Professionalisation and the role of meta-regulation

How can occupations in the building industry harness and demonstrate professional qualities that contribute to better governance, higher standards, and regained public trust? Professional associations have a strong interest in answering this question, as they seek to advance the interests of their members. Where an occupation embraces professionalisation, its association can emerge as a regulatory body to establish and enforce the expectations of competence and conduct of its members. This is a form of self-regulation where professional peers establish and monitor professional standards. In this role, professional associations are sometimes conceived of as operating between the state and market modes of regulation. This chapter draws from the Professional Standards Councils’ experience and the literature to examine the developmental role and impact of professional standards (self- and meta-) regulation. It sets out how self- and meta-regulation contribute to proficiency and accountability in professional practice and addresses how professional standards schemes can fortify efforts to rebuild public confidence in the high-rise apartment building industry. The chapter demonstrates how these self-regulatory strategies can reinforce statutory regulation and contribute to consumer protection, self-sustaining professionalisation, better governance, and more trustworthy practice.