Professional engineers registration scheme

Who needs to be registered

Individuals providing professional engineering services (developing or overseeing the development of engineering designs) in the prescribed areas of engineering must be registered where those services are:

• provided in the ACT, or from a location outside the ACT where the services are provided for projects in the ACT (for example, provided for a project or purpose in the ACT)
• not being carried out under the direction and oversight of a professional engineer who is responsible for the service
• not being provided in accordance with a prescriptive standard

What is a prescribed area of engineering?

The current prescribed areas of engineering are:

• Civil
• Structural
• Electrical
• Mechanical
• Fire Safety

A Ministerial guideline has been issued to provide assistance on the scope of engineering services within each of the above areas of engineering.

Eligibility

To be eligible for registration an individual must:

• Meet the required qualifications, experience and competencies
• Be suitable to be registered as a professional engineer
• Not be disqualified from applying for registration*
• Not have had their registration* cancelled in the previous 5 years

*registration includes registration under the ACT scheme or a scheme in another jurisdiction.

An application for registration must:

• be in writing (through the link provided under 'Applying for registration' below);
• state your name and contact details;
• state the area or areas of engineering for which registration is sought;
• include a report from an approved assessment entity;
• include the results of a criminal history check; and
• include suitability information.

Qualifications, experience and competencies

Any application for registration is required to include a report from an approved assessment entity about an applicant’s qualifications, experience and competencies as determined by the Minister in the Professional Engineers (Qualifications, Experience and Competencies) Determination 2024 (the determination) as amended from time to time.

The determination contains:

1. what constitutes an assessment report which contains the assessment of an individual’s qualifications, experience and competencies undertaken by an approved assessment entity
2. the qualifications, experience and competencies that an individual must have to be eligible to be registered as a professional engineer in the area(s) of engineering of which registration is being sought;
3. the additional qualifications and experience an applicant must have to be eligible to be a professional engineer who provides professional engineering services in the building and construction industry; and
4. the alternative pathways for being deemed to have meet the determined qualifications and experience for eligibility to be a professional engineer.

Providing services to or for the Building and Construction Industry

Providing professional engineering services to or for the building and construction industry encompasses work for or in connection to the construction, alteration or demolition of a building (excluding disposal of waste materials generated by this activity) and work in relation to repairs of a structural nature to a building (section 7, Building Act 2004). Buildings include all classes of buildings under the National Construction Code (NCC), structures, temporary buildings, temporary structures and any part of a building or structure.

Additional requirements are contained in the Professional Engineers (Qualifications, Experience and Competencies) Determination 2024 and these must be assessed by an approved assessment entity (see 'Assessment entities' below) for a person to be able to provide professional engineering services to or for the building and construction industry.

Registration term

Registration will be issued for a maximum period of 3 years and will be granted to an individual and remain with them for the duration of the registration period, irrelevant of what job they are in.

You will need the following to apply for registration:

An ACT Digital Account

To apply for registration online you will require a Level 2 ACT digital account.

For information about alternative methods for applying for registration please contact Access Canberra Construction Licencing and Governance at cwpl@act.gov.au.

Identity documents

Identity documents are required for the creation of an ACT digital account. There are two steps in that process that require identity documents.

Step 1

You will require ONE of the following:

• Driver’s licence
• Australian passport
• Birth certificate
• Australian citizenship certificate
• Change of name certificate
• Marriage certificate
• ImmiCard
• Australian visa

Step 2

You will require ONE of the following:

• Driver’s licence (if not used on Step 1)
• Australian passport (if not used in Step 1)
• Medicare Card
• Centrelink Concession Card

Assessment report

Each application for registration in an area of engineering must include an assessment report from an approved assessment entity (see 'Assement entities below) that states that the applicant meets the Professional Engineers (Qualifications, Experience and Competencies) Determination 2024 for each area of engineering in which registration is sought.

If the applicant seeks to provide professional engineering services to or for the building and construction industry, they must indicate this on their application and their assessment report must include an assessment against the additional requirements contained in the Professional Engineers (Qualifications, Experience and Competencies) Determination 2024.

A criminal history check

A criminal history check must be submitted with an application for registration. The criminal history check must not be older than 6 months at the time of your application.

Making an application

To make an application for registration visit Professional Engineer Registration Scheme - New Application.

Renewal of registration is contingent on completion of continuing professional development and the individual remaining suitable to be registered.

An application for renewal must be made no earlier than 3 months before the end of the registration and no later than 6 months after the end of the registration.

There will be a fee on:

• Application
• Registration
• Renewal

Fees for the Scheme have been determined in the Professional Engineers (Fees) Determination 2024.

Applicants will also need to pay a fee to an assessment entity for an assessment report. These fees are determined by the Assessment Entity but approved by the ACT Government. If you have any issues with a fee being charged by an Assessment Entity this should first be raised with the Assessment Entity. Complaints about approved assessment entities should be sent to EPSDDBuildingRefrom@act.gov.au.

Depending on where you live, you may be entitled to work in the ACT as a registered professional engineer under Automatic Mutual Recognition (AMR). AMR will apply from 6 March 2025 when it becomes mandatory to be registered in the ACT to provide professional engineering services in the prescribed areas of engineering.

If you are registered under an existing engineer’s registration scheme in Victoria, New South Wales, Western Australia, Tasmania or the Northern Territory you will be required to notify Access Canberra before carrying out the activities of a registered professional engineer in the ACT. The notification system will be available from 6 March 2025. Notifications are not required before then and will not be accepted before that date. Any notifications made prior to that date will not be taken to meet the notification requirements under the Mutual Recognition Act 1992 (Cth).

As the existing schemes in New South Wales, Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory only apply to the provision of professional engineering services within the building and construction industry, you will require registration in the ACT to provide professional engineering services outside that industry.

If you are not entitled to AMR (for example you are registered in Queensland), you may be able to apply for an ACT registration through mutual recognition. Mutual Recognition applications will be able to be submitted in 2025. Applications are not required before then and will not be accepted before then. Access Canberra has 28 days to issue decisions on applications made under Mutual Recognition. If you are currently providing engineering services in the ACT in a prescribed area of engineering you may wish to apply for registration under the ACT scheme directly. These applications are able to be made prior to 6 March 2025 in accordance with the timings advised on this page.

Mutual recognition is available to those registered in New Zealand under the Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Act 1997 (Cth).

A public register will be available from 6 March 2025 when it becomes mandatory to be registered under the ACT’s Professional Engineers Registration Scheme. Further information about the register will be made available on this website prior to 6 March 2025.

Professional engineers registered under the Professional Engineers Act 2023 must:

• Comply with any conditions of their registration
• Comply with the Professional Engineers Act 2023
• Comply with the Code of Practice
• Undertake continuing professional development
• Comply with applicable laws
• When carrying out a professional engineering service:
  • meet the standard reasonably expected of a professional engineer; and
  • demonstrate a level of competence reasonably expected of a professional engineer; and
  • not engage in improper or unethical conduct.

Code of Practice

The Act provides the Minister with the power to approve a code of practice for professional engineers, an area of engineering or a professional engineering service. A Code of Practice is being developed for the scheme and will be available later this year.

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements

CPD ensures that skills and competencies of professional engineers are kept up to date with modernisations and developments in the sector and will be required before registration will be renewed.

The specific details of the CPD requirements for the scheme are being finalised. The requirements will cover:

• required hours
• areas and types of activities
• any limitations on the number of hours that can be claimed against a specific type of activity
• record-keeping requirements

Complaints about a professional engineer

A person may complain to the Professional Engineers Registrar about a professional engineer if the person believes on reasonable grounds that the professional engineer has:

1. contravened the Professional Engineers Act 2023, or
2. when carrying out a professional engineering service, the engineer has:
   1. failed to meet the standard reasonably expected of a professional engineer; or
   2. not demonstrated a level of competence reasonably expected of a professional engineer; or
   3. engaged in improper or unethical conduct.

A complaint must:

1. be in writing to cwpl@act.gov.au;
2. include the names and details of the complainant [if being made on behalf of another person, the details of that person and your authority to make the complaint];
3. the name of professional engineer the complaint is about; and
4. particulars of the complaint.

Approved assessment entities are an integral part of the scheme and will undertake registration assessments and provide advice to the Registrar on whether a person meets the registration requirements.

An approved assessment entity will be authorised to assess and recommend that an applicant meets the necessary qualifications, experience and competencies to be registered as a professional engineer in the areas(s) of engineering for which an application for registration has been made. The assessment report prepared will be provided to the applicant for submission with their application for registration. An application for registration cannot be submitted without the assessment report. An application for registration cannot be submitted without the assessment report.

Approved assessment entities

The approval instrument and conditions of approval is contained in the Professional Engineers (Assessment Entity) Approval 2024.

The following entities are approved assessment entities:

Seeking approval to be an assessment entity

An entity seeking approval must meet the eligible entity requirements under the Act and the proposed scheme must be an eligible assessment scheme.

Approved assessment entities may charge the applicant a fee for this service. In seeking approval to be an assessment entity, an entity must include details of proposed fees and how those are reasonable considering the scope of services being offered.

Further information is available in the Approval as an assessment entity under the Professional Engineers Act 2023 factsheet [208.8 KB].

Entities who wish to be approved as an assessment entity under the Professional Engineers Act 2023 should email EPSDDBuildingReform@act.gov.au for the Application forms.

Complaints about an assessment entity

Any complaints about an assessment entity should be sent to EPSDDBuildingReform@act.gov.au and include the following information:

• Name of the assessment entity
• Background
• Issue
• Details of interactions with the assessment entity on the issue to date
• Any breaches of the assessment entities complaint handling procedures in managing the complaint.
  • It is a condition of approval that assessment entities publish their complaint handling procedures on their website.