Decisions of Engineering New Zealand as the Registration Authority under the Act can be appealed to CPEC
The types of decisions that might be appealed include:
- a decision made about a complaint laid against a Chartered Professional Engineer, where a party to the complaint is not happy with the outcome or the disciplinary action taken by Engineering New Zealand (in its role as the Registration Authority),
- a decision not to register someone who has applied to become registered as a Chartered Professional Engineer because competence has not been demonstrated, or
- a decision not to renew the registration of a Chartered Professional Engineer because competence has not been demonstrated in an application for renewal.
Some important details to note:
CPEC hears appeals from decisions made by Engineering New Zealand in its role as the Registration Authority for Chartered Professional Engineers.
CPEC can only hear appeals about decisions that concern Chartered Professional Engineers.
If the appeal concerns a disciplinary matter the Chartered Professional Engineer must have been registered at the time of the subject matter of the complaint.
Appeals on disciplinary matters usually relate to an allegation that a Chartered Professional Engineer has breached the Code of Ethics or has performed engineering services in a negligent or incompetent manner. A full list of the grounds for discipline can be found in section 21 of the Act.
Appeals seeking resolution of civil disagreements such as contractual disputes, and commercial disagreements, are unlikely to be matters within the jurisdiction that CPEC can consider under the Act. CPEC has no jurisdiction to award compensation. An appellant should take legal advice if they are uncertain about the scope of any appeal.
Appeals about Concerns / Complaints
Where there is dissatisfaction with the performance of a Chartered Professional Engineer, the complaint must first be laid with the Registration Authority as the body responsible for registering Chartered Professional Engineers. The Registration Authority considers the complaint at first instance. The procedure for filing a complaint is outlined on Engineering New Zealand's website:
A party to a complaint which does not accept the Registration Authority’s decision on that complaint, may appeal the decision by lodging an appeal with CPEC. The role of CPEC is to determine whether or not the decision of the Registration Authority was correct.
Appeals about Registration (Engineers)
The Chartered Professional Engineers Rules provide that engineers who are unsuccessful in their application for initial or continued CPEng registration may apply to the Registration Authority for reconsideration. The only grounds for requesting reconsideration are that the process of assessment by the Registration Authority did not comply with the procedures provided for by the Chartered Professional Engineers Act or Rules. If an engineer is not satisfied with the Registration Authority's decision, an appeal may be made to CPEC.
Any appeal to CPEC must only be made at the conclusion of the process of the Registration Authority, after the final decision to decline registration has been received.
Time for lodging Appeals
NOTE: Appeals must be lodged with CPEC within twenty-eight (28) days of notification of the decision on the complaint having been received from the Registration Authority. [See Appeal Practice Notes, Section 3 for details, including the limited discretion that CPEC has for accepting out of time appeals.]
CPEC has developed a set of 'Appeal Practice Notes' for those contemplating lodging an appeal against a Registration Authority decision: