Renewal

 
The renewal process is important to ensure that you’re maintaining your status as a competent, up-to-date and ethical professional engineer. That doesn’t mean it has to be tedious.
Your registration and endorsement, if applicable, will expire three years from the date it was granted by the BLA. 
To be eligible to renew your registration and endorsement with the BLA, you must have completed Continuing Professional Development (CPD) during the past three years. 

The CPD requirement is: 
  • If the applicant worked full-time as a registered practising professional engineer –150 hours of structured CPD is required in the last three years irrespective of the area/s in which they are registered. 
  • Your 150 hours are expected to have been undertaken across a breadth of continuing professional development (CPD) activities.  
  • At least 33 per cent of CPD hours must relate to technical matters relevant to the area/s of engineering in which the applicant is registered. 
  • The remaining CPD should be in related areas, for example, project management, ethics and law, risk management, communication, health and safety programs, occupational health and safety training and mentoring junior engineers. 
  • If you worked part-time as a registered practising professional engineer or took a career break* – The CPD requirement is reduced to 90 hours of structured CPD in the last three years irrespective of the area/s in which they are registered.
*A career break is a period of a minimum of three months during the last three years during which a person does not work as a professional engineer due, for example, to illness, travel, parental or carers leave, sporting commitments, cultural or ceremonial commitments, broadening knowledge and skill or unemployment. 

CPD Categories and limits  

Limits apply for a three-year period in some categories. Limits are the maximum contribution of that category to your overall requirement to undertake 150 hours over the three-year period. Additional hours may be supplied, however only the limits will contribute to your eligibility for assessment. 
Category A - Formal postgraduate education

(No limit)

Formal postgraduate education aligned to your work which can attract an award on completion from a higher education institution.

This may include individual units of postgraduate study, which may be on or off campus and can include lectures tutorials, lab work, research, and must involve some form of assessment. You can undertake programs and or structured courses through Australian Universities or accredited registered training organisations (RTO). If you are undertaking distance study, then you should work out what the estimated number of hours would be if it was face-to face.

You can claim the time that is the definite hours for all lectures, tutorials and laboratory works. If you have not completed the whole course at the time of application, you are permitted to include the completed units on the provision that these were taken within the three- year period. Private study, planning and preparation related to the completion of formal postgraduate education can be claimed as CPD.

The courses and or units must be aligned to your current role and responsibilities, or explicitly related to the discipline in which you seek registration in.
Category B - External or Employer Provided Training

(No limit)

Education and training provided by your employer, an RTO or by a provider that is not a higher education provider but that aligns with your work or profession.

Formal training programs offered by an employer or by a non-higher education provider or RTO is acceptable as an activity under this category.

Online courses are acceptable. Private study, planning and preparation related to the completion of formal postgraduate education can be claimed as CPD.
Category C - Professional participation

(No limit)

Attendance at a conference, seminar, industry technical presentation.

Can include webinars, podcasts, technical presentations normally delivered by recognised practitioners in the field.

The logbook must only detail the hours the applicant spent in attendance at the event.
Category D - Presentations

(Limited 45 hours for three years)

Presenting at a conference or meeting, outside of normal employment, aligned to your work and profession and can include preparation and presentation of material.

Category D refers to the preparation and presentation of materials specifically for conferences, seminars, or meetings which require the application and learning of updated skills or knowledge. Only presentations outside the regular work-based meetings will be accepted., Assessors are looking for information regarding the topic of the presentation, the processes of preparing for the presentation, and the audience of the presentation.
Category E - Workplace Learning/On the Job Training

(Limited to 75 hours over three-years)

Workplace learning involving theories, training concepts, practices, that extent your knowledge. Normal work activities using current knowledge cannot be claimed.

APEA believes that on the job learning plays a vital contribution to the development of professionals and is a category which is often overlooked. The types of activities applicants should consider for this category are those which enhances their knowledge and understanding of engineering in theories, concepts, and practices.

Some activities might include:

  • Development of safety or training manuals/ programs.
  • Learning of new software or programs.
  • Attending demonstrations of new equipment, processes, etc.
Importantly, activities claimed for this category must be for the extension of existing knowledge, or the development of new knowledge and skills.
Category F - Published works

(Limited - 75 hours over three-years)

Producing a published paper for a university, conference, engineering organisation relevant to the profession, can include research and preparation.

This category refers to any written material published in a technical journal, university publication, in conference papers or any other publication deemed acceptable to the assessor.

Where the paper was co-authored, the applicant can claim a pro-rata split of the total time.

You can claim up to 45 hours over a three-year period for papers that have been published in journals as well as at conferences. You can claim the preparation of material for courses that are not part of your standard role.

You can claim up to 75 hours over a three-year period for papers that are peer reviewed prior to publishing.
Category G - Private study

Limit 75 hours
(57 hours for research) (18 hours for reading industry journals/magazines)

Extension of your knowledge of legislation regulations, codes, standards, and specifications through research at work or private study.

Private Study can include the reading of any materials which, extend your knowledge of legislation, regulation, codes, standards, and specifications. Specific sources of this knowledge may include technical or industry magazines and journals, as well as research through internet searches and digital information sources, online technical communities, and discussion forums.

You are expected to include sufficient information to identify the source claimed, including where possible, the title of the publication/material, author/source, date-published and link.

Applicants are advised to use a conservative estimate when claiming activities in this category, as the assessor may choose to investigate the activity to confirm.
Category H - Contribution to the Profession

(Contribution to the profession [Limit 50 hours]

Activities associated with the applicant’s contribution to the profession such as acting as a mentor, being an assessor for an engineer registration scheme, serving on a board or committee relating to the profession of engineering can be considered.

Contribution to the profession can include:
  • Being an assessor /interviewer for engineers seeking registration.
  • Reviewing technical publications.
  • Mentoring engineering colleagues.
  • Serving on Boards and committees relating to the profession of engineering.
  • Preparation of submissions relating to engineering standards or areas relevant to your engineering discipline.

Career Break Considerations

For those engineers who are only seeking renewal of registration with the BLA Victoria. If the applicant worked part-time as a registered practising professional engineer or took a career break – 90 hours of structured CPD in the last three years irrespective of the area/s in which they are registered. A professional engineer registered in Victoria as non-practising during the last three years is required to undertake 90 hours of structured CPD.

Teaching and Academic Research

For registered engineers employed in tertiary teaching or academic research a minimum of 40 hours industry involvement is required. This would be included in category E Workplace learning.

CPD Audits

The BLA will use information obtained through the registration renewal process to select professional engineers for a CPD audit and advise APEA of the names of the professional engineers to audit.

All APEA members seeking ongoing registration in Victoria who also have existing RPEng status are CPD audited as part of APEAs renewal process and can supply their CPD audit to the BLA when seeking renewal of registration in Victoria.

Access to CPD with APEA

One of our most popular solutions is our CPD offering. We have an extensive range of CPD available to help engineers meet their renewal requirements for ongoing registration in Victoria. Become a member of APEA to take advantage of the full CPD and member benefits range.

CPD log

Members of APEA can also keep their CPD information all in one place in preparation for their renewals and ongoing registration. Please login to My dashboard to access My CPD log, it is very easy to use and to keep up-to-date.

Renewal Process:

Whilst we have provided you with information on how to prepare for your renewal, the renewal process for ongoing registration in Victoria is handled directly with the BLA. Please contact the BLA for more information about the process.
https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/licensing-and-registration/professional-engineers/registration/maintain-your-registration-and-endorsement/renew-your-registration-and-endorsement
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