IPWEAQ

Enhancing the quality of life for all Queensland communities

As a Registered Professional Engineer of Queensland (RPEQ), you occupy a position of trust and responsibility within the community, within industry, and across government. To ensure your skills are up to date, an RPEQ must engage in regular structured Continuing Professional Development (CPD). As a minimum, an RPEQ must complete 150 hours of professional development over any given three-year period and is subject to random audits. These guidelines outline the types of professional development activities considered acceptable to meet the minimum requirements to attain and retain RPEQ status.

Objectives of Continuing Professional Development

CPD activities are designed to:

• maintain or increase technical competence

• develop new areas of expertise

• increase effectiveness in the workplace

• grow your leadership capabilities and improve career                     opportunities

Continuing Registration Requirements

IPWEAQ must comply with the Board of Professional Engineers’ (BPEQ) Continuing Registration Requirements (CRR) Policy (2.02) with respect to CPD undertaken to attain and retain RPEQ status.

Therefore, an RPEQ under IPWEAQ’s assessment scheme must undertake:

• 150-hours of CPD over a three-year period

Where:

• a minimum of 75% (112.5 hours) must be technical CPD relating

   to the area of engineering

• a maximum of 25% (37.5 hours) can be non-technical CPD

   relating to engineering practice

• a minimum of 1 hour of non-technical CPD covering ethics, and

• a minimum of 1 hour of non-technical CPD covering risk

   management must be undertaken

Recording CPD

For compliance purposes, RPEQs must record their Continuing Professional Development activities (CPD) and make it available within 30-days of being advised of an audit. Registering for IPWEAQ’s free to use CPD portal at www.trackmycpd.com.au will enable monitoring of the quantity and relevance of CPD undertaken, improving the likelihood of compliance with CPD requirements at audit.

CPD activities

An RPEQ is expected to engage in a range of CPD activities to meet the objectives outlined above. The following types of CPD will allow you to satisfy the minimum 150 hours of CPD every three years:


1. Formal Post-Graduate Study

Formal post-graduate study or individual tertiary course units not undertaken for award purposes. Non-award units are those that do not lead to a degree, certificate, or diploma.

Study may be either on campus or by distance. Time claimed is the actual hours of lectures/ tutorials or laboratory work, noting that there will almost always be further time spent both in preparation and follow-up. All such activities will involve some form of assessment.

There is no limit to the maximum number of hours you can claim.

2. Short courses, workshops, seminars and discussion groups, conferences, technical inspections and technical meetings.

IPWEAQ professional development

IPWEAQ delivers hundreds of courses, symposia, forums, webinars, and workshops every year, delivered by respected practitioners expert in their field. Courses and workshops are offered publicly or in-house. Certificates recording CPD hours attained are issued after each event for offerings over 1 hour in duration.

Attendance at or participation in short courses, seminars, workshops, webinars, and podcasts held by organisations other than IPWEAQ is also eligible.

Study Tours

Study tours come under the category of technical inspections or technical meetings. This can include visits to other councils or organisations to discover world best practices and/or new and innovative solutions for the sector. Hours may also be claimed for the preparation and presentation of study tours.

Conferences including Technical Tours

Attendance at sector relevant conferences held by IPWEAQ such as our Annual and Branch Conferences

including Technical Tours, as well as those held by organisations other than IPWEAQ.

There is no limit to the maximum number of hours you can claim.

3. On the Job Learning

Structured learning activities in the workplace that extend competence in the area/s of engineering.

Activities that are normal work activities applying current knowledge cannot be claimed as learning activities in the workplace. For any learning activity undertaken in the workplace you must be able to demonstrate how it has extended your competence in your area/s of engineering.

A maximum of 75 hours can be claimed in any three-year period.

4. Private Study

Private study which extends your knowledge and skills.

Study may be in your area of practice and/or in the core areas of ethics, risk management, business, and management skills. Private study includes the reading of books, journals, manuals. Sufficient records must be kept of personal reading, eg date, title, author, and time invested, to pass audit scrutiny. Private study can include the IPWEAQ newsletter, Connect, and our quarterly e-journal Engineering for Public Works.

A maximum of 18 hours can be claimed in any three-year period.

Note: The total claimable hours for learning activities in the workplace and private study combined is 110 hours over three years.

5. Service to the Engineering Profession

Service to the engineering profession may include:

• Serving in a volunteer capacity on boards, working groups and

   committees of IPWEAQ or other recognised industry bodies

• Being a panel member on tertiary course accreditation visits

• Being an assessor and/or auditor for IPWEAQ’s RPEQ

   Assessment scheme

• Assisting with CPD audits

• Reviewing technical publications prior to publication

• Mentoring a colleague for work experience

• Preparation of written submissions / contributions to, and

   participation in technical meetings of organisations e.g.

   IPWEAQ’s Design Standards, Standard Drawings, ADAC, Road

   Safety Committees.

A maximum of 50 hours can be claimed in any three-year period.

6. Preparation of Articles and Reports

Articles and sector reports submitted to IPWEAQ and published in its quarterly e-journal.

This represents work outside your normal employment and can be claimed if the material is prepared by you and the activities contribute to the advancement of the profession.

Up to 45 hours per paper may be claimed for papers published in journals and conference proceedings and for the preparation of materials for courses not part of your normal employment e.g. presenting a paper at an IPWEAQ Branch or Annual Conference or professional development program, or as a visiting lecturer from industry.

Up to 75 hours may be claimed for papers subjected to critical peer review prior to publication.

7. Tertiary Teaching

Professional engineers employed in tertiary teaching and/or research positions in universities and VET/TAFE must undertake CPD that demonstrates engagement with contemporary engineering industry practice. This engagement must take the form of provision of consultancy services to industry, participation in joint industry-university research collaboration, supervision and development of student’ industry-based design projects and field trips, or other direct industry involvement e.g. secondment.

Professional engineers employed in tertiary teaching and/or academic research must be able to demonstrate a minimum 40 hours of industry involvement in any three-year period.