ARBV Update

Edition 18, September 2024

ARBV Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson appointed

The ARBV welcomes back Dr Giorgio Marfella as Chairperson. Giorgio will be joined by new appointee Sally Brincat, as Deputy Chairperson. Both Giorgio and Sally are architects who have demonstrated experience in a leadership role within the building industry, and as such have been appointed to the ARBV Board under sections 47(1) and 47(2)(a) of the Architects Act 1991. 

To find out more about the new ARBV Board visit The ARBV Board | arbv.vic.gov.au. 

The Architecture of Olympic Boulevard Walk

While the World turned its attention to celebrations in Paris at the commencement of the 2024 Olympic Games, the ARBV partnered with Open House Melbourne to step back in time and rediscover sites of the Melbourne 1956 Olympics. 

On Saturday 27 July participants were led by heritage architect and architect historian Jim Gard’ner, visiting sporting landmarks along Melbourne’s Olympic Boulevard. Throughout the tours Jim highlighted the history and transformation of the area to create what is widely regarded as one of Australia’s premier sporting precincts.

Participants also had the pleasure of meeting Peter McIntyre, architect of the 1956 Olympic Swimming and Diving Stadium. Peter delighted attendees with his anecdotes and shared his vast experience and insight into the development of what is the only remaining purpose-built facility from the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games.

In a fitting conclusion to the event, Jim led participants to the main stadium of the 1956 Olympic Games, the iconic MCG. Despite battling inclement weather, both tours were well attended and received positive reviews from both Open House Melbourne and attendees alike.

The ARBV would like to thank Jim and Peter for their invaluable contribution to this event.

Deep dive into client-architect relationships and agreements - 18 September 2024

The ARBV will be joined by Dariel De Sousa on Wednesday 18 September to explore the findings of the Deep Dive Report into Systemic Risks in the Architecture Sector.

Dariel will provide background about the systemic risks research and will discuss:

• What are systemic risks and why is the ARBV concerned about them?
• An overview of the two systemic risks reports.
• What is the purpose of the research?
• How will the ARBV use the findings from the research?

The webinar will also cover factors that affect client-architect relationships, communication between clients and architects, fee structures and report recommendations regarding education and training to enhance client-architect relationships.

The systemic risks and deep dive reports can be accessed on the ARBV's publications page. ARBV publications | arbv.vic.gov.au

CPD Webinar: Wednesday, 18^th September 2024
Time: 12pm – 1pm
Venue: Online via Teams
Free event

We will be hosting this webinar as a Town Hall meeting - there is no requirement to register. Simply click this link to join at 12pm Wednesday 18th September 2024.

Need help? Attend a town hall in Microsoft Teams - Microsoft Support

Compliance action taken relating to supervision: Board of Architects of Queensland v Perry [2024] QCAT 299

The following information is derived from the CaseLaw record 148294. The full decision is publicly available from the Supreme Court Library Queensland website. 

On 16 December 2022 the Board of Architects of Queensland (‘the Board’) applied to the Tribunal to conduct a proceeding to determine whether a disciplinary ground is established against Mr Mark Perry, a registered architect, in respect of his dealings with the company ISA Architects Pty Ltd (‘ISA Architects’) also known as ISA Collective Pty Ltd (‘ISA Collective’) and its Director Mr Imran Ali (‘Mr Ali’).

All parties agree that Mr Perry is a registered architect, and he engaged in unsatisfactory professional conduct in two aspects, namely:

(a) He signed a Form 1, which was given to the Board representing that he was the supervising architect for ISA Architects, when he did not supervise that company or oversee the work it produced. He allowed ISA Collective (formally known as ISA Architects) to hold him out as the supervising architect when he was not supervising the work produced by the company or the Director Mr Ali. The Form 1 also had an incorrect address, being the address of Mr Perry’s architecture firm and not that of ISA Architects.

(b) He signed off as the supervisor of work produced by Mr Ali, the Director of ISA Architects for the purpose of Mr Ali submitting an application for registration as an architect with the Board, when he did not in fact supervise the performance of the work he signed off on.

The following QCAT decision was made on 16 July 2024:

1. Mr Mark Perry is reprimanded pursuant to section 130(3)(a) of the Architects Act 2002 (Qld).
2. The penalty of $5,000 is imposed upon Mr Mark Perry payable to the Board of Architects of Queensland within six months, being by 16 January 2025, pursuant to section 130(2) of the Architects Act 2002 (Qld).
3. Mr Mark Perry is to pay to the Board of Architects of Queensland $17,875.00 towards the costs of the investigation and legal costs of bringing the proceeding within twelve months, being by 16 July 2025, pursuant to section 130(3)(d) of the Architects Act 2002 (Qld); and
4. If Mr Mark Perry fails to make the payments in orders (2) & (3) above, Mr Perry’s registration will be suspended pursuant to section 130(4) & (5) of the Architecture Act 2002 (Qld), until such time as any outstanding amount is paid.

Don't let this happen to you!

Companies and partnerships approved under the Architects Act 1991 that provide architectural services in Victoria must ensure that a director or partner is responsible for the work and that it is carried out under the supervision of an architect. See Sections 4 and 8D of the Architects Act 1991 (Vic) (Act). The ARBV has prepared a guideline to assist companies and partnerships in their understanding of this requirement. 

Recording your preferred name or business name on the ARBV register

Individual architects and approved companies or partnerships must be registered with the ARBV using their full legal name.

Recent changes to the ARBV portal now enable registrants to also record a preferred name or business name to be reflected on the register. This enhancement provides increased functionality for those searching the register online by preferred name or business name to identify a registered individual or approved company or partnership.

If you use a preferred name or business name and wish to record these details in addition to your legal name on the register, log in to the ARBV portal and follow the applicable instructions.

Melbourne Home Show August 2024

The Melbourne Home Show is Australia’s longest running home improvement expo held over 3 consecutive days between 23 to 25 of August. Bringing awareness of the importance of registration to the Victorian public was at the heart of the ARBVs decision to exhibit at this year’s event. 

ARBV staff met with members of the general public, students and even a few familiar architects throughout the weekend. Fielding a range of questions, staff highlighted the importance of architects and the architectural profession in Victoria, the role of the ARBV in the registration of architects and approval of companies and partnerships, and pathways to registration for those interested in pursuing a career in the industry. 

Isabel Legge, Principal Advisor Architect at the ARBV, presented on the home inspo stage to a live audience discussing the role of the ARBV and the role of an architect in the design process, what to expect when working with an architect and how architects can work with their clients throughout the duration of a project.

The Melbourne Home Show was a great opportunity for the ARBV to reach out to the thousands of people who passed through the doors of the Show, bringing attention to both the ARBV and the important role of architects in Victoria’s built environment.

Out now… The Naked Architect, S4 E3: Huff'n'Puff Haus.

Hear from architect Talina Edwards of Envirotecture and her clients Pip and Stephen, about the process of designing an aspirational sustainable home in a regional location.

Visit the Open House Melbourne website to catch up on the latest episodes of the Naked Architect. The Naked Architect | Open House Melbourne

The Naked Architect is presented by Open House Melbourne in partnership with the Architects Registration Board of Victoria and in association with ArchiTeam.

Frequently asked questions

At the ARBV we receive a range of questions throughout the year from both architects and consumers. Here are a few FAQs we thought you may be interested in. 

Question: Can site visits be considered as an informal CPD activity?

Response: While participating in structured visits to building sites, buildings and exhibitions may be included as informal CPD activities, this does not include visiting sites for projects on which you are employed to work as part of your everyday employment.   

Question: Are there maximum CPD hours/points permissible for CPD activities?

Response: Yes, in some instances maximum CPD hours or points apply to specific CPD activities.  You should refer to the information provided on the ARBV website here https://www.arbv.vic.gov.au/continuing-professional-development-architect  to determine whether maximums have been applied to activities you have recorded.  Of particular note with respect to informal CPD hours, you can only claim a maximum of 2 informal CPD hours per activity category description items.  For example, you cannot claim more than 2 hours reading during the year between 1 July and 30 June even if the material read is from a different source or relates to different topics.