Consultation on new Investigations Rules

Overview

ARB is an independent professional regulator, established by Parliament as a statutory body, through the Architects Act. The law gives us a number of core functions. These include setting the standards of conduct and practice the profession must meet and taking action when any architect falls below the required standards of conduct or competence.

The Act requires that allegations of unacceptable professional conduct or serious professional incompetence against architects be investigated by persons appointed by the Board. If an architect is found to have a case to answer, the allegation must be referred to the Professional Conduct Committee (PCC) for it to decide whether they are guilty.

We set Rules for the procedures to be followed in these disciplinary investigations. These are called our ‘Investigations and PCC Rules’.

We are now consulting on changes to these Rules.

These include:

• Changes to the ‘case to answer’ decision stage
• The replacement of ‘Third Party Review’ with internal review mechanisms

The changes aim to improve the quality of decision-making and the overall time taken to investigate complex and technical complaints. They should improve our management of stakeholder expectations and enhance our powers to protect the public.

We are asking for views on the proposals and associated updates to the Rules before they are finalised later this year.

We are particularly interested in views on the fairness, clarity and practical impact of the new model.

The consultation will close on Tuesday 12 May 2026.