Occupational regulation of engineers

Yesterday, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) opened consultation on its proposals for the occupational regulation of engineers. This follows previous consultations in 2014 and 2019.

MBIE’s proposals could significantly alter the regulatory requirements of those working in engineering, and the public’s perception and trust of engineers. We know they could also significantly affect your business, as well as our overall operating and market conditions.

MBIE is proposing a two-tier system of regulation that includes mandatory registration of all persons providing professional engineering services, and a licensing regime to restrict practise in high-risk engineering disciplines. The system would be led by a new regulator, overseen by an independent Board that reports to a Minister of the Crown.

I sit on Engineering New Zealand’s occupational regulation steering group, and together we are committed to a collaborative approach to this consultation. We want to make the best use of your time in responding to these proposals.

At ACE New Zealand, we’ll be working with our members to understand the compliance costs and business and market implications of the proposals, so that we can give MBIE an evidence-based perspective on the potential impacts of their proposals, particularly in terms of where the line for registration should sit. We’ll be reaching out to a portion of our membership over the next couple of weeks to seek your support in gathering this information. From here, we’ll prepare a draft submission, which we will provide for your review and feedback prior to submitting it to MBIE.

Engineering New Zealand, as the current regulator, is leading the technical and regulatory side of the response, drawing on previous feedback they have gathered from the profession during previous consultations. On Wednesday 19 May, Engineering New Zealand will share its draft submission and additional tools to help the profession respond to the proposals. Engineering New Zealand also invites our members to register for its discussion sessions to ask questions and share thoughts about the proposals.

Read the MBIE proposals

Find out more about Engineering New Zealand’s discussion sessions

Please reach out if you want to discuss the proposals or find out more about how to get involved [email protected]