About the Scheme

frequently asked questions Frequently Asked Questions

About the Scheme

The scheme is designed to improve the occupational standards of the profession, protect consumers and put a cap on the amount of damages a court can award against members covered by the scheme in legal actions for economic loss or property damage arising from anything they did or did not do in carrying out their occupation.

The scheme applies to members of Engineers Australia who are also members of the Engineering, Science and Technology Professional Standards Society (ESTPSS) of Engineers Australia. More information is available by clicking on the links below.

Membership

Eligibility

Individuals, sole practitioners, corporations and partnerships are eligible to join the Engineering, Science and Technology Professional Standards Society (ESTPSS) and be covered by the scheme. To be covered by the Engineers Australia Professional Standards Scheme, you must be a member of Engineers Australia and a member of the ESTPSS.

To be a member of the ESTPSS, you must meet certain eligibility requirements, depending on whether you are seeking to join as an individual or as a corporation or partnership. See Applying for membership of the ESTPSS.

If you are an individual or sole practitioner, you must be a current Chartered Member of Engineers Australia.

If you are joining as a corporation or partnership, all partners, officers, employees and associates in your corporation or partnership must join the ESTPSS if they are eligible to do so.

All employed engineers authorised by the corporation or partnership to sign off engineering and related work must apply to join the ESTPSS and must meet the entry standards for individual members.

A corporation or partnership will not be covered by the scheme if individuals within the firm or partnership who are eligible to join the ESTPSS do not do so.

Compliance requirements

Because the professional standards scheme aims to improve practice standards, members of Engineers Australia seeking to join the ESTPSS must be prepared to commit to a rigorous compliance regime.

Members must have:

  • current public liability insurance and professional indemnity insurance that conform to the insurance standards determined by the National Council of Engineers Australia

Members must also promote and advertise in business documentation that they belong to a professional standards scheme.

For full details see Membership requirements.

Costs

Members will pay an application fee and an ongoing annual subscription fee (see Schedule of Fees (PDF 139KB) for details) to belong to the scheme. The application fee includes costs for:

  • the risk management audit
  • the continuing professional development audit
  • checking your professional indemnity insurance policy against the Engineers Australia insurance standards
  • other compliance checks, as set out in the requirements for membership of the scheme.

The annual subscription fee will include not only the fee for membership of the ESTPSS, but also the $50 fee per individual membership that Engineers Australia must pay to the Professional Standards Council and the fee to check members' professional indemnity insurance policy annually.

There will be no pro-rata payments for any of the fees associated with membership of the ESTPSS. Refunds will not be given for fees paid for members who cease to be members of the scheme.

Complaints and discipline

All members of the scheme are bound by the Code of Ethics of Engineers Australia.

Complaints against members of the scheme will be handled in accordance with the Disciplinary Regulations of Engineers Australia.

Breaches of the Code of Ethics by members of the scheme must be notified to the Professional Standards Council and be reported on the website for the scheme.