ARBV Update

Edition 21, June 2025

Welcome to the June ARBV Update!

It has been a busy few months for the ARBV. Since the last Update, the ARBV has delivered a further 4 formal CPD webinars making a total of 9 for the financial year; attended the ArchiBuild Expo and worked closely with the Department of Transport and Planning regarding the sunsetting of the Architect Regulations 2015.

The Regulations were due to sunset this year, however, the ARBV worked with government to extend this timeframe for 12 months. The Department of Transport and Planning is leading the sunset review. The review provides an opportunity to ensure the regulatory framework remains effective for the next ten years, addressing any gaps and improving the regulations to suit the growing needs of architects, consumers, and the building industry in Victoria.

There are amendments to the Architects Act 1991 that take effect in August 2025, that will require consequential changes to be incorporated into the Regulations. You can expect an update from us in August 2025 explaining the amendments to the Act.

We expect to finalise our Culture of Compliance research by the end of June. Thank you to those of you who completed the survey in May!

Reminder: Your registration fees are now due

Thank you to everyone who has already renewed their registration this year.

You must complete the fit and proper person requirement and mandatory CPD declaration on the ARBV Portal as part of the renewal process. If you do not complete these requirements your registration will not be renewed.

If your employer is paying for your renewal fees, the company must complete the payment in the ARBV Portal for the renewal to be processed.

It is also important that you ensure your contact details are correct in the Portal, including employment information. Please also check to ensure your insurance information is correct when completing your renewal.

For instructions on how to log in to the ARBV Portal and pay your renewal fees, please see the Registration Renewal Guide or view the video on our website. 

If you have any queries or are having difficulty paying your annual fees, please call us on 03 9417 4444.

Please note, multi-factor authentication has been introduced as a security feature when accessing the ARBV Portal.  An authentication code will be sent to the email address associated with your ARBV profile once requested, however, email delivery may take up to 15-30 minutes depending on the email service you use.

Please note, this year renewal will be finalised by the end of July. Late payments will not be accepted. If you do not pay by 1 July ARBV will begin steps to suspend your registration.

ArchiBuild Expo Update

The ARBV attended the ArchiBuild Expo, held 12-14 June 2025. The ArchiBuild Expo exhibits new and contemporary architectural building products, materials and systems. 

The ArchiBuild Expo also provided an opportunity for architects to attend CPD sessions during the event. The ARBV collaborated with the Australian Institute of Architects to present 'Assessing the suitability of building products and materials under the NCC – what steps should architects take?' on 12 June 2025.

Consumer-focused sessions were also held. On the Saturday 14 June 2025, the ARBV presented a panel discussion hosted by Hamish White (Sanctum Homes, Mindful Builder Podcast), homeowner Emily and architect Talina Edwards (Envirotecture) (above) as they shared insights into the architectural design and build process, and the story of Emily's home which is aiming to achieve passivhaus certification. 

Frequently asked questions

At the ARBV we receive a range of questions throughout the year from both architects and consumers. Following our recent webinar ‘A close look at performance solutions and the architect’s role in the performance solution process’  we were not able to respond to all questions raised during the webinar. Below we have included clarification from our presenter on a number of points that were raised in questions.

Who can provide performance solution assessments based on 'expert judgement'?

One of the assessment methods for performance solutions is that of ‘Expert Judgement’.  There is no statutory definition of what an ‘expert’ is for this purpose. The NCC provides that an expert is someone who has the qualifications and experience to determine whether a performance solution complies with the performance requirements. The Australian Building Codes Board describes an expert in this context as ‘someone who can make a judgement relating to NCC compliance.  This means they need to be skilled and experienced in the area on which they are providing judgement.  They could be a suitably qualified engineer or topic matter expert….Ultimately it is the role of the appropriate authority to determine whether a particular person providing an Expert Judgement is considered an expert’.  In the context of the Victorian Building Act, the relevant building surveyor who is issuing the building permit is in the position of deciding whether a person has the right background to provide a performance solution assessment based on expert judgement.  A person who has built up a body of experience that is specific to the subject matter of the performance solution will likely be regarded by the RBS as someone who can provide ‘expert judgement’. 

In what circumstances can an architect provide performance solutions?

An architect may be able to prepare a performance solution if they have the relevant background and expertise to enable them to do so. The fact that they are preparing the remainder of the design does not mean that they cannot also design the performance solution, so long as they have the requisite expertise to do so. However, where the ‘expert judgement’ assessment method is used to assess the performance solution, the assessment must be carried out by someone else. The architect cannot both design the performance solution and then use their expert judgement to assess it. Ultimately whether the performance solution as designed by an architect will be accepted as proving compliance with the applicable performance requirements will be up to the relevant building surveyor issuing the building permit.

Do Deemed to Satisfy (DTS) provisions allow verification methods? Or, are all verification methods performance solutions?

One of the four methods specified in Clause A2G2 for the assessment of a performance solution is a ‘verification method’. A verification method is defined in the NCC as being ‘a test, inspection, calculation or other method that determines whether a performance solution complies with the relevant performance requirements’. So, where a verification method is used to show compliance with the performance requirement, this will constitute a performance solution and should be documented as such. A verification method specified in the NCC for a particular matter may sometimes look similar to a deemed to satisfy clause – they both provide a detailed description of how compliance is to be achieved. However, the use of a verification method to show compliance will be a performance solution and must be documented as such – commonly the verification method will require the preparation of a test report containing required matters.   

Does a CodeMark certificate for a material (evidence of suitability) form part of Performance Solution, or, can these meet DTS provisions?

In relation to demonstrating the suitability of a building product, CodeMark certificates and other certificates, test reports and the like can be used to show compliance with the applicable requirements of the NCC. This can be either compliance with the deemed to satisfy provisions, or for the purpose of a performance solution. For both DTS and performance solutions, there must be information on the products or methods to be used that will show that the design will meet the performance requirements. A CodeMark certificate is one way of providing evidence of suitability of a product. The certificate should nominate which performance requirements or DTS provisions are met by the use of the product. Care should be taken to check exactly what use the product certification relates to, as not all uses of the product may be compliant.

Who can issue a section 238 certificate?

Sect 238(1) of the Building Act 1993 states that a municipal building surveyor or a private building surveyor, in carrying out a function under this Act or the regulations, may rely on a certificate by a registered building practitioner in a prescribed category or class of practitioners or an endorsed building engineer. This does not mean that any registered building practitioner can issue a section 238 certificate.  Which type of registered building practitioner can issue certificates for which type of work is set out in regulation 122 of the Building Regulations 2018.  It is only engineers (in the appropriate field of engineering to which that part of the design relates) or building surveyors who can issue a section 238 certificate. Architects and Building Designers cannot issue a section 238 certificate.

Quiz question 6

There was some confusion around the answer to question 6 of the quiz. The question was "will a performance solution be required where there is a proposed product substitution by a builder under a design and construct contract?"

The answer: Yes, where the substituted product does not meet DTS provisions.

In relation to the question of whether a performance solution will be required where a builder proposes to substitute a product pursuant to a design and construct contract, a performance solution will be required where the substituted product does not meet the DTS provisions of the NCC. Architects (if they are involved in this phase of the project) should, prior to approving a product substitution, turn their minds to the question of compliance and where appropriate, refer the matter to the relevant building surveyor. 

Case study on non-compliant design and the architect’s role

As part of the ARBV’s proactive education we have been focusing on compliance with the National Construction Code (NCC). While the below case study is related to non-compliant external cladding, our purpose in including this is to remind you more broadly about your role in ensuring compliance with the NCC.

Cladding Safety Victoria (CSV) has rectified non-compliant external cladding on many hundreds of apartment buildings in Victoria over the last few years. In carrying out that work it has reviewed building drawings, fire engineering reports and other relevant documents for those buildings. In 2024, it issued a report which identified that over 300 of the buildings with non-compliant designs were designed by architects.

ARBV has considered the report and some of the data on which it was based, to learn what led to the designs being non-compliant and how it can support architects to prevent these sorts of non-compliances in the future and to comply with their obligations under the Architects Act 1991 and the Architect’s Code of Professional Conduct in the Architects Regulations 2015.  

One case examined by ARBV was a development of 26 apartments in suburban Melbourne. The architect’s design was initially prepared in 2014 and specified Expanded Polystyrene Cladding for use as external wall cladding. This is a form of combustible cladding that does not meet the deemed to satisfy requirements of the NCC for buildings required to be of Type A construction. This meant that the cladding could only have been lawfully used if a performance solution had been prepared which permitted it.

After the drawings were prepared, a fire occurred on the external walls of the Lacrosse building.  This gave rise to significant publicity and regulatory warnings about the use of combustible external wall cladding. However, the architect did not amend the building design. A fire engineering report was obtained in late 2015, well after the Lacrosse fire, but the report did not contain any performance solution for the cladding, although it did contain a generic statement that all building elements must be suitably tested to ensure NCC compliance. A building permit was subsequently issued, also in late 2015. The Council issued a building notice several years after the building work was completed, requiring the building owners to show cause as to why the non-compliant cladding should not be removed. CSV project managed the removal and replacement of the cladding.

What should architects do in similar circumstances?

Broadly, the Act requires architects to act professionally and competently when preparing designs or providing other architectural services. In this context, this means an architect must consider whether their designs will comply with the NCC before a building permit is issued. This requires the architect to:

• have sufficient working knowledge of the NCC to understand generally when a performance solution may be needed and who should prepare it; and
• take an active role in ensuring that the design, where necessary, is accurately assessed by the fire engineer and the relevant building surveyor.

In this instance, given that there was considerable publicity about the risks of external wall cladding, an architect acting professionally and competently would have either amended their design or would have raised the question of its compliance with the fire engineer and the relevant building surveyor (RBS), to make sure the issue was properly considered and dealt with. The architect should have an internal process for ensuring that for every project worked on, they consider NCC compliance raise any potential issues with the RBS and other appropriate consultants.

In addition, given that the fire engineer had referred in their report to the need for building elements to be NCC compliant, the architect should have raised with the RBS what steps should be taken to verify compliance.

Taking an active role in confirming design compliance is a proactive and effective way to uphold the competence and professionalism obligations in the Act.

What about the obligations of the relevant building surveyor and fire engineer?

The relevant building surveyor must assess a building design to determine whether it will comply with the Building Act and Regulations (which incorporates the NCC). Part of the RBS’ assessment will likely involve a fire engineering report prepared by a fire engineer.  In this case:

1. the fire engineer failed to identify that a performance solution and take appropriate steps; and
2. the relevant building surveyor issued a building permit when they should not have done so, given that the proposed building design was not compliant with the NCC without a performance solution.

What should an architect do in similar circumstances? 

They should turn their mind to the compliance of the wall design and either specify a deemed to satisfy product or raise the question of compliance with the fire engineer and RBS to ensure it is properly dealt with. 

The best way for an architect to discharge their statutory obligations under the Act (and to avoid civil liability) in relation to design compliance is to actively turn their minds to the question of design compliance and raise all relevant issues with the RBS and appropriate consultants

There are a range of CPD webinars coming up for the next registration/financial year as part of the ARBV proactive education program.

We are anticipating holding 10 formal CPD webinars next financial year.

Webinars on the following topics are anticipated in the coming months so look at for emails from us prior to the events:

• Condensation in buildings
• Working with Country
• Modern methods of construction
• Carbon whole life cycle

The Professional Practice Award is awarded to students at Victorian Universities for academic excellence in a subject that demonstrates specific knowledge, skills and industry preparedness related to architectural practice. 

How to maintain your CPD activities record

Architects registered in the practising class may be asked to provide the ARBV with a record of their CPD activities. You should maintain an accurate and current record of your activities at all times and retain these records for at least 5 years. 

How you choose to record your activities is up to you. For example, you may wish to record your CPD activities in an Excel spreadsheet or perhaps keep a hand-written record of activities. In addition to the record of activities, you should keep any documents which support your claimed CPD points, including certificates issued by CPD providers and booking records for presentations or seminars. 

Your record of activities should contain the following information:

1. Date of the activity
2. Name of the activity
3. Organisation providing the activity
4. Category of learning – formal or informal
5. Hours you claimed against the CPD requirements
6. How the activity relates to specific performance criteria/units of competency in the National Standard of Competency for Architects.

To assist you in categorising your CPD activities, you should refer to the ARBV website for examples of formal and informal activities and the maximum hours you can claim per activity each year.

The ARBV has created a CPD Activity Record template on the ARBV website for you to download here https://www.arbv.vic.gov.au/continuing-professional-development-architect.

CPD Exemptions

If you have claimed a CPD exemption, you should also maintain details of the exemption, supporting material which substantiates the circumstances outlined in your request for an exemption and confirmation from the ARBV that your exemption has been granted.

Please remember that exemptions for CPD must be requested in writing during the relevant registration year or within 2 months of the end of the registration period.

Your CPD exemption request should be sent via email to registrar@arbv.vic.gov.au and outline the circumstances which have prevented you from meeting your CPD requirements.

Celebrate Victorian Design Excellence

The Victorian Premier’s Design Awards honour the outstanding achievements of Victoria’s designers,  creatives, and businesses. Open to all Victorian-based practitioners, the Awards are free to enter and  provide a prestigious platform to showcase the state’s most impactful and innovative design work.

Reflecting the strength and diversity of Victoria’s design sector, entries are accepted across eight key  categories: Architectural Design, Communication Design, Design Strategy, Digital Design, Fashion Design,  Product Design, Service Design, and Student Design.

Don’t miss your opportunity to be recognised for design excellence at the highest level within the Victorian  design community. 

Entries close Friday 11 July 2025.