Engineers Australia acknowledges the passage of the Professional Engineers Registration Bill 2019 through Victoria’s Legislative Assembly.
Engineers Australia’s General Manager – Victoria, Alesha Printz said compulsory registration of engineers in Victoria will result in far higher levels of community safety and consumer protection and called for the continued support of the bill.
“While Victorians in many other professions, including doctors, architects and lawyers, have to register to be able to legally carry out work, there is nothing to stop a person from calling themselves an engineer, even if they are not an engineer,” said Ms Printz.
“Currently, consumers have no real way of knowing whether they are dealing with an engineer who is currently qualified and competent, or if they maintain standards through ongoing professional development and are bound by a code of conduct.
“Compulsory registration would be a significant step forward for the industry and we urge as many as possible members to support the legislation in the upper house.”
Ms Printz said Engineers Australia has conducted a vast amount of consultation with its Victorian members and the majority support compulsory registration of engineers.
“Engineers Australia has consistently engaged with members and continues to do so. In 2019 alone, Engineers Australia has conducted 22 major presentations to members in Victoria, where the issue of compulsory registration has received overwhelming majority support,” she said.
“In addition, public polling has shown that the Victorian community is strongly supportive, with 93 per cent of respondents in a recent poll saying they thought engineers should be “registered or licensed”.”
The Professional Engineers Registration Bill 2019 is likely to be debated in the upper house at the end of May.
