Information for recognition of professional engineering bodies

Recognised professional bodies of engineers

Professional engineering bodies can apply for recognition to operate a scheme to recognise or register individual professional engineers providing engineering services in respect of class 2, 3 and 9c buildings, or buildings with a class 2, 3 or 9c part, in any of the six classes of engineers:

• civil
• electrical
• fire safety
• geotechnical
• mechanical
• structural

Learn more about working on regulated buildings.

Alteration or renovation work for existing Class 3 and 9c buildings will come into effect on 1 July 2026. Further details can be found under the Building Legislation Amendment (Building Classes) Regulation 2023.

Registered or recognised professional engineers under the scheme can then benefit from a fast tracked registration process and their details will be listed on the Public Register for Design and Building Practitioners. 

Registering as a professional engineer under the DBP

Under the Design and Building Practitioners legislation, there are three potential pathways through which a professional engineer can be registered.

1. Register directly through Building Commission NSW website (pathway 1).
2. Register with a recognised engineering body that manages a registration and recognition scheme (pathway 2).
3. Register with an approved professional engineering body with a scheme recognised by the Professional Standards Council (pathway 3). 

Benefits of a co-regulatory approach

• The recognised engineering body determines the assessment, recognition or registration, and ongoing oversight of Professional Engineers on its register. The body will be publicly identified as a recognised engineering body.
• This process, also known as the pathway 2 registration process, will provide for a recognised engineering body to provide evidence to Building Commission NSW that a person has been registered or recognised as a professional engineer. 

Requirements of recognised engineering bodies with a recognition or registration scheme

The Design and Building Practitioners Regulation 2021 sets out requirements the engineering body and the scheme will need to satisfy to be considered suitable for recognition.

The recognition or registration scheme must:

• be open to members and non-members of the engineering body
• adequately provide for the assessment of qualifications, experience, knowledge, skills and competencies of professional engineers in an area of engineering
• include processes for assessment, establishing and auditing continuing professional development (CPD) and insurance requirements
• monitor its recognised or registered engineers to ensure compliance with the requirements of their scheme, including resolving complaints, investigating misconduct, and undertaking dispute resolution and disciplinary action
• be made available on a public website for openness and transparency and include clear information on the scheme, including the application process, and the processes for monitoring and investigating engineers, and complaint resolution and dispute resolution
• must include a searchable register of current or former registered or recognised persons under the scheme, including any disciplinary action taken with persons on the register. The register must be published.

Recognised engineering bodies will also be required to report annually to the Secretary on the operation of the scheme, including disciplinary action and rejected applications. 

List of recognised engineering bodies

Details of recognised engineering bodies will be published on our website. Currently, there are no approved recognised engineering bodies, with a recognition or registration scheme, for pathway 2 registration. 

Privacy disclosure

The Department of Customer Service on behalf of the Building Commissioner NSW gives priority to protecting the privacy of your personal information.

We do this by handling personal information in a responsible manner and in accordance with Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (PPIP Act).

The personal information contained in the application is collected and held by Building Commission NSW.

For more information on how we manage personal information see the Building Commission NSW Privacy Notice.

Becoming an association with a professional standards scheme for members (pathway 3)

Associations can apply to the Professional Standards Councils to approve a scheme made under state-based professional standards legislation.  for Professional Engineers providing engineering services for Class 2 buildings, or buildings with a class 2 part, in any of the six classes of engineers:

• civil
• electrical
• fire safety
• geotechnical
• mechanical
• structural.

Professional Engineers under a professional standards scheme can benefit from:

• a fast-tracked registration process onto the Public Register for Design and Building Practitioners
• a known, maximum amount of damages payable in a successful claim - and a guarantee that the amount to be paid is available through professional indemnity insurance policies
• improved consumer protections
• the potential for better affordability and availability of professional indemnity insurance, and
• a regulatory scheme which may operate consistently in all states and territories, with mutual recognition.

List of associations with a professional standard scheme

Details of associations with a professional standards scheme are published on the Professional Standards Council website.