Prohibited conduct in the architectural industry

Prohibited conduct

The Act prohibits unregistered and uninsured persons from working as an architect in Victoria. These provisions:

• protect consumers from dishonest individuals who mislead people by calling themselves something they are not
• maintain the standards and integrity of the profession of architecture
• deter unregistered practitioners from carrying out misrepresentations and carrying out work based on those misrepresentations
• promote the importance of registration and insurance.

The ARBV may request information or documents from you and use its information gathering powers based on the assessed risk.

If you engage in prohibited conduct, you may face penalties.

‘Holding out’ as an architect or as providing architectural services

To ensure the quality and safety of Victoria's built environment, only individuals and bodies (companies or partnerships) that are registered with the ARBV are allowed to represent themselves or allow themselves to be represented as architects.

If you are not registered with the ARBV:

• You cannot represent yourself as an architect, including describing yourself as an 'architect', causing others to reasonably believe you are an architect, or doing the work of an architect
• You cannot allow others to represent you as an architect
• You cannot say you or your business offers 'architectural services', 'architectural design services' or 'architectural design'.
• You cannot represent another person or body as being an architect or as providing architectural services if they are not registered with or approved by ARBV

Exception

If you are being supervised by an architect registered with the ARBV as part of an approved pathway to registration, you may carry out the work of an architect. The other prohibitions remain in place.

Find out more about registration pathways.

Building designers and others who provide design services commonly carried out by architects must take particular care not to hold themselves out as architects or as providing the services of an architect. For information on how to avoid this type of prohibited conduct, see the guidance notes for building designers and allied professions below.

Find out more about registration.

If you provide architectural services through a company or partnership this is not approved by the ARBV:

• You cannot provide architectural services via that company or partnership
• You cannot represent that the company or partnership to be an architect or as providing the services of an architect
• You cannot saythe company or partnership offers 'architecturalservices', 'architectural design services' or 'architectural design'.

Find out more about registering as company or partnership

Architects, architect directors/partners and architectural practices must therefore:

• Ensure all members of staff who provide architectural services are registered with ARBV or are working towards becoming registered under supervision
• Provide architectural services only through an approved company or partnership (unless a sole trader)
• Be transparent and open about qualifications and registrations
• Exercise caution when describing or representing unregistered members of staff (for example, on the practice’s website and professional networking and social media sites). Care must be taken to ensure that clients or prospective clients are not under any misapprehension about the status of unregistered staff who may be working on their project
• Critically assess the information published on their website and on professional networking and social media sites to assess the overall impression that is being created by that information
• Be careful when working outside architectural firms not to represent their employer or business as providing architectural services

Building designers and allied professions

People and businesses who provide services relating to the design and construction of buildings which are commonly carried out by architects (for example, building designers), must also ensure that they do not mislead or deceive clients or prospective clients by representing themselves as architects or as providing architectural services.

Working as an architect without compliant professional indemnity insurance

If you are not covered by compliant professional indemnity insurance, you cannot work as an architect in Victoria.

It is also illegal to give the impression that you are covered by compliant professional indemnity insurance if you are not actually covered.

Find out more about professional indemnity insurance.

Penalties for prohibited conduct

If you engage in prohibited conduct, the ARBV may prosecute you and you could receive a fine of $9,000 or more.

If you are registered as an architect and you engage in prohibited conduct, the ARBV may also refer your conduct to the Architects Tribunal.

Find out more about the Architects Tribunal.

Prosecution reports

If the ARBV prosecutes a person for breaches of the Architects Act 1991, the report on the prosecution is published here.