Information and obligations for registered building engineers

Registration 

Registration is required for builders, painters, building surveyors and building engineers. 

Building engineers registration information

Building engineering practitioners

A practitioner is an individual (natural person), who meets the prescribed minimum qualification, experience, and competency requirements to undertake building engineering work.

Building engineering contractors

A contractor is a business that meets the prescribed requirements for insurance and financial capacity to provide building engineering work to consumers. A registered building engineering contractor is required to have at least one registered building engineering practitioner as a nominated supervisor.

Under the new laws, registered building engineering practitioners are not entitled to directly contract with consumers for building engineering work. After the specified dates, this can only be done by registered contractors.

Building engineering contractors are registered by level only (professional, technologist or associate) except for fire systems technologists and associates, who are separate because they have a different prescribed scope of work than technologists and associates in other areas. This is because low-rise buildings do not have fire systems. This means that a multi-disciplinary engineering business does not need to specify the areas of building engineering in which it intends to work and will not need to apply for an amended registration if its areas of practice change, for example due to staff changes.

It is advisable for a registered building engineering contractor to have:

1. At least one nominated supervisor registered as a practitioner in each area of engineering that the contractor provides building engineering work in; and
2. sufficient engineers registered as practitioners in each area of building engineering work to supervise the volume and geographical distribution of work being done.

However, every employee who carries out building engineering work does not need to be registered as a practitioner.

Building Engineer’s Code of Conduct

All building engineering practitioners registered under the Building Services (Registration) Act 2011 are bound by the Code of Conduct. The Code sets minimum expectations for professional conduct, expertise, and personal conduct.

Click here to download - WA Building Engineer's Code of Conduct 2024

Professional Indemnity Insurance 

To be approved as a building engineering contractor, you must have an appropriate level of professional indemnity insurance (PII), as determined in accordance with the Building Services Board Policy for PII.

There are two ways to meet the requirements for adequate PII:

1. Assessment of appropriate PII
   An applicant can assess their own risk and determine an adequate level of PII coverage. The policy sets out the process to do this. When applying for contractor registration you will be asked to provide the PII policy certificate number.
2. Membership of a Professional Standards Scheme 
   If you are a member of a professional standards scheme that requires PII as a condition of membership, providing evidence of this will meet the PII requirements to be registered.

For further information download BSB Policy – Professional indemnity insurance requirements.

Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

To renew your registration (after three years), you must have completed the required hours for CPD, in accordance with the registered building engineering practitioner approved CPD requirements.

There are two ways to meet the CPD requirements:

• Keep a record of your CPD hours, showing you comply with the policy.
• Maintain membership of an approved CPD scheme provider.

The Building Commissioner has given in-principle approval to the following industry organisations as CPD scheme providers

Further information 

• Registered building engineering practitioner approved CPD requirements 
• Building Commissioner’s policy for engineering assessment entities 
• Form 98 – Application for Approval of Building Engineers' Registration Assessment and CPD Schemes