A drafter produces the technical drawings a project gets built from. In Perth residential building, “drafter” and “draftsman” describe the same job and the words are used interchangeably. The word only means something different once you step outside building, into mechanical, electrical and civil work, where a drafter specialises in one discipline.

Drafter vs Draftsman: Is There a Difference?

For residential building in Western Australia, no. A drafter and a draftsman do the same work, produce the same drawing set and lodge the same applications. “Drafter” is simply the shorter, more modern term, and it turns up more often in engineering firms and job ads than on the front of a residential practice.

Outside building, it does start to mean something. That is worth ten seconds of your time.

Where the word came from

“Draughtsman” is the original British spelling, “draftsman” the American one, and Australia has drifted from the first to the second over the past forty years. “Drafter” arrived later again, partly as a shorter form and partly because it works for anyone. Government job classifications and TAFE course names tend to use “drafter” or “draftsperson” for exactly that reason.

There is a longer history of the two spellings on our draughtsman page.

When “drafter” does mean something specific

In engineering, drafters specialise, and the specialisation matters far more than the job title.

Type of drafter	What they draw	Would they help with your house?
Architectural or building drafter	Homes, patios, sheds, extensions, unit developments	Yes. This is the one you want
Structural drafter	Steel and concrete detailing, working from an engineer’s design	Only alongside your engineer
Civil drafter	Roads, drainage, earthworks, subdivision engineering	Only on a subdivision
Mechanical drafter	Machinery, parts, manufacturing components	No
Electrical drafter	Switchboards, cable routes, electrical layouts	No

Hiring a mechanical drafter to draw your patio is a real thing that happens, usually because someone found a cheap quote and the word matched. They can draw beautifully and still have no idea what your council needs to see.

What a Residential Drafter Does in Perth

A residential drafter takes what you want to build, tests it against the rules that apply to your lot, draws it to scale, and prepares the documentation your local government assesses and your builder prices. In Perth that covers everything from a front fence through to a three-unit development.

The drawing is the visible half. The compliance work is the half you are actually paying for.

The drawing set

A typical residential set includes a site plan showing boundaries, setbacks and levels, floor plans, elevations from every side, sections cut through the building, and the construction details and specifications a building surveyor needs. It is drawn in CAD and BIM.

That set has two readers with different priorities. Your council wants to know whether it complies. Your builder wants to know what to order and how to build it. A set that satisfies one and not the other is a set you will pay to have redone.

The compliance work underneath

Every residential proposal in WA is measured against the Residential Design Codes, which cover boundary setbacks, open space, visual privacy, overshadowing and building height. Your local government’s own planning policy sits over the top and can be stricter. The National Construction Code then governs how the thing is actually built. There is a full explainer on the R-Codes.

On a tight lot those rules collide, and the job becomes deciding which one to design around and which one to seek a variation against. The codes give you a deemed-to-comply pathway, where you meet the stated numbers, and a design-principles pathway, where you do not meet a number but show the proposal still achieves what the rule intends.

Knowing which pathway a problem sits on, and being able to write the justification, is what separates a drawing set that gets through from one that comes back.

Do You Need a Drafter, a Building Designer or an Architect?

Hire a drafter for residential documentation. Hire a building designer  when you know roughly what you want but not how it should be arranged on the block. Hire an architect for large commercial work and multi-storey buildings, where the registration and the scale genuinely call for one.

We will say that plainly even though it sometimes works against us. If your project needs an architect, we will tell you when you call.

The line is not about ambition or budget. It is about what the building is and what registration it requires. An architect is registered under the Architects Act, carries different professional indemnity and charges accordingly. Paying those rates to document a patio is money you will not get back. Full comparison here: architect vs draftsman.

There is a fourth role people confuse with all three. A building surveyor assesses drawings against the codes and issues the certificate of design compliance. Not someone you hire to draw. Someone who checks what was drawn.

How Much Does a Drafter Charge in Perth?

Hourly rates around Perth run roughly $60 to $100. We work on fixed prices instead, quoted before we start, which for most residential jobs lands somewhere between $750 and $6,990 + GST.

Treat that as a rough guide rather than a price list, because every project is different. A patio on a lot with a current survey and good council records prices differently to the same patio next door with neither.

The full project-by-project guide, plus the third-party costs that sit outside a drafting fee (engineering, energy assessment, soil test, certification, survey), is on the main drafting page. Those extras are the source of most price shock in this industry and they are worth reading before you accept any quote.

How to Hire a Drafter in Perth

Ask these four questions, whatever the person calls themselves.

1. Have they drawn your type of project for your council? Local planning policies differ. Someone who has lodged in your council before knows what that assessor expects to see.
2. Is the price fixed or hourly? A fixed price quoted upfront means they have scoped the job rather than hoping.
3. Do they lodge the submission, or just hand you drawings? Often the difference between a stressful month and a quiet one.
4. What is not in the fee? Engineering, energy efficiency reports, soil assessments, surveys and certification are usually separate consultants. Ask early.

A quote that cannot answer question four is not a quote. It is an opening bid.

Looking for a Drafting Job Instead?

Some people searching “drafter” are after a career rather than a service, so to save you scrolling: drafting in WA is usually entered through a Certificate IV in Building Design or Residential Drafting at TAFE, and pay tends to track experience and software rather than qualifications.

We do not publish job listings on this page. If you are after work, get in touch directly rather than through the quote form.

Drafter: Frequently Asked Questions

Is a drafter the same as a draftsman?

In residential building, yes. Same role, same drawing set, same approvals. Draughtsman, draftsman, draftsperson and drafter are four words for one job. The distinction that matters is discipline: an architectural or building drafter is the one you want for a home project.

Can a drafter draw plans for council?

Yes. There is no licence required to prepare drawings in Western Australia. What is regulated is the approval process, where a registered building surveyor issues the certificate of design compliance and your local government issues the permit. Judge a drafter on whether their work gets through, not on a title.

Do I need a drafter or an engineer?

Usually both, doing different things. The drafter produces and lodges the documentation. Where a project needs structural certification, a structural engineer designs and signs off the structure. We coordinate that alongside the drafting and do not mark it up.

How long does a drafter take?

Allow about two weeks in the queue, one week to draw the concept set, then your revision rounds, then one week for the working drawings. Council assessment sits on top and runs on council’s clock. Most residential jobs are lodged four to six weeks after you engage us.

Do you work outside Perth?

Yes. We service Perth metro and regional WA. Regional councils apply the same codes with their own local policies over the top.