Mark Vender
The Board of Professional Engineers of Queensland (BPEQ) has prosecuted a case involving an interstate engineer providing professional engineering services for a building in Queensland.
According to the BPEQ, the engineer worked outside of Queensland and did not register as a registered professional engineer of Queensland (RPEQ). Unregistered engineers can face serious consequences for providing professional engineering services in or for Queensland if they fail to comply with the Professional Engineers Act 2002 (PE Act).
Since the engineer was providing professional engineering services for a project based in Queensland, the PE Act applied.
The PE Act restricts the carrying out of “professional engineering services” in or for Queensland to a RPEQ or a person who is under the “direct supervision” of a RPEQ who takes responsibility for the provision of the services.
Although the BPEQ found the engineer was qualified to provide the services and identified no safety issues with the services, their failure to comply with the registration requirements of the PE Act constituted the offence.
As part of the legal proceeding, the engineer pleaded guilty to a contravention of the PE Act.
The court ordered the engineer to pay both a monetary penalty and a proportion of the Board’s legal costs.
The BPEQ is warning other engineers to avoid a similar situation.
For engineers working in the HVAC&R building services sector in Queensland, assessment is provided through AIRAH’s APER program. For more information visit airah.org.au/aper
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