or will complete) one of the following:

Australian Senior Secondary Certificate (e.g. VCE)

an Australian or overseas equivalent to VCE

an International Baccalaureate (IB).

Admission criteria

Completion of an Australian Senior Secondary Certificate (VCE or equivalent) including Units 3 and 4: a study score of at least 25 in English (EAL) or 20 in any other English.
: This information is relevant if you have completed an accredited award (such as a certificate or diploma) at an Australian Registered Training Organisation (usually a TAFE, polytechnic or other registered VET institute).

Admission criteria

Completion of an Australian Advanced Diploma or Diploma (or equivalent).
OR:
Completion of the Certificate IV in Tertiary Preparation (or equivalent).
: This information is relevant if you’ve previously completed all or part of a university or other higher-education course.

Admission criteria

Full or partial completion of an Australian Higher Education award (or equivalent).
OR:
Completion of two units of Higher Education studies.
OR:
Completion of a bridging or enabling course eg. Foundation course or equivalent.
: This information is relevant if you left secondary school more than two years ago and haven’t studied since.

Admission criteria

Five years (minimum) work/life experience in Construction, Environmental Sustainability or similar.
OR:
Applicants that completed an Australian Senior Secondary Certificate more than two years ago.
PLUS:
Units 3 and 4: a study score of at least 25 in English (EAL) or 20 in any other English (or equivalent).
: Take a look at a student profile to get an overview of students who have previously enrolled in this course.

Applicant background Number of students Percentage of all students

(A) Past Higher Education Study
(includes a bridging or enabling course) 25 24.8%

(B) Past vocational education and training (VET) study 36 35.6%

(C) Recent secondary education
Admitted solely on the basis of ATAR
(regardless of whether this includes the impact of adjustment factors such as equity or subject bonus points)
<5 <5

(C) Recent secondary education
Admitted where both ATAR and additional criteria were considered
(e.g. portfolio, audition, extra test, early offer conditional on minimum ATAR)
NA NA

(C) Recent secondary education
Admitted on the basis of other criteria only and ATAR was not a factor
(e.g. special consideration alone, audition alone, schools recommendation scheme with no minimum ATAR requirement)
28 27.7%

(D) Work and Life experience NP NP

International students 0 0.0%

All students 101 100%

"<5" – the number of students is less than 5.
N/A – Students not accepted in this category.
N/P – Not published: the number is hidden to prevent calculation of numbers in cells with less than 5 students.

Special entry programs

Special admission programs

If you are from a disadvantaged or underrepresented social, economic or cultural background, you may be eligible for one of our special admission programs. These programs are designed to help you access education more easily.

Learn more about special admission programs

VU Early Entry

If you're currently in Year 11 or 12, our exclusive VU Early Entry program comes with a Conditional Offer to the course of your choosing*, a personalised course plan, special events, exclusive discounts and access to one-on-one course advice.

*Conditions apply.

Learn more about VU Early Entry

Credit & Entry pathways into this course

If you don’t meet the entry requirements for this course, there may be an alternative study ‘pathway’ to achieving your goal. In some cases, you may receive credit for your previous study or work experience, reducing the time it takes to complete your course.

You’ll find information about any pathways to higher qualifications that may be available to you after completing this course under the ‘careers’ section of this page.

Find out more about pathways at VU.

: If you have completed any of the following course(s), you will be guaranteed a place in this course.

Advanced Diploma of Building Design (Architectural)

96 credit points

Advanced Diploma of Building Surveying

96 credit points

Diploma of Building and Construction (Building)

96 credit points

Foundations at VU

Guaranteed entry only

International Foundations at VU

Guaranteed entry only

International Foundations at VU (Extended)

Guaranteed entry only
: Any study completed at another institution will be considered in your application. If you have completed any of the following course(s), you will be guaranteed a place in this course.

In some cases, you may receive credit for your previous study, reducing the time it takes to complete your course.

Diploma of Building and Construction (Building)

Builders Academy Australia, Australia | 96 credit points
: If you have completed study with another university or institution you may be eligible to receive credit for skills and past study.

Use our credit calculator to find out what credit you may be eligible for based on your previous studies.

Note that if your previous study can’t be found through the credit calculator, you may still be eligible for credit.

Units can be credited if they are part of the course structure for the course you are applying for. Please note that credits relating to prior VU subjects are automatically granted and no further action is required.

calculate your credit

Victoria University is committed to providing a transparent admissions process. Find out more about how to apply for our courses, and our commitment to admissions transparency. Meeting the minimum admission criteria does not guarantee entry into this course. Past academic performance may be considered.

Course structure

To attain the Bachelor of Building Surveying students will be required to complete 288 credit points consisting of:

96 credit points of First Year Core studies;
192 credit points of Professional Core and Capstone studies.

Units

Fees & scholarships

University fees vary, depending on how much the government contributes towards course costs (if anything).

Read below to find out about the fee ‘type’, the estimated yearly tuition costs for this course, and the financial support on offer (including our generous scholarship program).

Commonwealth supported place

A Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP) is subsidised by the government, reducing it to the amount listed here. Australian citizens, permanent residents and New Zealand citizens will qualify for a CSP place. If your course is not Commonwealth supported, or you don't qualify, you'll pay full fees.

Learn more about Commonwealth Supported Places

Fees

Scholarships

Careers

By qualifying as a registered building surveyor, you’ll be helping to address the huge skills shortage facing Australia as our building and construction industry continues to grow.

With a Bachelor of Building Surveying, you’ll be ready to work in construction, professional, scientific and technical services, or public administration and safety. According to the AIBS, you could earn a starting salary of $80,000, and as a fully-qualified building surveyor, you could earn up to $250,000 per year.

Enjoy the benefits of independent self-employment or working in the private and public sectors for employers such as:

building proprietors
contractors
developers
local, state or national government bodies
consultancy practices.

With a Bachelor of Building Surveying, you can work as a registered building surveyor with Victorian Building Authority (VBA) registration in the building surveyor (unlimited) class, and graduate membership of the Australian Institute of Building Surveyors (AIBS) with building surveyor (limited) registration.

Professional accreditation/Industry recognition

Australian Institute of Building Surveyors (AIBS)

This course is accredited by the Australian Institute of Building Surveyors (AIBS) to meet the educational requirements for Building Surveyor Level 2 registration with AIBS.

VU stories

Violetta Jakielaszek in front of a construction site holding a hard hat and a mobile phone

Surveying the path ahead

Building Surveyor

"I love my job – it’s so rewarding to work on building projects and think, wow, I was involved in that!"

Violetta's story

Search for a course

What are you looking for?

Suggestions

Courses and units

Bachelor of Building Surveying

Overview