Rate My Professor Robert Whittaker

Professor Robert Whittaker is an Adjunct Professor of Practice in Construction Management in the School of Architecture and Built Environment, College of Engineering, Science and Environment, at the University of Newcastle. A prominent leader and educator in the building and construction industry, he was admitted as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2014 Queen’s Birthday Honours for significant contributions as a leader and educator. He earned a Bachelor of Applied Science in Construction Management and a Graduate Diploma of Education from the University of Technology Sydney in 1988. Whittaker has been awarded honorary doctorates, including Doctor of Construction Management honoris causa from Central Queensland University in 2020, Doctor of Letters honoris causa from Western Sydney University in 2023, and Doctor of the University from the University of Newcastle in 2025. Licensed as a Class A Builder in the Australian Capital Territory and accredited as a Quantity Surveyor and Building Economist at Level 1 on the National Building Professionals Register, he has over 40 years of experience in the sector, including managing a $75 million multi-storey construction project for the Meriton Hotel in Canberra completed in 2023.

Whittaker's distinguished career includes serving as National President of the Australian Institute of Building from 2012 to 2014, Chapter President for ACT/NSW from 2002 to 2004 and NSW from 2016 to 2017, Director of the College of Building since 2012, Director of Research and Education Foundation Trust since 2012, and Director and Past Chair of the National Building Professionals Register since 2014. He served seven years on the Discipline Committee of the New South Wales Building Professionals Board and contributed to legislation such as the Building Professionals Board Act and regulations for the Building Designers and Practitioners Act. Internationally, he is Deputy Chair of the International Building Quality Centre, which he co-founded in 2020. A Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales (FRSN, elected 2018), Fellow of the Australian Institute of Building (FAIB, 1999), Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Building (FNZIOB, 2020), Companion of Engineers Australia (CompIEAust, 2016), and Member of the Society of Construction Law, Whittaker holds adjunct professorial appointments at the University of Canberra, Western Sydney University, University of Technology Sydney, and Southern Cross University. He serves on industry advisory committees for construction management, quantity surveying, and building surveying at multiple universities.