Building engineers registration and requirements | Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety – Commerce WA

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From 1 July 2024, new laws in WA will require building engineers to be registered by the Building Services Board (the Board) to carry out, or contract with consumers to carry out, building engineering work in the State.
Registration of building engineers will be implemented in two stages:
A two-year transition period applies for each stage, during which unregistered people may lawfully continue to do building engineering work.
Registration will become mandatory for structural and fire safety engineers on 1 July 2026, and for civil and mechanical engineers on 1 July 2027.
Any person performing building engineering work after these dates without the required registration, or outside the scope of their registration, will commit an offence and could be liable for a fine of up to $25,000.
Applications for registration cannot be accepted or considered by the Board until after the commencement dates specified.
However, it is important that you start considering what arrangements may be required to ensure you are registered by the end dates specified above (i.e. 1 July 2026 for structural and fire safety, and 1 July 2027 for civil and mechanical engineers.)
Further information about the registration process, including guides, applications forms, fees, eligibility details and other relevant materials will be published on this website in coming months.
If you answered ‘Yes’ to all of these questions, you will likely need to be registered as a building engineering practitioner in the relevant area and level.
If so, your business will also need to be registered as a building engineering contractor in the relevant level, and employ at least one registered building engineering practitioner to supervise and manage the work.
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 requirement for adequate PII:
BSB Policy – Professional indemnity insurance requirements Click here to download the document
After 3 years, to renew your registration, you must have completed the required hours of continuing professional development (CPD), in accordance with the Registered Building Engineering Practitioner Approved CPD Requirements policy.
There are two ways to meet the CPD requirements:
The Building Commissioner has given in-principle approval to the following industry organisations as CPD scheme providers:
Class of registration
CPD scheme providers
Building engineering practitioner, structural – professional
Building engineering practitioner, structural – technologist
Building engineering practitioner, structural – associate
Building engineering practitioner, fire safety – professional
Building engineering practitioner, fire systems – technologist
Building engineering practitioner, fire systems – associate
Registered Building Engineering Practitioner Approved CPD Requirements Click here to download th edocument
Form 98 – Application for Approval of Building Engineers’ Registration Assessment and CPD Schemes Click here to download the link
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. 
WA Building Engineer’s Code of Conduct 2024 Click here to download the document
Application and registration fees for building engineering practitioners and contractors will be the same as the equivalent fees prescribed for level 1 or 2 building surveying practitioners and contractors.
Registration requirements
Building engineers will be registered as practitioners and contractors, similar to the arrangements that currently apply to builders, building surveyors and painters.
A practitioner is an individual (natural person), who meets the prescribed minimum qualification, experience and competence requirements to undertake building engineering work.
To be registered as a building engineering practitioner, you need to obtain a certificate from an approved assessment entity, certifying that your qualification, experience and competence meet the benchmark prescribed for one or more of the areas and levels of building engineering.
In-principle approval has been granted to the following assessment entities, for each class of building engineering practitioner registration:
Class of registration
Assessment entities
Building engineering practitioner, structural – professional
Building engineering practitioner, structural – technologist
Building engineering practitioner, structural – associate
Building engineering practitioner, fire safety – professional
Building engineering practitioner, fire systems – technologist
Building engineering practitioner, fire systems – associate
The Board will be unable to accept and consider applications for registration as a building engineering practitioner without the necessary certificate from an approved assessment entity. Further details on the assessment entities that have been approved will be published in coming months. 
Building engineering practitioners will be registered by the Board in area (civil, structural, mechanical, fire safety) and level (professional, technologist, associate).
You can use the information below to better understand the minimum qualification and experience requirements that apply to each area and level. The experience requirement is generally 5 years full-time, relevant building engineering experience in the 10 years before the date of the application for registration, with at least 4 years being post-graduate experience.