A Brisbane building company has been charged with two offences related to faking architectural credentials.

A Certificate of Order, obtained by Architecture & Design, reveals that Paradise Homes Pty Ltd pleaded guilty to two offences brought under the Architects Act 2002.

The first charge, brought under section 113(2) of the Act, convicts the building firm of ‘holding out’, or claiming, another person as an architect when they are not registered with the Board of Architects in that state.

“Paradise Homes Pty Ltd had reasonable cause to have known that Anthony Jaensch was not an architect,” the offence wording states.

Under 114(2)(A) of the Act, the firm is charged with using the words “architectural services” on a website to advertise or otherwise promote services provided by the company, when services provided were not using an architect.

The company was ordered by Brisbane Magistrates Court to pay $2,500 in fines, as well as $15,000 in investigative fees to the Board of Architects by 2 November 2009.
?The Brisbane-based residential builder has been designing homes since 1972. They specialize in designing ‘pavilion systems’, in which standalone extensions are built and joined to an existing home by a ‘breezeway’ or indoor/outdoor covered deck.

In each state and territory it is a legal requirement that any person using the title ‘architect’ or offering services to the public as an architect, must be registered with the architects’ board in that jurisdiction.

To register, a person must have a recognised academic qualification in architecture, a pass in the National Program of Assessment (NPrA), or a pass in the Registration Board Prescribed Examinations. They must also have undergone a period of training through experience followed by successful completion of the AACA Architectural Practice Examination (APE).

Paradise Homes did not return Architecture & Design’s calls prior to publication.