Continuing registration requirements policy - July 2026

This policy outlines the Board’s continuing registration requirements (CRRs). CRRs include the nature and extent of CPD (continuing professional development) required to demonstrate an applicant (for renewal or restoration of registration) has maintained competency in the practice of engineering in their area of engineering. Key terms are defined in Schedule 1.

Authority

The relevant functions of the Board relating to this policy are deciding whether an RPEQ has satisfied the CRRs when considering an application for renewal and restoration.

Framework

CRRs are met by either:

Holding registration with an approved assessment entity for participation in the CRRs of an assessment scheme, and complying with the CRRs of that scheme. Annual compliance audits will be undertaken by the assessment entity, the relevant entity may notify the Board of failures to meet the requirements of the scheme.
Complying with the Board's CRR (below). Annual compliance audits will be conducted by the Board.

Board's continuing registration requirements

The Board’s CRRs require that an individual must undertake a minimum of 150 hours of CPD activities over the three-year period leading to the end of the most recent registration year.

Those 150 hours must include:

a minimum 75% (112.5 hours) of the 150 hours as technical CPD;
a maximum of 25% (37.5 hours) of the 150 hours as non-technical CPD (e.g. project management, law, communication) including;
-a minimum, 1 hour of non-technical CPD covering ethics; and
-a minimum, 1 hour of non-technical CPD covering risk management.

If an individual is registered in more than one area of engineering, 150 hours must include a minimum of 50 hours allocated to each area. If technical CPD activities overlap, then the same hours can be claimed for each area of engineering practice.

If an individual is an engineering academic or teacher, their 150 hours must include a minimum of 40 hours of industry involvement over the three-year period.

CPD - types and conditions

TYPE	DESCRIPTION	LIMITATIONS	NOTES
1	Any tertiary course taken either as an individual course or for a formal post-graduate award.	There is no limit to the maximum numbers of hours you can claim.	Study may be either on campus or by distance education. For distance education, record the total number of hours you spent undertaking the study. Time claimed is the actual hours of lectures / tutorials / 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.
2	Short courses, webinars, workshops, seminars and discussion groups, conferences.	There is no limit to the maximum number of hours you can claim.	Technical meetings, industry presentations, seminars, workshops and discussion groups, either inhouse or external, conducted by recognised practitioners or hosted by industry organisations.
3	Structured learning activities in the workplace that extend competence in the area/s of engineering.	A maximum of 75 hours of you total CPD may be claimed. Note: normal work activities in the workplace cannot be claimed.	Learning activities must enhance job skills and are structured programs. For any learning activity undertaken in the workplace you must be able to demonstrate how it has extended your knowledge. Activities that are normal work activities applying current knowledge cannot be claimed as learning activities in the workplace.
4	Private study which extends knowledge and skills.	A maximum of 18 hours of your total CPD may be claimed.	Private study includes the reading of books, journals, transactions, manuals etc. Sufficient records must be kept of claimed personal reading (e.g. date, title, author and time invested) to address an auditor’s inquiry. This information should be recorded after you have read the article for audit purposes.
5	Service to the engineering profession.	A maximum of 50 hours of your total CPD may be claimed.	May include: serving in a volunteer capacity on boards and committees which advance the engineering profession; being a panel member on tertiary course accreditation visits; being an interviewer for a RPEQ assessment; reviewing technical publications prior to publication; assisting with CPD audits; mentoring a colleague for work experience purposes; preparation of written submissions / contributions to, and participation in technical standards related meetings of organisations, such as Standards Australia, on areas relevant to your professional work.
6	The preparation, peer review or presentation of material for courses, conferences, workshops, seminars and writing of technical papers.	A maximum of 45 hours per paper may be claimed for papers published in journals and conference proceedings and for the preparation of material for courses not part of your normal workplace activities e.g. as a visiting lecturer from industry, in any CPD period. A maximum of 75 hours per paper may be claimed for papers subject to critical peer review prior to publication, in any CPD period.	This represents work outside of your normal employment and can be claimed for CPD purposes if the material is prepared and presented by you and the activities contribute to the advancement of the profession. CPD hours for papers for courses, conferences, seminars or publication can only be claimed once under either set of limitations for a single paper (i.e. up to 45 hours OR up to 75 hours).
7	Practitioners employed in tertiary teaching or academic research.	A minimum of 40 hours of industry involvement must be claimed.	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 may take the form of provision of consultancy services to industry, participation in joint industry- university research collaboration, supervision and development of students’ industry based design projects and field trips, or other direct industry involvement, such as secondment.
8	Any other structured activities not covered by 1 to 7 above that meet the objectives of the CPD Policy.	Documentary evidence and a clear justification will be necessary.	e.g. Assessment, certificate of completion/participation etc.

Part-time or casual employment

Part-time or casual employment is defined as working less than 24 hours per week over the previous three-year period, in which case the CPD hours are 90 hours.

Career break

The CPD requirement for registrants on a career break (see definition in Attachment 1) in the relevant period must undertake a (reduced) minimum of 90 hours of CPD activities over the three-year period leading to the end of the most recent registration year.

Where possible, the Board should be advised in advance of relying on the career break provision. Otherwise, a career break must be applied for during a CPD audit and practice review.

Non-practising RPEQs

The registration type of non-practising RPEQ is to cater for retired RPEQs, and for RPEQs on maternity leave and other long career breaks.

Non-practising RPEQs must not carry out or be responsible for the carrying out of professional engineering services, unless directly supervised by a practising RPEQ who is responsible for the services.

Those who intend to transfer their registration type from non-practicing to practicing must be able to demonstrate they have complied with the career break provisions (above). Alternatively, if they remain registered with an assessment entity for CRR purposes, that they have complied with the provision of that scheme.

For RPEQs who transfer from non-practising to practising (or vice versa), the required minimum CPD hours will be pro-rated. The hours will be based on the period each registration type was held.

For example: if within the given three-year period an individual holds practising registration for two years, and non-practising registration for one year, then they would need to complete:

100 hours – for the 2 years as practising, PLUS
30 hours – for the 1 year registered as non-practising, totalling 130 hours to be eligible for renewal or restoration.

See CPD Audits below for the exemption of non-practising RPEQs.

CPD exemption

You do not need to complete CPD to renew your registration if:

you are currently registered as a professional engineer in another Australian state or territory, or New Zealand;
that jurisdiction requires you to complete an equivalent amount of CPD to Queensland; and
you declare that you have complied with that jurisdiction’s requirements

CPD record keeping

The Board requires RPEQs to maintain their own CPD records.

It is good practice for RPEQs to review and update their record of CPD regularly so that it remains accurate and can be provided for auditing purposes. RPEQs must also keep evidence in support of their CPD activities, such as:

certificate of completion;
attendance records;
invoice/receipt;
in-house CPD records; and
attendance confirmation emails.

RPEQs should also keep details on how the CPD activities have extended their knowledge in the area/s of engineering for which they are or were registered.

CPD audits

RPEQs who declare on their application that they comply with Board’s CPD requirements, may be audited by the Board. The standard CPD audit review cycle is five years. Practicing RPEQs can expect to be audited at least once during a five-year cycle and may be subject to additional audits. BPEQ selects RPEQs for CPD audits through a combination of risk analysis and random selection.

RPEQs who fail to meet their CPD obligations will have the opportunity to explain why they did not comply.

Failure to comply and not having a valid reason may result in the RPEQ being refused registration or a condition being placed on their registration.

The Board does not conduct compliance audits of non-practicing RPEQs, whilst they remain non-practicing.

Approval

This policy was approved by the Board on 1 April 2026 and is effective as of 1 July 2026.

Schedule 1 - Definitions

Term	Description
Applicant	An engineer who is applying for renewal or restoration of their registration as a Registered Professional Engineer of Queensland (RPEQ).
Career break	A period of leave from the workforce of at least six months and less than five years. The Board may consider the following as a career break: a serious illness; parental leave; extended travel; caring for family members; unemployment; elite sporting or cultural pursuits; or other career breaks as assessed by the Board on a case-by-case basis.
Continuing Registration Requirements (CRR)	Continuing registration requirements are requirements that, if satisfied, demonstrate that an applicant for renewal or restoration of registration has maintained competency in the practice of engineering in the area of engineering for which the applicant is, or was, registered.
Continuing Professional Development (CPD)	CPD is defined as the undertaking of development activities that lead to the systematic maintenance, improvement and broadening of knowledge and skills, and the development of personal qualities necessary for the execution of professional and technical duties throughout an individual’s engineering career. CPD must be of a kind that will assist in enabling an individual to: Maintain and enhance technical competence. Maintain and enhance management skills. Help, influence and lead others.
Formal/Structured Training	Activities that recognise the importance of ensuring learning outcomes are clear and achievable and enable the professional engineer to provide evidence of completion. These activities typically have a defined learning outcome(s), have structured learning content and usually, but not always, require the completion of an assessment. Examples: University education; Vocational Education; industry or government education.
Informal training	Activities that include attending industry meetings or undertaking private/individual study. They generally do not have a defined learning outcome(s), do not have structured learning content and do not require completion of an assessment.
Technical CPD	CPD that enhances an engineers technical skills such as technical courses and training, formal post-graduate study or structured learning activities in the workplace.
Non-technical CPD	CPD that is non-technical in nature, such as courses and training on project management, ethics and law, risk management and communication.