There are 3 occupational categories in engineering recognized by Engineers Australia:
For the purpose of migration, Engineers Australia recognizes the additional category, which is, Engineering Manager.
Professional Engineer
Professional Engineers are required to take responsibility for engineering projects and programs in the most far-reaching sense. This includes the reliable functioning of all materials, components, sub-systems and technologies used; their integration to form a complete, sustainable and self-consistent system; and all interactions between the technical system and the context within which it functions. The latter includes understanding the requirements of clients, wide ranging stakeholders and of society as a whole; working to optimise social, environmental and economic outcomes over the full lifetime of the engineering product or program; interacting effectively with other disciplines, professions and people; and ensuring that the engineering contribution is properly integrated into the totality of the undertaking. Professional Engineers are responsible for interpreting technological possibilities to society, business and government; and for ensuring as far as possible that policy decisions are properly informed by such possibilities and consequences, and that costs, risks and limitations are properly understood as the desirable outcomes.
The Professional Engineers are required to have academic qualification of Australian 4 year Bachelor degree in engineering at University following 12 years of schooling or equivalent education.
Engineering Technologist
Engineering Technologists normally operate within broadly-defined technical environments, and undertake a wide range of functions and responsibilities. They are often specialists in the theory and practice of a particular branch of engineering technology or engineering-related technology (the technology domain), and specifically in its application, adaptation or management, in a variety of contexts. Their expertise often lies in familiarity with the current state of development of a technology domain and most recent applications of the technology. Within their specialist field, their expertise may be at a high level, and fully equivalent to that of a Professional Engineer. Engineering Technologists may not however, be expected to exercise the same breadth of perspective as Professional Engineers, or carry the same wide-ranging responsibilities for stakeholder interactions, for system integration, and for synthesising overall approaches to complex situations and complex engineering problems.
The ANZSCO Code for Engineering Technologist is 233914. The Engineering Technologists are required to have academic qualification of Australian 3 year Bachelor of Technology in engineering following 12 years of schooling or equivalent education.
Engineering Associate
Engineering Associates have a wide range of functions within engineering enterprises and engineering teams. Examples of their roles may include feasibility investigation, scoping, establishing criteria/performance measures, assessing and reporting technical and procedural options; design and development; component, resources and materials sourcing and procurement; construction, prototyping, manufacture, testing, installation, commissioning, service provision and de-commissioning; tools, plant, equipment and facilities acquisition, management, maintenance, calibration and upgrades; operations management; procedures documentation; presentation and reporting; maintenance systems design and management; project and facility management; quality assurance, costing and budget management; document control and quality assurance.
The Engineering Associates are required to have academic qualification of Australian 2 year Advanced Diploma or Associate Degree in engineering following 12 years of schooling or equivalent education.
Engineering Manager
Engineering Managers are usually responsible for formulating engineering strategies, policies and plans and their direction as well as administrating and reviewing engineering operations for an organization. The ANZSCO Code for Engineering Manager is 133211.
The Engineering Managers are required to have academic qualification of a Bachelor Degree or higher in engineering or in field related to engineering following 12 years of schooling or equivalent education.