Registration of Geotechnical Engineers in Victoria

I have recently been informed that in Victoria, as of Oct 2022, it is potentially a requirement to be accredited to practice Geotechnical Engineering (Thank you Adrian Penny and Ben Roache). This is similar to current registration practices in Queensland. This hadn’t come across my newsfeed and the few people I spoke to were not sure of the requirements, so I thought I would put some information out there.

The new regulations state that, to provide engineering services in 5 prescribed areas you must be registered. According to Consumer affairs Victoria Engineering services are defined as:

·????????a design relating to engineering, or

·????????a construction, production, operation or maintenance activity relating to engineering.

The professional engineers registration act (2019), is written to indicate that many points refer specifically to the building industry whilst other points seem to indicate a broader application. ?With respect to Geotechnical Engineers, they are specifically mentioned as part of the prescribe Civil Engineering branch. You must be registered if your activity includes:

·????????structures (including those made from steel, concrete or timber), for example, roads, railways, bridges, airports, pipelines, dams, canals, harbours, dockyards, towers and buildings

·????????analysing the likely behaviour of soil and rock when placed under pressure and designing above and below ground natural or build structures or foundations

·????????environmental impacts, for example, transport, urban development and municipal services, resource protection of building and construction of other infrastructure and service industries, and

·????????hydraulic supply and waste systems.

How this relates to Mining Geotechnical Engineers, Consultants and Mining Engineers is unclear. This statement is very broad and can relate to mining depending on how the act is interpreted. If you are practising engineering in Victoria, I suggest that you read the links below and make sure you get advice from AusIMM or Engineering Australia in regards to this. If anyone has tested this and found out how it applies to mining I would be interested.

A few relevant links are below:

https://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/as-made/acts/professional-engineers-registration-act-2019

https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/licensing-and-registration/professional-engineers/overview-and-timeline

(https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/library/publications/businesses/professional-engineers/final-guidelines--areas-of-engineering--december-2020.docx)

https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/library/publications/businesses/professional-engineers/final-guidelines--meaning-of-professional-engineering-services--may-2022.docx