Regulators from across Australia attended a virtual national registration regulatory forum hosted by Jane MacMaster, Chief Engineer at Engineers Australia on 28 February 2023.

The aim of the forum was to have a conversation with regulatory stakeholders from across Australia with a focus on national consistency of registration schemes for engineers.

As the registration landscape matures, it is critical regulators and Engineers Australia work together to:

• seek national consistency in registration
• uphold and enhance professional standards
• create an effective co-regulatory model.

These topics were robustly discussed with insightful input from regulators and guest speakers representing the breadth of the engineering profession.

Also in attendance a representative from the Federal government who discussed the Commonwealth implementation of Automatic Mutual Recognition, a critical feature of nationally consistent registration schemes.

The Chair of Engineers Australia’s Professional Standards Committee, Peter Gow, spoke strongly about the importance of registration. He highlighted the need for all in attendance to work together, drawing on his previous experience as the Western Australian Building Commissioner.

The forum is part of Engineers Australia’s ongoing commitment to help lead the discussion towards nationally consistent registration for the benefit of our members, industry, regulators and the community.

Engineers Australia will convene more formal talks on registration over the coming months and we will continue to advocate for nationally consistent registration with regulators.

Regulation updates and feedback from the regulatory forum attendees will guide our engagement and advocacy plan.