REA: Registered Engineering Associate

News

New appointments announced

6 April 2010.

Building and Construction Minister Maurice Williamson has announced the appointment of Dr Robin Dunlop as the chair of the Engineering Associates Registration Board.

"Dr Dunlop has a high level of understanding of governance principles and has held a considerable number of senior board appointments," Mr Williamson says.

"He has demonstrated an ability to lead a board consisting mainly of representatives of nominating associations with a diverse background."

Mr Williamson also announced that David Leask has been reappointed as a member of the Engineering Associates Registration Board, after previously serving on the Board as the Institute of Measurement and Control's representative from 1992 to 2006.

The Engineering Associates Registration Board was established under the Engineering Associates Act 1961. Its primary function is to consider the competence of Engineering Technologists and approve or decline their applications for registration.

Dr Dunlop replaces Ian Shearer, who resigned his position last year to accept an employment offer overseas. Due to legislative requirements, Dr Dunlop's initial term will be until September 2010.

Dr Robin Dunlop

Dr Dunlop was born in New Zealand and graduated from the University of Canterbury with a Bachelor of Engineering with honours in 1968 and a PhD in Civil Engineering in 1972.

Dr Dunlop has been Chief Executive of Transit New Zealand and Secretary for Transport. He has previously held a number of positions in New Zealand Rail and Ministry of Works and Development, as well as working for six months in the Transport and Road Research Laboratory in Crowthorne, England. Dr Dunlop started his career with the New Zealand Railways before moving to the Ministry of Works and Development.

Dr Dunlop has represented New Zealand at conferences both overseas and in New Zealand. He has also consulted for the World Bank and International Road Federation on roading agency structures and management.

Dr Dunlop has held a number of industry body positions: he is a Fellow and past President of Logistics Transport In New Zealand; past Chair of the National Board of the New Zealand Institute of Management; a Fellow of the Institution of Professional Engineers NZ. He is also a past President of the Road Engineering Association of Asia and Australasia, and a former Chairman of Austroads. Dr Dunlop currently serves on the Destination Wairarapa Tourism Board and the St Lukes Parish Council.

The new board appointed 2006

Standing – L to R; R W Grant; H T Knight; T G Adson; A D Blackler; G D Wells; W L Steadman; B J G Richards.
Seated – L to R; J V Edgar (Registrar); I C Shearer (Chair); F B L Johnstone (Deputy Chair).
Absent; M B Wheeler.

Schedule of Fees

REA Fees

A new Schedule of Fees was enacted by Order in Council dated 27 February 2006, and Gazetted 2 March 2006 as the

Engineering Associates Fees Amendment Regulations 2006 (2006/34).

These come into force on 1 April 2006.

The new fees (inclusive of GST) are;

For an application for registration	$100.00
For annual registration Less $10.00 after first year of registration if fee paid before 1 July	$60.00

REAcap Fees From 1 April 2007 (Not within the above Regulations for REA fees)

REAcap Application Date	Application Fee	Annual Fee
Within 1 year from initial REA	No Charge	$50.00 due 1 April following REAcap
REA registered earlier	$100.00	$50.00 due 1 April following REAcap
CPEngNZ – current	$50.00	$50.00 due 1 April following REAcap

Legislative News

November 2007

The Engineering Associates Amendment Act 2007 came into force on 19 September 2007, and provides for the following changes to the original Act:

Section 4(2) the quorum for meetings of the board is reduced from 7 to 6.

Section 11(1) has had the minimum ages removed from clauses (b) and (c). The date in clause (a) remains unchanged.

Section 11(5) providing for access to the register has been modified from ordinary office hours to reasonable office hours.

April 2008

The Department of Building and Housing began a review of the Engineering Associates Act 1961 in January 2007. At the start of the review the Department asked Registered Engineering Associates for their participation in the early stages.

Deputy Chief Executive Sector Policy, Andrew Hearn said the Department received an overwhelming number of offers from REAs wanting be involved, and that the Department spent much of last year holding workshops to draw out information about your industry and the importance of the Act to it. “The views and opinions expressed have helped to inform our thinking on some of the more substantive issues, for example, what should happen with the Act in the future?” he said.

Dr Hearn said that in 2008, the Department will broaden its discussions to include the wider engineering sector. This information will be used to develop proposals for the future of the Act which include: maintaining a separate Act which meets the needs of today’s engineering associates, incorporating the registration of engineering associates within the Chartered Professional Engineers Act or repealing the Act and providing assistance to the sector to set up an industry based registration system.

“Once the proposals are developed the Department will consult widely with the engineering sector on them. This will provide an opportunity for all REAs to put forward their views.”

“The importance of the review can not be overstated,” Dr Hearn said: “It’s vital we take the time needed to thoroughly review the Act given how long it has been in force without any appraisal of its effectiveness as consumer protection legislation.”

Valuable Employment Related Qualifications Lost in the Fog

"It is very sad that valuable nationally and internationally recognised employment related qualifications for the engineering industry have been 'lost' in the mish-mash of new qualifications highlighted at the launch of 'www.kiwiquals.govt.nz' " said Ian Shearer, Chairman of the Engineering Associates Registration Board.

Press Release now available (10 Sept 2003 - PDF, 13kB)