National Registration reforms in sight for Engineers

Australia’s peak engineering organisations have welcomed the commitment by the Commonwealth, state and territory treasurers to embark on historic reforms potentially leading to a national registration scheme for engineers.

A meeting of all treasurers last Friday 28 November agreed to take a constructive step towards improving Australia’s productivity by signing on to examine key occupational licensing reforms including engineering. This will help ensure that only qualified, competent engineering professionals can practise under one scheme nationally.

Engineering registration currently varies by individual states and territories, creating regulatory gaps, inefficiencies and barriers to workforce mobility.

Earlier this year,  Professionals Australia,  Engineers Australia, Consult Australia, and the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia together asked Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers to work with governments across Australia to replace the current fragmented system with a unified approach that improves efficiency.

Professionals Australia CEO Sam Roberts said “Professionals Australia has long called for a coherent national framework for engineering registration, and this is a crucial step towards a system that recognises professional competence, supports a modern, mobile workforce and delivers critical projects on time.”

Australia already has the building blocks in place. The engineering profession operates under internationally recognised standards through the International Engineering Alliance (IEA) Accords, helping to ensure qualifications and professional competence are benchmarked globally.

Read more about our Engineering policy agenda here.