Interested in Joining?

The pre-requisites to apply to join are outlined in the table below:

Step Action
1

Become a member of the Engineering, Science and Technology Professional Standards Society of Engineers Australia.

Note: You and all eligible employees within your firm must be Chartered Members of Engineers Australia
2 Ensure that current Public Liability and Professional Indemnity insurance policies are in place and conform to the Insurance Standards determined by the National Council of Engineers Australia. 
3 Ensure that a risk management system is in place in your practice.
4

Comply with the Chartered Member Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Compliance Policy of Engineers Australia.

Note: Your and all eligible employees must either have had a CPD audit in the three years prior to lodging an application to join or have a CPD audit when you apply to join.

 

Apply to Join

Follow these four steps to become a member of the Scheme:

STEP 1:

Become a member of the Engineering, Science and Technology Professional Standards Society (ESTPSS) of Engineers Australia

The eligibility requirements for joining the ESTPSS are as follows:

  Applying to join as...
A a sole practitioner with your business NOT under a company structure
B a sole practitioner with your business under a company structure
C a corporation or partnership


A: Joining the ESTPSS as a sole practitioner with your business NOT under a company structure

  • You must be a current Chartered Member of Engineers Australia, holding the title of Chartered Professional Engineer, Chartered Engineering Technologist or Chartered Engineering Associate.
  • You must provide details of your practice's annual gross fee income for the most recent financial year (to enable determination of Classes of membership).

Note: A single figure amount is all that is initially required. If you have not provided services for a full financial year, a bona fide estimate of the projected total annual gross fee income for the full financial year will be the total annual gross fee income.

  • You must provide annually full copies of your current Public Liability and Professional Indemnity insurance policies, which must meet Engineers Australia's Insurance Standards (see STEP 2).
  • You must sign a declaration annually that you have sufficient assets to cover the excess in the insurance policy.
  • You must consent to particular information being published on a public register of members of the Engineers Australia Scheme on the Engineers Australia website (see Membership Requirements).
  • You must agree to certain details of complaints made against you being published on the website.

B: Joining the ESTPSS as a sole practitioner with your business under a company structure

  • You must be a current Chartered Member of Engineers Australia, holding the title of Chartered Professional Engineer, Chartered Engineering Technologist or Chartered Engineering Associate.
  • You must provide details of your practice's annual gross fee income for the most recent financial year (to enable determination of Classes of membership).

Note: A single figure amount is all that is initially required. If you have not provided services for a full financial year, a bona fide estimate of the projected total annual gross fee income for the full financial year will be the total annual gross fee income.

  • You must provide annually full copies of your current Public Liability and Professional Indemnity insurance policies, which must meet Engineers Australia's Insurance Standards (see STEP 2).
  • You must sign a declaration annually that you have sufficient assets to cover the excess in the insurance policy.
  • You must consent to particular information being published on a public register of members of the Engineers Australia Scheme on the Engineers Australia website (see Membership Requirements).
  • You must agree to certain details of complaints made against you being published on the website.

C: Joining the ESTPSS 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
  • Each eligible partner, officer, employee and associate must be a current Chartered Member of Engineers Australia

Important: 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

  • Details of the practice's annual gross fee income for the most recent financial year must be provided as a basis for determining which Class of membership to join

Note: A single figure amount is all that is initially required. If services have not been provided for a full financial year, a bona fide estimate of the projected total annual gross fee income for the full financial year will be the total annual gross fee income.

  • Full copies of the practice's current Public Liability and Professional Indemnity insurance policies, which must meet Engineers Australia's Insurance Standards, are to be provided (see STEP 2).
  • A declaration must be signed annually that there is sufficient assets to cover the excess in the insurance policy.
  • Particular information must be permitted to be published on a public register of members of the Engineers Australia Scheme on the Engineers Australia website (see Membership Requirements).
  • Eligible employees must agree that certain details of complaints made against their practice can be published on the website.
  • The corporation or partnership must demonstrate that it has a risk management system in place to manage the risk in the business and that it is actually applied (see STEP 3).
  • The corporation or partnership must advertise membership of the Engineers Australia Professional Standards Scheme on all business documentation and stationery (see STEP 4).
     


 

STEP 2:

Ensure that current Public Liability and Professional Indemnity insurance policies are in place and conform to the Insurance Standards approved by the Council of Engineers Australia

Provide a copy of either the actual policy document or, at a minimum, a copy of the Policy Schedule issued on insurance company paper.

Important: Insurance evidence supplied as a tax invoice is not acceptable evidence that insurance is actually in place.

When applying to join the ESTPSS disclosure must be made of Professional Indemnity insurance claims incurred or alerts reported. Similarly, at the time of the annual renewal disclosure is to be made of claims incurred or alerts reported during the previous year.

The centralised collection of Professional Indemnity insurance claims and alert data is seen as critical to the ongoing monitoring of the Scheme.

Refer to the Insurance Standards approved by the Council of Engineers Australia.

 

STEP 3:

Ensure that a risk management system is in place in your practice

Demonstrate that a risk management system is in place which, as a minimum, addresses the core risk management components set down in Engineers Australia's Risk Management Strategies Guide:

  • Job acceptance protocol
  • Terms of engagement
  • Work procedures
  • Business plan

When you apply to join the ESTPSS, you will have to provide selected documentation for three projects or jobs completed within the 12 months prior to lodgement of your application. The documentation will be assessed to determine whether there are risk management strategies in your engineering practice that comply with the risk management strategies set down for membership of the ESTPSS.

For each of the three projects or jobs, you must provide summary documents covering:

  • The relationship between you and your client. This should include the form of agreement or contract and the job acceptance protocol.
  • The scope of work undertaken. Provide a copy of the brief or client's instructions for the particular job.
  • The work produced. Provide a copy of the quality control checklist(s) used for this job.

The table below sets out the specific documents that you must provide:

 

Terms of Engagement Scope of Work Work Produced
Form of agreement or contract:
A photocopy of the contract or copy of the letter of offer and acceptance for each project.

Job acceptance protocol:
A copy of any checklists or documents which show why you accepted the job. This may include tender briefing material.

 Brief or client's instructions:
A copy of the client's brief and/or your statement of understanding of the scope of work. This may include a copy of your letter to the client setting out what you are going to do.
 

Quality control checklists:

Stage or hold points
For larger projects the work might be staged. For such work, it is expected that there should be a clear understanding of the work to be delivered at each stage. If applicable to the project being submitted, provide such details.
Note: This may not be applicable to small projects.

Data collection
This may either be information the client provides and/or information you have to obtain to do the work e.g. plans of earlier work, earlier reports containing data, briefing notes, test results, architect drawings etc.

Data checking
For each project identify whether the (input) data is to be checked and by whom.

Timeline or program
Information which shows that the client is aware of how long the job will take.

Cost control
Evidence of how you propose to control your costs and avoid financial loss.

Work variation management
Show how any changes to the scope of works or variations have been handled.

Design
Evidence of the design criteria for the project e.g. Australian Standards and codes used.

Design checks
Show how the design was checked and by whom e.g. self verification, verification by another employee or by an independent external party.

Sign off responsibility
Evidence of sign- off on the project.

Satisfaction of agreement or contract
Evidence that the job was completed in line with the agreement or contract.

Client satisfaction (optional)
If appropriate, evidence of client satisfaction.

 
 

STEP 4:

Comply with the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Policy of Engineers Australia.

You and all eligible employees must either have had a CPD audit in the three years prior to lodging an application to join or have a CPD audit when you apply to join (see Member Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Policy).