Those of our members who are registered with the Architect’s Registration Board of Victoria (ARBV) will know that after an interregnum of six weeks or so, a new ARBV board has been appointed which will guide the regulator over the next five years. A bill was introduced early last year to reduce the board from 10 members to 9 members and also alter the appointment process to selection and appointment by the Minister of Planning with the objective of those chosen representing a broad range of skills and experience. The legislation requires a minimum number of three architects, although there can be more. The selection process to fill the current board has included advertising for expressions of interest which were reviewed by the Department of Transport and Planning with a final selection by the Minister.
The ARBV plays a foundational role in our profession by providing a framework for setting standards and determining who is and who is not an architect. Our community enjoys high-quality architectural services and the ARBV plays an important part through certifying architectural education, examining candidates for architectural registration, maintaining the roll of Victorian architects, requiring and promoting continuing professional development as well as addressing complaints about professional services.
The now selected and appointed board members do represent a breadth of experience, and I am relieved to see there is significant industry experience as well educational and governmental experience in the members appointed. There are three architects in industry appointed in Sally Brincat, Michael Leeton and Lorina Nervegna, two architectural educationalists in Dr Giorgio Marfella (re-appointed) and Dr Sarah McGann as well as Tim Leslie the Victorian Chapter’s former State Manager & Chapter Councillor and now Principal Adviser in the Office of the Victorian Government Architect. Consumer representative Mark Curry has been re-appointed and Sally Willis with a construction background is the only continuing board member. Yana Podolskaya joins the board with a legal background practicing in the regulatory and enforcement areas. I would like to recognise and thank all of these individuals for their willingness to contribute to the ARBV in addition to their day jobs.
This board should serve the community well and in doing so continue to maintain the high standards of the profession that the community has traditionally enjoyed. It must also be recognised that this is the first time in many years that the full complement of board positions has been filled which provides the board with a broader range of skills and capacity, and is a significant endorsement by the government of the ARBV. I have conveyed those thoughts to the Minister of Planning, the Hon. Sonya Kilkenny, and commended her selection of the new board.
Readers of my earlier message on the Compliance in Building Design Research Analysis Paper produced by Cladding Safety Victoria (CSV) will recall my concern that this publication described combustible cladding as the ‘misapplication of Victoria’s regulatory requirements by key professionals responsible for the design and permitting of buildings’, but in doing so has failed to engage with the breadth and complexity of this environment and more specifically with our detailed correspondence on the issue. One of those issues largely absent in the report, is an examination of the cladding supplier’s responsibility to provide compliant materials with supporting technical data. As mentioned in my earlier message there are class actions currently proceeding against a leading supplier of aluminium composite panels for ‘a product liability claim and a claim for false or misleading representations and misleading conduct’. The Institute can report that one of the legal companies involved in these class actions, Omni Bridgeway, has recently advised as follows:
‘The initial trial in the Alucobond Cladding Class Action against 3A Composites GmbH and Halifax Vogel Group Pty Ltd will commence at AEST9:30 am on Monday, 26 August 2024, at the Federal Court of Australia, Law Courts Building, Queens Square, Sydney. The trial judge, Justice Anderson has granted approval for the trial to be livestreamed on eLaw’s YouTube channel, the electronic trial technology provider. If you or your members are interested in watching, you and they can access the livestream here: https://www.youtube.com/@elawNSD215. The live stream of the trial will commence from 9:30am on 26 August 2024.
In the Vitrabond Cladding Class Action, we are waiting for the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia to deliver an interlocutory appeal judgment in relation to the joinder of one of the insurers of the respondent, Fairview Architectural. You will find further details about the class actions on our website here: Cladding Class Action – Omni Bridgeway .’
Without doubt the construction and development industry including our profession will be keenly interested to observe both the arguments presented in the proceedings as well as the conclusions reached.
David Wagner FRAIA
President of the Victorian Chapter
