The RIAI's purpose is "to uphold the highest standards in architecture and to provide impartial and authoritative advice and information in issues affecting architects, the built environment and society."

At the same time, the Authority has expressed apprehension about proposed regulatory changes outlined in the Building Control Bill 2005, particularly regarding the level of influence granted to the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) in determining architectural qualifications.

In response to these concerns, the RIAI removed regulations that unnecessarily restricted advertising by architects in May 2004 and stopped publishing percentage fees in draft contracts in order to address the Authority's apprehensions.

The aim of these actions were said to promote transparency and fairness within the profession while addressing the Competition Authority's concerns about undue influence and potential conflicts of interest..[8][9] The RIAI has also been accused of misleading the public on legislative issues concerning the provision of architectural services and registration cost.

Many of the so-called "Non-registered architects" have denounced the regulator’s attitude consisting of undermining and criticising architectural services provided by professionals not registered with the RIAI.

[11] In 2010, a complaint was launched against the RIAI for an ad it labelled as a "public notice" in which non-RIAI professionals were compared to incompetent practitioners.