Amid major changes for NSW engineers and the wider Building Industry, Engineers Australia representatives met with The Hon. Anoulack Chanthivong to discuss the important role of engineering in NSW. We advocated for NSW to join Queensland, Victoria, the ACT and soon South Australia in a nationally consistent approach for registration of professional engineers.
As Building Minister in NSW Anoulack Chanthivong is leading discussions on the proposed Building Act and related changes to the way engineers will be regulated across their involvement in Class 1,2,3 and 9c Buildings in the state.
The meeting was a chance to raise concerns our members have about many of the proposed changes in the Bill that will affect NSW engineers and the wider building industry.
Acting Chief Engineer, Bernadette Foley said Engineers Australia continues to advocate for a nationally consistent approach to the registration of all engineers.
The current regulation scheme for engineers in NSW undermines the goal of nationally consistent registration and is at odds with many states across the country including Victoria and Queensland.
“The registration approach in NSW, as it currently stands, combines engineering with other building professions for a one size fits all approach. It places impractical obligations on individual engineers and we want the NSW Government to understand that they have an opportunity to get the settings right in a state where a significant number of engineering firms employ many engineers,” Ms Foley said.
“We advised the Minister that the proposed Bill and approach to registration risks putting NSW at an economic disadvantage compared to other states with more effective schemes already in operation.”
Group Executive Policy and Public Affairs, Damian Ogden welcomed the Minister’s decision to listen to our members and extend the time period for consultation on the changes so that their concerns can be listened to and addressed.
“The meeting provided an important opportunity for Engineers Australia to continue to advocate directly to the Minister on issues such as registration and Automatic Mutual recognition, insurance requirements for engineers and the proposed NSW practice standard,” Mr Ogden said.
“We want a strong working relationship with the NSW Government and we want to work collaboratively with other stakeholders to improve building standards and outcomes for engineers and the public so that everyone can have confidence in the processes.”
Engineers Australia was pleased to meet Minister Chanthivong and over the coming months we’ll raise important issues for our members with other Ministers and elected representatives across the NSW parliament.