The Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety has announced that the preparation of new regulations to register building engineers has been approved by the Government.
The Department said the regulations were part of a reform package to improve the regulation of Western Australia’s building industry.
In a statement, the Department said the State’s first-ever engineer registration scheme was expected to involve around 900 building engineers.
“Registration will provide greater accountability and consistency of engineering services, while improving public safety and consumer protection, as well as increasing professional recognition of building engineers,” the Department said.
“The regulations are the first part of a suite of reforms aimed at modernising and improving WA’s building regulatory framework in response to recommendations from the national Building Confidence Report.”
It said that following public consultations, recommendations were also being finalised on changes to the approval processes for residential and commercial buildings, as well as the registration of builders and related occupations.
Minister for Commerce, Roger Cook said registering engineers for the first time in Western Australia meant the Government could provide another layer of confidence to building owners that their buildings were compliant and constructed to the expected standard.
“Once in place, these new regulations will provide the construction industry and community with a formal process to make complaints against building engineers and for action to be taken to stop any misconduct,” Mr Cook said.
