What & Who
What is Quantity Surveying?
Quantity Surveying (QS) is the professional discipline of measuring, valuing and managing the financial aspects of construction. The QS practitioner translates design drawings and specifications into a structured, auditable measure of work — the Bill of Quantities (BOQ) — and then administers the commercial life of the contract from tender award through to final account.
The discipline sits at the intersection of engineering, contract law, and commercial management. It requires the ability to read drawings and specifications correctly, the discipline to measure to formal published standards, and the commercial judgement to interpret rates, allocate risk, and resolve disputes.
CQS
Gold Standard
4
Membership Grades
ASMM
Standard Method
- Affiliate → Associate (AAIQS) → Member (MAIQS) → Fellow (FAIQS)
- Certified Quantity Surveyor (CQS) post-nominal — competency benchmark
- Publishes ASMM — Australian Standard Method of Measurement
- Publishes Best Practice Costing Manual (BPCM)
- Mandatory Code of Professional Conduct + annual CPD
+
MRICS
Chartered Status
NRM
1 · 2 · 3
140+
Countries
- NRM 1 — cost planning & order of cost estimating
- NRM 2 — detailed measurement for building works
- NRM 3 — maintenance and operational whole-life costing
- Used on internationally-funded projects (PPP, resources, major foreign investment)
- Many senior Australian QS hold dual AIQS / RICS credentials
The AIQS — Australia's QS Body
The Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (AIQS) is the peak body for QS in Australia. AIQS sets the Standards of Practice, accredits Certified Quantity Surveyors (CQS), publishes the Australian Standard Method of Measurement (ASMM) and the Best Practice Costing Manual, and operates the Continuing Professional Development framework that members must complete to retain their credential.
AIQS membership grades range from Affiliate through Associate (AAIQS), Member (MAIQS), and Fellow (FAIQS). The CQS post-nominal is the gold-standard accreditation that signals competency to the market.
How QS differs from cost estimating
Cost estimating develops the predicted cost of a future scope of work, typically built up from first principles or using parametric methods. It is forward-looking and assumption-driven.
Quantity surveying is the formal measurement and valuation discipline that turns design information into a structured, auditable BOQ used for tender, payment, and variation assessment under a contract. It is rule-driven (ASMM) and audit-grade.
The two disciplines are complementary: cost estimating sizes the project; QS administers it commercially through delivery. Senior practitioners often do both.
RICS — the international peer body
Internationally, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is the equivalent peer body. RICS publishes the New Rules of Measurement (NRM) series — NRM 1 (cost planning), NRM 2 (detail measurement), and NRM 3 (whole-life costing). Many Australian QS practitioners hold dual AIQS / RICS credentials.