Victorian Engineer Registration Deadline Looms

Mechanical engineers providing professional engineering services in Victoria must be registered from December 1 this year or face significant penalties, HIVIA’s Greg Forbes warns

The Victorian Government’s Professional Engineers Registration Scheme is moving into its next phase with the extension to mechanical engineers.

Under the scheme, engineers who provide professional engineering services in Victoria, or who provide engineering services from outside the state which are intended for Victoria, are required to be registered under the scheme from December 1, 2023.

It is an offence under the Act to provide professional engineering services without being registered. Significant penalties apply for unregistered trading.

HVIA National Manager Policy and Government Relations Greg Forbes says all engineers working in Victoria or providing services to Victorian clients should check the Consumer Affairs website for details of the scheme’s requirements.

For the purposes of the Act, an engineering service is defined as an activity or work that:

• Is performed for, or a skill provided to, another person;
• Requires, or is based on, the application of engineering principles, and data; and
• Is ‘engineering’ because it is performed by an engineer and comprises or applies to design, construction, repair or control of engines, machines, electrical equipment, roads, railways, bridges or one of the five prescribed areas of engineering (fire, civil, structural, electrical and mechanical).

In addition, HVIA also recommends any members using engineering services should ensure the engineers they are using are aware of the requirements and, if relevant, are compliant.

It is also important members are aware of exceptions surrounding engineers operating under the direct supervision of a registered practising professional engineer or only in accordance with a prescriptive standard.

The HVIA has long argued the Victorian scheme is flawed and it supports a national rather than a state-based approach to regulation, but it is important members comply with the letter of the law in Victoria.

“I would urge any members who are affected by the scheme and have not yet registered to act quickly to ensure they are on the register by 1 December 2023,” Forbes says