To work as an engineer in Australia, you must be registered with the State in which you will be working. While there is no national regulatory body, Engineers Australia offers national registration that all states recognise.
Engineers Australia (EA) is a professional body that maintains engineering standards of competency, experience and ethical practice, as well as the accreditation of courses and the assessment of overseas qualifications. To be a member of EA demonstrates that you have the required skills, qualifications and experience to work as an engineer. If you are applying for a visa and require a skills assessment, please see information below.
Key Terms: Engineers Australia (EA)For your qualifications to be recognised by EA, they must be recognised under at least one of the accords: Washington, Sydney or Dublin.
If your qualifications are not recognised under one of the accords, you will need to complete an entry to practice competency assessment.
To gain membership with EA, you will follow one of the following pathways according to your circumstances;
Mutual recognition agreements: If you are a member of an overseas engineering body considered a reciprocal organisation to EA, you can join EA at an equivalent membership level. This assessment requires identification, evidence of qualifications, a detailed CV, membership number with the reciprocal organisation, evidence of registration or Chartered status and evidence of good financial standing.
Direct Application: If your qualification is listed as accredited according to the International Engineering Alliance and is a signatory to one of the accords, you can apply for membership with EA. There are various membership types, including graduate, member, fellow and chartered. Each membership has its own application requirements. To be a member, you must be working as a professional engineer, engineering technologist or engineering associate and must have completed a minimum of 3 years of post-graduate experience in the industry.
Entry to Practice Competency Assessment: As noted above, if your qualifications are not considered accredited, you can apply for a competency assessment to gain membership with EA. The assessment includes 3 key components: knowledge base, engineering ability, and professional attributes. To apply, you will need identification, evidence of qualification, a detailed CV, evidence of your English language competencies, three career episodes with a summary statement demonstrating that you meet the elements of competence, and a written statement listing evidence of any continuing professional development you are undertaking (this is optional).
In certain areas of engineering, you are required to register with the NSW government if you are working on certain regulated building classes. This includes civil, electrical, geotechnical, mechanical, structural and fire safety engineering. Visit the NSW Government's website for more information. Also see Engineers Australia for resources and support.
Eligibility:
If you are a member of Engineering New Zealand, you may qualify for membership through mutual recognition. Visit the mutual recognition link above in step 2 for more information. If you are not a registered member of Engineering New Zealand but have completed an engineering degree in New Zealand, you will likely qualify for a direct membership application without a competency test requirement. Visit the qualification checker above in step 1 to check your qualification.
If you are seeking to apply for a skilled worker visa, you will need to gain a migration skills assessment with EA to accompany your visa application. Click here for more information. For recent graduates, there is also an option to complete EA's Professional Year in Engineering. This will provide appropriate training to prepare you to enter the workforce as an engineer in Australia. You must have completed your engineering degree within 4 years of applying to the program, and you must hold the appropriate visa with conditions. Please click here for more information.
For the application, you will need all or a combination of the following:
EA Professional Standards Library
If you are unable to gain recognition for your full qualifications, here are some other options for careers you may pursue in Australia;
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