professional engineers registration act 2019 â stakeholder ......title microsoft powerpoint -...
TRANSCRIPT
Professional Engineers Registration Scheme
Stakeholder Forum
Wednesday 26 August 2020
• Welcome • Engagement for today’s meeting• Aim of the Stakeholder Forum• Materials for consultation at
engage.vic.gov.au/engineers-registration
• Structure of the Forum
About today’s meeting
Our approach to developing the materials
• Consultation undertaken to develop materials• Aiming for consistency with Queensland• Materials underpinned by legal advice• Aligning with other states and territories• National agenda
General milestones
Oct – Dec 2019
Aug –December
2020
Feb – Aug 2020
Targeted key stakeholder engagement commenced and preliminary information regarding scope of the regulations shared
PUBLIC CONSULTATION ON GUIDANCE MATERIAL, GENERAL REGULATIONS, CODE OF CONDUCT & FEE OPTIONS
Guidance material , proposed regulations and proposed Code of Conduct drafted, key stakeholders consulted and initial feedback
considered
Communication channels – Engage Victoria, e-newsletter, Industry channels
Commence public consultation 26 August – communication via Engage Victoria, e-newsletter, media and industry
FEES REGULATIONS & RIS – timelines to be confirmedJan – July
2021
Assessment schemes guidelines finalized & schemes submitted & considered for approval
Implementation of online Registration Scheme Go live 1 July 2021 - Scheme to be rolled out in a phased approach
Ongoing communication and engagement with targeted stakeholders & Comms Campaign more broadly
Materials for consultation
• Guidelines on key terms and provisions of the Act • Proposed Professional Engineers Registration
(General, Exemption and Assessment Scheme Fees) Regulations 2020
• Proposed Code of Conduct for Professional Engineers • Cost recovery options paper - optional approaches to
setting registration and endorsement fees under the Act
What the Act requires
The Act will require a person to be registered:• if they provide professional engineering services• are not exempt because the services are provided under:
o the direct supervision of a registered practising professional engineer, or
o only in accordance with a prescriptive standard• if they provide those services from a location in Victoria, or a
location outside Victoria if the services are for Victoria, and• if they provide those services in the five prescribed areas of
engineering of structural, civil, electrical, mechanical and fire safety engineering.
Guidance material
Guidelines on:• professional engineering services• direct supervision• extraterritorial application of the Act, and• the prescribed areas of engineering
Practice Note on: • prescriptive standards
Professional engineering service
The Act• Section 3(1) defines a professional engineering service.
GuidelinesDescribe four elements:• it is an engineering service• it requires or is based on the application of engineering
principles and data• it is an engineering related design, construction,
production, operation or maintenance activity, and• it is not provided only in accordance with a prescriptive
standard.
Direct supervision
The Act• Section 67(1) requires the person supervising to be a
registered practising professional engineer.• Section 67(2) defines direct supervision.
Direct supervision
GuidelinesThe supervising registered practising engineer must:• provide supervision that is direct to the unregistered person• be competent and have sufficient knowledge to perform the
service• direct the unregistered person in the carrying out of the
service• oversee the carrying out of the service by the unregistered
person• evaluate the carrying out of the service by the unregistered
person, and• take full responsibility for the carrying out of the service.
Prescriptive standard
The Act• Section 3(1) defines prescriptive standard.• Section 3(2) provides authority for a Practice Note.
Prescriptive standard
Practice NoteDescribes the four criteria that a standard must meet to be a prescriptive standard:• be a document• state procedures or criteria for carrying out the design, or
the construction or production activity to which it relates• require no engineering judgement to apply to the stated
procedures or criteria, and• not require advanced scientifically based calculations to
apply the stated procedures or criteria.
Extraterritorial application of the Act
The Act• Section 5 sets out the extraterritorial application of the Act.• A person must be registered if they are located:
o in Victoria and provide professional engineering services for Victoria
o in Victoria and provide professional engineering services for outside Victoria, and
o located outside Victoria and provide professional engineering services for Victoria.
Guidelines• Describe the situations where the extraterritorial provisions
apply to professional engineering services.
Areas of engineering
The Act• Section 4 of the Act lists the five areas of engineering where
a person must be registered to provide professional engineering services.
• These are – structural, civil, electrical, mechanical and fire safety.
• Other areas may be prescribed by regulations.
Guidelines• Describe each of the five prescribed areas of engineering
and the common sub-disciplines that fall under each area.
General Regulations
The Act• Section 103 provides for regulations to be made under the
Act on a range of matters.
The Proposed Regulations• Examples of the matters included in the regulations are:
o information to accompany an application for registrationo continuation of registration at renewalo the form of the Register of Professional Engineerso infringement offences and penalties, ando exemptions and the phasing-in of registration.
General Regulations
Exemptions and phasing-in of registration (Regulation 7)• On 1 July 2021 all professional engineers will be exempt
from the requirement to be registered.• Except those engineers who are engaged in the building
industry or intend to engage in the building industry.• It is proposed that the exemption will be lifted making
registration mandatory for:o fire safety engineers on 1 October 2021o structural and civil engineers on 1 October 2022o electrical engineers on 1 June 2023, ando mechanical engineers 1 December 2023.
Proposed Code of Conduct
The Act• Section 30(1) provides authority for the Director of
Consumer Affairs Victoria to approve codes of conduct.• Under section 33 a breach of the Code is a breach of the
Act and grounds for disciplinary action by Consumer Affairs Victoria and the Victorian Building Authority.
• Section 33(2) provides for a code, among other matters, to include obligations for registered professional engineers to act fairly, honestly and in the best interests of their clients.
Proposed Code of Conduct
The proposed Code of Conduct• Includes 14 obligations that will apply to all registered
professional engineers.• Examples of the obligations in the Code are to:
o know and comply with the law o be honest and fair o inform clients of the consequences of disregarded adviceo act in the best interests of a cliento act in area of professional competenceo directly supervise, ando inform and communicate with clients.
Proposed Code of Conduct
Fire safety engineers• The Code may include a separate chapter of obligations for
fire safety engineers.• These will be the obligations in any code prepared for fire
safety engineers by the Victorian Building Authority.• The Victorian Building Authority is currently considering a
code for fire safety engineers and will separately consult on such as code.
Options for setting fees for registration and endorsement
• Government policy is to fully recover the costs of the scheme, unless departure from the full cost principle is justified.
• Fees will be tested through a Regulatory Impact Statement, which will assess the costs and benefits of different options for setting the fees.
• Options: 1. Full cost recovery – Activity-based 2. Partial cost recovery – Subsidised 3. Short-term partial, medium/long-term full cost recovery 4. Full cost recovery – Simple distribution 5. Full cost recovery – Risk-based
Public Consultation timelines
Public consultation on:• the guidance materials• the proposed Regulations• the proposed Code, and• the options for setting registration and endorsement
fees.
Key dates:• 26 August – Public consultation opens for a six-week
period.• 7 October – Public consultation closes.
Next steps – key dates
• 14 August – written feedback on the guidance material, proposed Regulations, proposed Code and options for setting fees for registration and endorsement
• 26 August – Public consultation opens for a six week period• 31 August – written feedback on the assessment scheme
guidelines• 7 September – invitation to submit assessment schemes for
approval opens for a six week period• 7 October – Public consultation closes• 19 October – invitation period for assessment schemes
closes
Response to Public Consultation
Public Consultation materials available at engage.vic.gov.au/engineers-registration
Written feedback due by 7 October 2020 onEngage Victoria platform
Stay updatedTo stay updated on the reforms’ progress, information is available at Engage Victoria. You can also subscribe to receive Professional Engineers Registration Scheme updates.
Thank you