The Practice Standard for Professional Engineers will apply to all NSW registered professional engineers. It sets the clear standards of work and behaviour by engineers carrying out professional engineering work under the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 (DBP Act).
On this page
What does the practice standard cover?
How were the standards developed?
How will the standards be implemented?
How will industry be supported in the transition to the mandatory standards?
Will there be a review process before the standards become mandatory?
Key information
- The Practice Standard for Professional Engineers was released in March 2024. It set out the obligations, responsibilities and standards required of registered Professional Engineers to undertake engineering work under the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020.
- It was previously indicated the Standard would be enforced from September 2024.
- Building Commission NSW is currently conducting a further review of the published Standard following feedback, and is making revisions, to ensure it has the necessary focus on the work of professional engineers as distinct from other legislated roles.
- Building Commission NSW will undertake further consultation with industry on the revised version of the Standard and additional obligations for specific classes of engineer in September and October 2024.
- Enforcement of the revised Practice Standard will follow this consultation, expected in early 2025.
What does the practice standard cover?
The Practice Standard for Professional Engineers (PDF, 595.97 KB) was released in March 2024. It sets out the obligations, responsibilities and standards required of registered Professional Engineers to complete engineering work under the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 (DBP Act).
It is proposed that compliance with the Practice Standard will be a condition of registration for all Professional Engineers registered under the DBP Act, which includes:
- Civil engineering
- Electrical engineering
- Fire safety engineering
- Geotechnical engineering
- Mechanical engineering
- Structural engineering
This Practice Standard also details how Building Commission NSW will assess a Professional Engineer’s compliance with the Practice Standard.
This Practice Standard should be understood in conjunction with other requirements and conditions of registration imposed on Professional Engineers, including:
- Code of Practice for Professional Engineers, set out in Division 2, Part 2, Schedule 4 of the Design and Building Practitioners Regulation 2021 (the DBP Regulation)
- conditions of registration imposed on design practitioners, principal design practitioners or building practitioners, where the Professional Engineer is registered as one or more types of practitioner under the DBP Act, and
- Building and Development Certifiers Act 2018, where the engineer is undertaking certification work.
How were the standards developed?
The publishing of the Practice Standard follows a targeted industry consultation and review process undertaken in the second half of 2023. Several components of the Practice Standard, particularly the fit-for-purpose requirement, were refined after the targeted consultation. Following feedback on the published Practice Standard, further consultation with industry on a revised version and additional obligations for specific classes of engineer will be undertaken in September and October 2024.
How will industry be supported in the transition to the mandatory standards?
Building Commission NSW is the regulator of the building industry in NSW, and its compliance team will undertake education on the new Practice Standard prior to it becoming mandatory. Once mandatory, this team will also be responsible for compliance, enforcement actions and penalties.
Will there be a review process before the standards become mandatory?
A further consultation process will be held before the Practice Standard becomes a mandatory condition of registration to make any final changes required to support engineers to implement these new obligations.
The ‘Additional Obligations’ section for specific classes of engineers will be developed in consultation with industry before the Practice Standard becomes a mandatory condition of registration.
Building Commission NSW will schedule a roundtable before the Practice Standard becomes a condition of registration to provide industry the opportunity to comment on the general sections of the Practice Standard and to provide feedback on the ‘Additional Obligations’ section.
Further information
Contact Building Commission NSW
Call 13 27 00 (between 8.30am – 5pm, Monday to Friday) or contact us online.