approved company noun 1 Vic a company the Architects Registration Board of Victoria has approved to provide architectural services in Victoria. 2 compare architectural business SA, a company or partnership on the register of architectural businesses.
A company or partnership may present itself as an architect only once it has taken the step its own state or territory requires: approval by the board in Victoria, registration as an architectural business in South Australia, a licence from the board in Western Australia, registration as an architectural company or partnership in the Northern Territory, registration in a firm class in Tasmania, or a nominated architect in New South Wales.
General informationGeneral information about how each Act treats companies and partnerships, not legal or business advice for any business. The registration board in the relevant state or territory can say what applies to a particular business.
Who inside the business must be an architect
| Jurisdiction | The step | Who must be an architect |
|---|---|---|
| Victoria | Approval by the Board | At least one director (for a company) or one partner (for a partnership) registered as a practising architect |
| South Australia | Registration on the register of architectural businesses | At least half of a company’s governing body if it has an even number of members, otherwise a majority; the same proportions of partners for a partnership |
| Western Australia | A licence from the Board | All architectural work done under the direct control and supervision of an architect, who has ultimate responsibility for it |
| Northern Territory | Registration as an architectural company | At least one director or employee who is an architect and will manage the company’s architectural practice and supervise its services |
| Tasmania | Registration in the “Class – Architectural Firm” | At least one nominated architect registered in Tasmania, who applies for the registration and is to see that the firm follows the Code of Practice and holds enough professional indemnity insurance |
| New South Wales | A nominated architect | The nominated architect, responsible for the architectural services, who must be a director, member, partner or employee |
The Victorian Board adds that approval covers companies acting as a corporate trustee or set up for contracting. In Western Australia a licensed corporation renews with its architects: the registration year runs from 1 July to 30 June and a corporation that has not paid by 30 September is removed from the register. In the Northern Territory a partner commits an offence by intentionally representing a partnership as an architectural partnership when it is not one and they know it; the maximum is 1,000 penalty units.
The sources behind this guide do not set out the business rules in the ACT or Queensland; their boards are the places to ask.
Victoria in detail: company, partnership, business
The Architects Registration Board of Victoria distinguishes three kinds of business. A business, in its sense, is not a separate legal entity: it is usually the responsibility of the person who set it up, a sole trader, and it does not need the Board’s approval. A company is a separate legal entity registered with ASIC, with its own Australian Company Number, and it does. A sole trader who is registered counts as an individual architect and needs no approval as a company. A partnership is not a separate legal entity either, and its partners may share liability equally, depending on their arrangement.
The Board sets out what approval takes:
Meet the requirements
A company needs at least one director registered with the Board as a practising architect, and a constitution stating that the company’s purpose is to provide architectural services. A partnership needs at least one partner registered as a practising architect. Both pay a fee on top of the individual architect’s own.
Gather the documents
A company provides a certificate of currency showing it is the insured entity under a professional indemnity policy, a full ASIC company extract, its constitution or a signed statement of purpose, and a statutory declaration for each registered architect director. A partnership provides its own certificate of currency and a statutory declaration. Trading and business names cannot be the registered name, though they can be noted on the application.
Apply, and wait for a decision
The Board says it assesses and processes applications in 4 to 6 weeks, and that a complete application must be dealt with within 3 months. It may grant or refuse approval.
If approval is refused
The decision can be taken to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal for review.
Keep it
Approval is renewed each financial year, with its fee.
Approval does not end the matter. Under section 8D of the Act, an approved company may provide architectural services only if a director who is a registered architect is responsible for them and they are carried out by, or under the supervision of, a registered architect; the penalty is 60 penalty units. The same rule, with a partner in place of a director, applies to an approved partnership.
What an unapproved company may not say in Victoria
The Board’s page on prohibited conduct says that where architectural services are provided through a company or partnership the Board has not approved, the services may not be provided through it, it may not be presented as an architect or as providing an architect’s services, and it may not be said to offer “architectural services”, “architectural design services” or “architectural design”, the three expressions section 8 of the Act restricts.
The same page turns to the people inside a business. It says architects, directors, partners and managers must provide architectural services only through an approved company or partnership (unless they are registered sole traders), make sure staff who provide those services are registered or working towards registration under supervision, take care in how unregistered staff are described on websites and social media, and avoid presenting an employer outside the profession as providing architectural services. Directors and partners, it adds, can commit a holding-out offence by providing services through an unapproved company or by presenting unregistered staff as architects.
See alsothe protected words; checking a registration; offences, penalties and complaints.