General Benefits offered to members

PRACTICE MANUAL (Also refer 14)

• Free access to the electronic version of the practice manual is exclusive to SAIA paid-up members.

APIGIS (Also Refer 18)

• SAIA members are eligible to take out PI Insurance at competitive rates through the Architects Professional Indemnity Group Insurance Scheme (APIGIS).
• The scheme is constantly improving its services which are communicated directly to members.

BEPMEDS (Also Refer 28)

• Bepmeds is a restricted Medical Scheme exclusively available to built environment professionals.
• Benefits are adjusted annually responsive to member’s needs. The Scheme is very competitive with the more popular schemes on offer. They also communicate directly with members.

NATIONAL INTERACTION
SAIA represents its members on a variety of national bodies. These include amongst others:

• BEP Grouping (Built Environment Professions Grouping)
• CIDB (Construction Industry Development Board)
• CETA (Construction Education & Training Authority)
• GBC (SA) (Green Building Council of South Africa)

GOVERNMENT INTERACTION
SAIA consults with various government departments on issues affecting the profession. These include :

• NHBRC (National Home Builders Registration Council)
• DPW (Department of Public Works – Professional Liaison Group)
• Department of Housing
• Department of Arts & Culture
• Provincial Departments

INTERNATIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Members enjoy affiliation through SAIA’s membership of a number of international organisations, thereby ensuring that the profession keeps pace with global trends and facilitates interaction with the global community of architects. These include :

• UIA (International Union of Architects)
• CAA (Commonwealth Association of Architects)
• AUA (Africa Union of Architects)
• ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites)

CODE OF ETHICS (Also refer 17)

• Members are bound by the SAIA Code of Ethics. Adherence to this code enhances professional standing and should provide our clients with additional confidence.

EXCELLENCE IN ARCHITECTURE (Also refer 19)
SAIA promotes, acknowledges and markets excellence in architecture through :

• The Awards programme presenting Regional Awards of Architecture
• Awards to individuals, e.g. Research, Work of Social importance, Gold Medal and Medal of Distinction
• The endorsement of worthy competitions to stimulate architects’ creativity
• The coordination, design and execution of various exhibitions where the work of the Institute and its members are creatively and effectively communicated to the public, both locally and internationally

PUBLICATIONS (Also refer 20)
SAIA members enjoy free subscription to various publications. These include :

• Architecture South Africa
• Digest of South African Architecture
• SAIA Directory of Architects, listing all members
• National and Regional newsletters
  Numerous other publications are available at negotiated discounted rates.

REGIONAL SUPPORT STRUCTURE
Regional institute membership entitles professional and candidate architects to SAIA membership and all the benefits deriving therefrom. SAIA members have access to a decentralised support structure. The Regional Institutes’ aims are based on their individual mission statements, but the common intention is to :

• promote its members in the regions
• arrange social and educational events to stimulate interaction
• keep members informed of developments in the industry
• Regional membership

SACAP INTERACTION

• SAIA is actively engaged in interaction with SACAP aimed at maintaining a good working relationship
• SAIA is represented on the South African Council for the Architectural Profession. Members’ comments and concerns can therefore influence the formulation of SACAP policy and documents
• Regional Institutes host the SACAP Registration examinations at various venues throughout the country

CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (CPD) (Also refer 26)
SACAP introduced CPD as a requirement for renewal of registration as from 1 January 2007. SAIA is committed to assist national members achieve the required credits.

• 20% of the required number of credits is automatically awarded to national members (Category Three). SAIA secretariat will include a CPD statement to this effect with the annual end of financial year statements to national members
• Individual involvement in regional and national committees and management will score additional CPD credits (Category Three)
• SAIA validated Category One activities, e.g. lectures, workshops and courses are offered at a discount to members
• The ‘CPD in a nutshell’ info guide as hosted on the SAIA website provides answers to frequently asked questions about CPD

CCN INITIATIVE (Also refer 21)

• The share buying component of the Construction Communications Network (CCN) initiative is exclusively available to SAIA and ASAQS members.
• Dividends derived therefrom will benefit the shareholders

COLLEAGUE MENTORING

• Access to experienced colleagues within the membership of SAIA and on regional level can assist with advice relating to practitioner problems in a prompt and direct manner

PRACTICE MANUAL UPDATES

• Corporate members are entitled to an interactive fire-walled web-based version of the Manual which entitles them to regular updates as these become available.

JBCC DOCUMENTS

• JBCC documents are offered to SAIA Corporate members at a discount through the Regional Institutes. Discounted sales to others will be at the discretion of the Regions.

SAIA AGREEMENTS
The following SAIA agreements are available at a discount to SAIA members from SAIA and the Regional Institutes.

• SAIA Client/Architect Agreement
• SAIA Client/Principal Agent Agreement
• SAIA Jointprac Agreement
• SAIA Consultants working together Agreement
• PROCSA

APIGIS ADD-ONS

• APIGIS is constantly developing add-on benefits, in order to grow the business. Some of these will exclusively apply to SAIA Corporate members

EXCELLENCE IN ARCHITECTURE AT NATIONAL LEVEL
SAIA promotes, acknowledges and markets excellence in architecture for its Corporate members through :

• Corobrik SAIA Award of Merit
• Corobrik SAIA Award for Excellence
• SAIA Presidents Award

PUBLICATIONS
SAIA Corporate members enjoy preferential listing in the :

• SAIA Directory of Architects

CCN INITIATIVE

• Use of the software and related tools will aid in specification writing, documentation, preparation of documents and overall profitability that will directly benefit Corporate members

CORPORATE MEMBERSHIP CERTIFICATE

• The display of the SAIA Corporate membership certificate and subsequent styling of the practice will improve the professional image of Corporate members

TAX ADVANTAGES

• Corporate membership is a cost to the company in pursuit of income and is tax deductible
• Individual membership could be tax deductible only if paid through the Corporate practice