Registers
The National Professional Engineers Register (NPER) and the National Engineering Technologists Register (NETR) are administered to safeguard the community, at no cost to government, with a particular emphasis on public safety and the risks associated with asymmetry of knowledge in an engineer-client relationship.
Asymmetry of knowledge is alleviated when information on registration standards is made available. Published information must express the observable functions that are necessary to practise competently in each area of the register in terms of competency-based eligibility criteria.
Public safety is protected when only competent practitioners are registered and provide engineering services in critical areas. Registered practitioners will be engaged to provide services in such areas only if stipulated by regulation or demanded by the market.
The administration of the registers is supervised by the National Engineering Registration Board and is carried out by Engineers Australia on behalf of relevant professional associations.
The registers currently are aligned to occupational groups - professional engineers, engineering technologists and engineering associates - as reflected in Engineers Australia membership structure. Admission to the registers is not restricted to membership of Engineers Australia or any other professional association.
The occupational group a member belongs to is determined on the basis of his or her original qualification, normally a BEng (4 years), a BTech (3 years) or a TAFE Diploma (2 years), respectively.
The Board has proposed that registration should be more closely aligned to the observable functions that are carried out competently in the workplace. The integrity of the registration system demands that applicants should be assessed against objective competency standards in a way that is both visible and defensible. A proposal to move towards a unified registration system is fully explained in a discussion paper (please see below).
