How to check an engineer is registered in the ACT

Do structural engineers need to be registered in the ACT?

Yes. Since 6 March 2025, people who provide professional engineering services in a prescribed area of engineering for ACT work must be registered under the Professional Engineers Act 2023.

The scheme came in two steps. Applications opened on 6 March 2024. The requirement to be registered, and the offences that go with it, started a year later on 6 March 2025. The five prescribed areas are civil, electrical, fire safety, mechanical and structural.

The rule covers individuals "developing or overseeing the development of engineering designs" in one of those areas. It applies whether the work is done in the ACT or from outside the ACT for a project in the ACT. The 2026 scope guideline says structural engineers in the building industry can work with foundations and footing systems, construction materials and structural systems.

Who doesn't need to be registered?

Two kinds of work fall outside the rule, plus Commonwealth employees doing Commonwealth work.

Sources: Professional Engineers Act 2023 ss 8 and 14; ACT Planning registration page; ACT prescriptive standard factsheet (2024).

The prescriptive standard exception is narrow. ACT guidance says that if the service "deviates even slightly" from the process in the standard, the person needs to be registered.

How do you check an engineer's registration?

Look the person up on the public register. These five steps cover it.

1. Get the name of the engineer responsible

   Ask for the full name of the person who will develop or oversee your design, not just the company name. A registration number helps if they give one.

2. Search the ACT public register

   The "Public register for ACT Professional Engineers" shows each engineer's name, areas of engineering, registration number, term, conditions and status. ACT Planning lists it on its page for the Professional Engineers Registration Scheme.

3. If they're not there, check the AMR register

   Engineers registered in another state can work in the ACT under automatic mutual recognition (AMR). They appear on a separate public register for AMR engineers.

4. Check the area and the status

   For structural design, the entry should list structural engineering, and the status and term should be current.

5. Read the conditions

   The register shows whether an engineer "can work in or for the building and construction industry". Access Canberra's Construction Note 2025/01 tells people to "review the engineer's conditions to confirm they can work in the building and construction industry".

These checks apply to any engineer you're considering, for any job. While you're asking, ask too what the fee covers and what your certifier will receive.

Is registration held by the engineer or the company?

By the engineer. ACT Planning says registration "will be granted to an individual and remain with them". A company can't be registered.

Registration lasts up to 3 years. Renewal depends on continuing professional development (CPD), the ongoing learning engineers record to keep their skills current.

Registered engineers must follow the Professional Engineers Code of Practice. Insurance isn't a condition of registration, but the Code requires engineers to "take all reasonable steps to be covered by adequate professional indemnity insurance". No law sets a minimum insurance amount for engineers.

So when a firm quotes your job, check the person who will be responsible for the design, not the business name.

Can an interstate engineer design for a Canberra project?

Yes, within limits. An engineer registered in their home state can work in the ACT under automatic mutual recognition after notifying Access Canberra. They can only do "the activities in the ACT that they are registered to do in their home state".

• Queensland engineers can't use AMR in the ACT. They need ACT registration.
• NSW registers engineers only for class 2, 3 and 9c "regulated buildings", which are apartment-type buildings, not houses. Because AMR covers only what the home-state registration covers, check the scope on the AMR register before assuming it extends to a house.
• Engineers Australia credentials aren't ACT registration. The National Engineering Register (NER) and Chartered status are Engineers Australia credentials. Holders still need an assessment report and ACT registration.

The ACT scheme applies to ACT projects. In Queanbeyan, Jerrabomberra and Googong, NSW rules apply.

What happens if an engineer isn't registered?

It's an offence to provide a professional engineering service while unregistered, and a separate offence to falsely claim to be registered. A penalty unit is worth $160 for an individual.

The highest maximum for each offence, at $160 a penalty unit for an individual. Some offences also have a strict-liability version with a lower maximum. Source: Professional Engineers Act 2023, Part 8.

There's no protected title. The Act doesn't stop anyone calling themselves an engineer; the offences are about doing the work unregistered and claiming a registration they don't hold. That's why the register, not the job title, is the thing to check.

Complaints about a professional engineer go to the Professional Engineers Registrar at Access Canberra, by email to cwpl@act.gov.au.

When to call a structural engineer

Registration tells you who may do structural design. Whether your job needs it is a separate question.

You need a structural engineer for designs such as beams, footings and retaining walls, for reports on cracks and movement, and for letters about existing structures. Our guide do I need a structural engineer? sets out who does what in the ACT, from the engineer to the certifier and the Registrar.

For homeowners, our most common jobs are structural inspections and reports and engineer's letters and certificates. Our how it works page explains the steps from your photos to a fixed quote to the finished report, and builders, designers and certifiers can see how we supply documents on our page for the trade.