Engineers Australia facts for kids
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| Formation | 1 August 1919 |
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| Type | Professional Society |
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The Institution of Engineers Australia, often shortened to IEAust and/or trading as Engineers Australia (EA), is a professional body and not-for-profit organisation dedicated to being the national forum for the advancement of the engineering field within Australia and a member of Washington Accord. As of 2017, it has around 100,000 members in nine geographic Divisions and five international chapters from all engineering disciplines, including 41,000 Students, 4,400 Engineering Technologists and Engineering Associates, 55,600 Professional Engineers. The members all belong to one or more of nine Colleges covering the different fields of engineering practice. 20,000 members are Chartered Engineers.
Engineers Australia's wholly owns two subsidiaries, Engineering Education Australia and EngInsure. Engineers Australia previously had a publishing subsidiary Engineers Media which published the organisation's main magazine. Engineers Media ceased operations at the end of August 2015 after the magazine "create" was outsourced to a commercial publisher, Mahlab Media.
The organisation began after World War I, following recognition of the need for a single body to represent engineers, rather than the numerous smaller organisations that existed then. The first council meeting was held in 1919, electing Professor William Warren of the University of Sydney as the first President. On 1 May 1926 the Institution was incorporated as a company limited by guarantee and on 10 March 1938 His Majesty King George the Sixth granted a charter of incorporation to the Institution reconstituting it as a body corporate and politic by Royal Charter.
The National Congress is a representative body of some 35 members, which elects and monitors the Board of Engineers Australia. The responsibilities and structure of National Congress are determined by the Royal Charter and By-laws. The Board is Engineers Australia's governing body. It has six members and its role is comparable to that of a company board. It appoints and liaises with the Chief Executive Officer, sets regulations and policies, sets strategic directions, and monitors the organisation's financial sustainability and performance. Each of Engineers Australia's nine divisions is led by a division committee of the division members. A division committee is responsible to and under the direction of the Board. A division group delivers specific services to the members of the Division, within a specific field of practice, area of interest or geographic area. Each of Engineers Australia's nine colleges is led by a College Board of the college members. College Boards are under the direction of the Board.
The patron of Engineers Australia is the Governor-General of Australia, General David Hurley, AC DSC FTSE.
Since its formation in 1919, EA have been conferring awards. This role was enshrined in a Royal Charter, granted in 1938. In 1950, the Board created Engineers Australia’s General Prize Fund. Today it is called the Engineers Australia Excellence Awards
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Migration Skills Assessment
Engineers Australia is the designated assessing authority for engineering occupations as listed by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.
Grades of Membership
Engineers Australia offers several grades of memberships:
- Affiliate or Companion: Open to those involved in Engineering but not eligible for the grades below.
- Grade of Student: Free for students undertaking an Australian accredited or recognised course in engineering.
- Grade of Graduate: Open to those who have completed an Engineers Australia accredited or recognised tertiary qualification in engineering. Graduate memberships are available in the following categories: Professional Engineer, Engineering Technologist, and Engineering Associate.
- Grade of Member: Open to those who hold an Engineers Australia accredited or recognised tertiary qualification in engineering, and have now gained a number of years experience in the engineering industry. The following categories are available: Professional Engineer, Engineering Technologist, and Engineering Associate.
- Grade of Fellow: Practitioners who have been recognised as being amongst the true leaders of the industry and profession. Fellow membership grades include: Fellow, Technologist Fellow, and Associate Fellow.
- Grade of Honorary Fellow: A person who has rendered conspicuous service to the profession of engineering or is eminent in engineering or an allied science, or is a distinguished person whom the Council desires to honour, either for having rendered conspicuous service to the Australian people or in recognition of outstanding achievement. Membership numbers are determined by the National Council and was set to 200 in 2013.
- Chartered Status: In Australia, the award of Chartered Engineer Status is exclusive to Engineers Australia. Professional engineers with Chartered Status enjoy recognition by government, business and the general public worldwide. Chartered Status is open to those in the Member and Fellow grades of each occupational category.
The Engineering Team
The engineering team includes a variety of occupations and specialisations. These standards are concerned with three occupational categories: professional engineer, engineering technologist, and engineering associate. The titles of Chartered Professional Engineer, Chartered Engineering Technologist and Chartered Engineering Associate (Officer) are available to members of Engineers Australia who have demonstrated the required competencies.
To be recognised as part of the engineering team, individuals must complete formal educational qualifications in engineering, and after qualifying, must undertake continuing professional development in their chosen field of engineering to ensure their training remains up to date. The educational qualifications required are:
- Professional engineers, at least the equivalent of a four-year, full-time bachelor's degree in engineering.
- Engineering technologist, at least the equivalent of a three-year, full-time bachelor's degree in engineering.
- Engineering associate, at least the equivalent of a two-year, full-time associate degree or a diploma or advanced diploma in engineering
Regulatory Schemes
There is no formal system of regulation for engineers throughout Australia. Engineering services are regulated under a variety of Acts in ad hoc areas, many of which relate to engineers in the building and construction industry. There are also many pieces of subordinate legislation, such as regulations, by-laws and orders-in-council that impose various prescriptive standards and incur unnecessary costs to the engineering industry in complying.
In Queensland, persons who are not registered with the Board of Professional Engineers Australia are prohibited from offering or providing professional engineering services. The only exception is for individuals who practise under the direct supervision of registered professional engineers.
Registers
State Register
Queensland is currently the only Australian jurisdiction to apply a comprehensive registration system for engineers. The Queensland Minister for Public Works and Information and Communication Technology appointed Engineers Australia on 1 July 2008 as one of the Approved Assessment entities for assessing applicants for Registration with the Board of Professional Engineers of Queensland.
National Register
The National Engineering Register (NER) has been created by Engineers Australia to provide a means of presenting registered engineers and their services to the public. It also provides assurance to consumers that engineers engaged from the NER meet the high standards of professionalism expected in the engineering profession. It is the largest Engineering Register in the country delivering a uniform national benchmark standard of professionalism in the broadest areas of engineering practice, both general and special.
The NER will be a publicly searchable database providing a national system of ‘registration’ for the engineering profession in Australia of professional engineers, engineering technologists and engineering associates in both the private and public sectors. It is expected that the NER will facilitate access to existing State/Territory registers and to new registers, as and when they are developed.The NER is aimed at removing any current inconsistencies across State/Territory jurisdictions.
The NER will cater for nine (9) general and ten (10) special areas of practice aligned to demonstrated professional competence and experience. Registration on the 10 special areas of practice will be restricted to Chartered members of Engineers Australia and registrants who have successfully completed Engineers Australia's Chartered assessment process.
Registrants on the NER will be able to confirm the following eligibility criteria. the remaining
- A recognised qualification
- Relevant professional practice
- Currency of continuing professional development (CPD)
- The benefit of Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII)
- A commitment to ethical practice
International Register
NER registered Chartered members of Engineers Australia in the occupational category of professional engineer with 7 + years of relevant engineering industry experience in their area(s) of practice since graduation and who have spent at least two years in responsible charge of engineering work will also be eligible to apply to join the APEC Engineers Register and the International Professional Engineers Register (IPEA) for non APEC economies. Chartered members assessed as eligible will be entitled to also use the postnominal APEC Engineer and/or IntPE(Aus).
Continuing Professional Development
The Council expects Chartered Members and Registrants to maintain records of continuing Professional Development (CPD) activities that extend or update their knowledge, skill or judgment in their area or areas of engineering practice. An individual’s CPD records must demonstrate a minimum of 150 hours of structured CPD in the last three years. To maintain Chartered Status, registrants must complete Continuing Professional Development (CPD), which is subject to review every five years.
Code of Ethics
Since its inception, Engineers Australia has had a Code of Ethics and disciplinary processes that enable it to take action against members who breach that Code. The membership by-laws requires the professional regulation of members.
Chartered members and registrants on the various registers administered by the National Engineering Registration Board are specifically required to practice in accordance with the Code of Ethics.
Sustainability
Engineers Australia believes that sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Policy Statements
One of Engineers Australia's core activities is to make its position known on policies, inquiries and other government initiative. Engineers Australia draws upon the intellectual capital of the membership of Engineers Australia when drafting policy statements and developing submissions.
Engineering Heritage Recognition Program
Engineering Heritage Australia, a special interest group within Engineers Australia, runs a program that recognises historically significant engineering works. Such works have a plaque on display, with a brief summary of the significance of the work. The program was established in 1984 with two categories of awards, "National Engineering Landmark" and "Historic Engineering Marker". In 2009 these were renamed "Engineering Heritage National Landmark" and "Engineering Heritage Marker"; in 2012 a third category was added, "Engineering Heritage International Marker", and the term "Landmark" dropped from the existing category.
The current categories are:
- Engineering Heritage Marker
- Engineering Heritage National Marker
- Engineering Heritage International Marker
Images for kids
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Historic Engineering Marker plaque
