Registration of engineers – gold standard or red tape?
The Insight
The public’s confidence in the construction industry has taken a battering in recent times thanks to various issues including combustible cladding and significant defects in structures.
The Building Confidence Report was commissioned by the Building Ministers Forum in 2017 with the ‘goal… to enhance public trust through effective implementation of building and construction standards that protect the interests of those who own, work, live, or conduct their business in Australian buildings.’
Of the recommendations from this report, several focus on the registration of building practitioners, including engineers. Engineers Australia have a National Engineering Register which they describe as a ‘comprehensive directory of Australian engineers who have met the high standards of professionalism expected within the industry.’ Despite the existence of this national register, the responsibility and framework for registration of engineers is legislated on a state and territory basis, with requirements, including the disciplines of engineering for which registration is available (if at all) differing widely between jurisdictions.
While there are differing opinions, particularly as to extent and degree of regulation, the general consensus is in favour of registration of engineers. But whose pocket does it hit?
The Impact
Registration of engineers gives stakeholders confidence that those responsible for engineering services have met a minimum level of qualification and experience. Additionally, registration under a state or territory scheme typically requires practitioners to hold Professional Indemnity insurance which provides protection in the case of professional negligence. Further, registration allows a legislative mechanism by which parties can make a complaint against a registered engineer allowing for investigation and disciplinary action if deemed necessary.
The above benefits help to re-build the public trust in engineers. While this is important, most engineering businesses will have been directly impacted by sharply rising insurance premiums, reflecting the perceived risk of engineering work by the insurance industry. Regulation of engineers through registration can help to combat this by giving insurers confidence that the bureaucracy is providing checks and balances.
But what about the extra cost that this bureaucracy brings to construction projects? Fees for structural engineering services for unit developments are often in the order of 0.8% of construction cost (with this dependent on location or project size). Yes, margins are tight and any increase in cost has a flow on effect. But the cost of getting it wrong spreads beyond the owners to the construction industry and property market more broadly. And in a country where we willingly pay real estate agents commissions of 2 – 4% of market value to sell these same developments, where do our priorities really lie?