Why Dismantling Independent Architectural Regulation (ARBV) Puts the Public at Risk
The proposal to fold the Architects Registration Board of Victoria (ARBV) into a generic business and professions regulator has been framed as tidy “machinery of government”. In reality, it goes to the heart of why we regulate architects at all – and what happens to ordinary people when that regulation fails. [1][2] The ARBV was never created to make life comfortable for architects. It exists to protect the community interest and instil confidence in the regulation, integrity and delivery of architectural services in Victoria – in other words, to make sure that only suitably qualified, competent and accountable people can call themselves architects, and that there is an independent board able to step in when standards slip. Parliament accepted a hard truth: when buildings fail, the people who suffer most are not the professionals but the occupants, neighbours and communities who trusted the system to keep them safe.[3][1] What’s actually changing? On paper, many technical se...