Building Information Modelling (BIM) is currently being adopted around the world with numerous countries mandating its implementation on public projects through legislation. This process has driven the development of BIM standards and specifications to streamline design data prior to collaboration to meet regulatory requirements. Although BIM technologies globally are similar, many countries have developed context-specific BIM specifications to accommodate differences inter alia; design processes, procurement processes and government policies. The South African AEC (Architecture, Engineering and Construction) sector differs markedly from this top-down regulatory model. The government has taken no position on driving BIM practices and consequently there are no government mandated BIM standards or specifications. Likewise, no trade or professional associations have stepped into this gap to standardise local BIM practice. Thus, individual companies grapple with implementation in isolation and there is little transfer of lessons learnt across projects or between organisations. This paper reports on a proposed study to develop a prescriptive framework for South African BIM specifications by surveying the current strategies, policies, processes and standards utilized internationally by AEC designers. It explores possible reasons as to why the South African government and other industry bodies have not yet started to address the challenges encountered while adopting BIM. A conceptual framework will serve as the basis for future research to test whether global practices are applicable to the South African context and where adaptation and modification will be required. This study proposes a theoretical construct through acquiring knowledge from the current literature, collating the literature, building onto the current knowledge and potentially validating the knowledge with the sector, prior to its implementation.