Compiled from an official source version. Later amendments or repeals may not be reflected; the official text prevails. · Read the official text ↗
Establishment of Board of Architects
4. A body called the Board of Architects is established in Singapore, which is a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal, with power, subject to the provisions of this Act —(a) to sue and be sued in its corporate name; (b) to acquire and dispose of property, both movable and immovable; and (c) to do and perform any other acts that bodies corporate may by law perform.
Constitution of Board
4A.—(1) The Board consists of the following members:(a) the Commissioner of Building Control; (b) the president of the Singapore Institute of Architects; (c) not more than 6 registered architects who have in force a practising certificate —(i) to be elected by registered architects who have in force a practising certificate; or (ii) failing such election, to be appointed by the Minister under subsection (2); (d) 6 registered architects to be appointed by the Minister; and (e) a registered professional engineer to be appointed by the Minister on the nomination of the Professional Engineers Board.[28/2005] (2) If elections held for the purposes of subsection (1)(c) result in less than 6 persons being elected as members of the Board, the Minister may appoint such number, as he or she thinks fit, of registered architects who have in force a practising certificate to be members of the Board, except that the number of members so appointed and the number of members elected under subsection (1)(c) must not exceed 6 in total.[28/2005] (3) The members elected under subsection (1)(c) hold office for a term not exceeding 3 years and are eligible for re‑election.[28/2005; 20/2017] (3A) However, a person is ineligible for re‑election to office as a member under subsection (1)(c) if the re‑election would result in the person holding office as a member for 3 consecutive terms.[20/2017] (4) Only registered architects of at least 10 years’ standing may be elected under subsection (1)(c) or appointed under subsection (2) as members of the Board.[28/2005] (5) The members appointed under subsection (1)(d) or (e) or (2) hold office for a term not exceeding 3 years and are eligible for re‑appointment.[28/2005] (6) The Minister may, at any time, revoke the appointment of any member appointed under subsection (1)(d) or (2) without giving any reason.[28/2005]
Compulsory voting
4B.—(1) Every registered architect who has in force a practising certificate on the day of the election of candidates as members of the Board under section 4A(1)(c) must vote for the election of those members at the time and in the manner prescribed, if any.[28/2005] (2) Every registered architect who is required to vote for the election of the members of the Board in accordance with subsection (1) and who fails to do so is not entitled to apply for a practising certificate unless he or she —(a) satisfies the Registrar that he or she had a good and sufficient reason for not voting at the election; or (b) pays to the Board a penalty prescribed by the Board.[28/2005]
President of Board
4C.—(1) The Board must have a president who is elected by the members of the Board from among its members —(a) who have been elected under section 4A(1)(c) or appointed under section 4A(2); or (b) who have been appointed under section 4A(1)(d).[28/2005] (2) The president elected under subsection (1) must serve for a term not extending beyond the expiry of the term for which he or she has been appointed or elected to be a member of the Board and is eligible for re‑election.[28/2005; 20/2017] (3) However, a person is ineligible for re‑election as the president under subsection (1) if the re‑election would result in the person holding office as the president for 3 consecutive terms.[20/2017]
Disqualifications for membership of Board
4D. A person is not qualified to be a member of the Board if the person —(a) is neither a citizen nor a permanent resident of Singapore; (b) is an undischarged bankrupt or has made any arrangement or composition with his or her creditors; (c) has been convicted of any offence involving fraud, dishonesty or moral turpitude, or of any other offence implying a defect in character which makes him or her unfit for the architectural profession; (d) has a mental disorder and is incapable of managing himself or herself or his or her affairs, or is incapacitated by physical illness; or (e) has at any time after due inquiry been found guilty by a Disciplinary Committee of improper conduct.[28/2005; 21/2008]
Filling of vacancies
4E.—(1) The office of a member of the Board becomes vacant if the member —(a) dies; (b) resigns or is removed from office; or (c) becomes in any manner disqualified for office within the meaning of section 4D.[28/2005] (2) The Board may, with the approval of the Minister, remove from office any member of the Board who is absent without leave of the Board from 3 consecutive ordinary meetings of —(a) the Board; or (b) a Disciplinary Committee of which he or she is a member.[28/2005] (3) Any question as to whether a person has ceased to be a member of the Board is to be decided by the Minister whose decision is final.[28/2005] (4) If any vacancy arises among the elected or appointed members, the Minister must, as soon as practicable, appoint any registered architect to fill that vacancy.[28/2005] (5) Any person appointed to fill the vacancy holds office for the remainder of the term for which his or her predecessor was elected or appointed.[28/2005] (6) The powers of the Board are not affected by any vacancy in its membership.[28/2005] (7) No act done by or under the authority of the Board is invalid in consequence of any defect that is subsequently discovered in the appointment, election or qualification of the members or any of them.[28/2005]
Meetings and quorum of Board
4F.—(1) At any meeting of the Board, 8 members form a quorum and no business may be transacted at any meeting unless a quorum is present.[28/2005] (2) At any meeting of the Board, the president presides and in his or her absence the members present must elect from among themselves one member to preside over the meeting.[28/2005] (3) If on any question to be determined by the Board there is an equality of votes, the president or the member presiding over that meeting has a casting vote.[28/2005] (4) Subject to the provisions of this Act and the Public Sector (Governance) Act 2018, the Board may determine its own procedure.[28/2005; 5/2018] (5) The Board must cause proper records of its proceedings to be kept.[28/2005]
Common seal of Board
5.—(1) The common seal of the Board must bear such device as the Board may approve and the seal may be broken, changed, altered or made anew by the Board as it may think fit. (2) The common seal must be kept in the custody of the president and must be authenticated by the president or other member acting in the president’s absence. (3) Any document purporting to be sealed by the common seal and authenticated as provided under subsection (2) is, until the contrary is proved, deemed to be validly executed.
Functions of Board
6. The functions of the Board are —(a) to keep and maintain every register mentioned in section 8(1); (b) to hold or arrange for the holding of any examinations that the Board considers necessary for the purpose of enabling persons to qualify for registration under this Act; (c) to establish, maintain and develop standards of professional conduct and ethics of the architectural profession; (d) to promote learning and education in connection with architecture and the practice of architecture, either alone or in conjunction with any other professional body; (e) to hear and determine disputes relating to professional conduct or ethics of registered architects or to appoint a committee or arbitrator to hear and determine those disputes; (f) to appoint arbitrators for the purpose of hearing and determining disputes between registered architects or licensed corporations, partnerships or limited liability partnerships and other persons; (g) to license corporations, multidiscipline partnerships or limited liability partnerships which intend to supply architectural services in Singapore; (ga) to facilitate the mutual recognition, within Singapore and any country or territory outside Singapore, of the qualifications and standards regarding the practice of architecture; and (h) generally to do all acts, matters and things that are necessary to be carried out under the provisions of this Act.[28/2005; 20/2017]
Powers of Board
6A.—(1) The Board has power to do all things necessary or convenient to be done for, or in connection with, the performance of its functions, including power —(a) to grant prizes and scholarships in connection with architecture, either alone or in conjunction with any person; (b) to accept grants, donations or gifts from any source or raise funds by lawful means; (c) to determine the requirements for continuing professional education, and to organise related courses, programmes and other activities; and (d) to do any other thing that is necessary or convenient to be carried out for or in connection with, or as incidental to, the performance of its functions.[20/2017] (2) The Board may, with the approval of the Minister, enter into arrangements with the appropriate foreign registration authority of any country or territory outside Singapore for the mutual recognition, within Singapore and that country or territory, of the qualifications and standards adopted by each of the parties to the arrangement regarding the practice of architecture.[20/2017]
Committees
7. The Board may appoint such committees from among its members, registered architects or allied professionals as it thinks fit to assist or advise the Board on such matters arising out of its functions under this Act as are referred to them by the Board.
Registers
8.—(1) The Board must keep and maintain at its office the following registers:(a) a register of architects containing the names of persons registered under section 15(1) or (2A) and any other particulars determined by the Board; (b) a register containing the names of persons recognised under section 15A and any other particulars determined by the Board; (c) a register of exempted architects containing the names of registered architects to whom an exemption under section 15(3) applies, and any other particulars determined by the Board; (d) an annual register of practitioners containing the particulars as contained in the declaration delivered under section 18(3)(a) and any other particulars determined by the Board; (e) an annual register of licensees containing the names and addresses of all licensed corporations, partnerships and limited liability partnerships issued with a licence and any other particulars determined by the Board.[20/2017] (2) A person may, with the Registrar’s approval and upon payment of the prescribed fee, obtain an extract from any register kept and maintained under subsection (1).[20/2017]
Appointment and duties of Registrar
9.—(1) There must be a chief executive of the Board called the Registrar of the Board, whose appointment and removal must be in accordance with the Public Sector (Governance) Act 2018.[5/2018] (1A) The Board may, subject to the Public Sector (Governance) Act 2018, appoint an individual to act temporarily as the Registrar during any period, or during all periods, when the Registrar —(a) is absent from duty or Singapore; or (b) is, for any reason, unable to perform the duties of the office.[5/2018] (2) In addition to duties under the Public Sector (Governance) Act 2018, the Registrar must —(a) be under the general direction of the Board; (b) sign all certificates of registration, practising certificates and licences; and (c) record all relevant entries in any register kept and maintained under section 8(1), including any suspension, cancellation or reinstatement of registration in any of the registers.[20/2017; 5/2018] (3) The Registrar must attend all meetings of the Board and record the proceedings of those meetings, and must conduct the correspondence and deal with any matters that the president or the Board may assign to the Registrar. (4) The Registrar must publish, in a manner that will secure adequate publicity to the general public, the following:(a) as soon as possible after 1 January each year, a list containing the names, qualifications and addresses of all registered architects who, on that date, have in force a practising certificate and the names of the architectural practices under which they are practising, or that are employing them; (b) from time to time, supplementary lists of the names, qualifications, addresses and the names of the architectural practices of persons added to or removed from the register of practitioners.[20/2017] (5) In any proceedings, a list published under subsection (4) is sufficient evidence that the persons whose names appear in the list are registered architects who have in force practising certificates.
Provisions on this page are reproduced verbatim from official open data. See the attribution line.
Compiled from an official source version. Later amendments or repeals may not be reflected; the official text prevails. Read the official text ↗
Source: Singapore Statutes Online (Attorney-General's Chambers), © Government of Singapore.
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