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Professional Engineers Act 1991

2020 REVISED EDITION

This revised edition incorporates all amendments up to and including 1 December 2021 and comes into operation on 31 December 2021

An Act to establish the Professional Engineers Board, to provide for the registration of professional engineers, to regulate the qualifications and conduct of persons that carry out professional engineering work, and to regulate corporations, partnerships, limited liability partnerships and limited partnerships which supply professional engineering services in Singapore.

[27/2005; 36/2017]

[30 August 1991]

PART 1

PRELIMINARY

Short title

1. This Act is the Professional Engineers Act 1991.

Interpretation

2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —

“allied professional” means —

(a)	an architect who is registered under the Architects Act 1991; or
(b)	a land surveyor who is registered under the Land Surveyors Act 1991;

“Board” means the Professional Engineers Board established under section 4;

“builder”, “building” and “building works” have the meanings given by the Building Control Act 1989;

“building authority” means any person empowered under the provisions of the Building Control Act 1989 to approve plans of building works;

“certificate of registration” means a certificate of registration issued under section 24;

“Disciplinary Committee” means a Disciplinary Committee appointed under section 46;

“foreign engineer” means any person who is authorised to carry out professional engineering work in a country or territory outside Singapore under the law of that country or territory;

“Investigation Committee” means an Investigation Committee appointed under section 42;

“Investigation Panel” means the Investigation Panel appointed under section 39;

“licence” means a licence to supply professional engineering services granted under section 30;

“licensed”, in relation to a corporation, partnership or limited liability partnership, means a corporation, partnership or limited liability partnership which has in force a licence;

“licensed professional engineering practice” means —

(a)	a limited corporation licensed under section 30(1);
(b)	an unlimited corporation licensed under section 30(2);
(c)	a partnership licensed under section 30(3); or
(d)	a limited liability partnership licensed under section 30(4);

“limited liability partnership” has the meaning given by section 2(1) of the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2005;

“limited partnership” means a limited partnership registered under the Limited Partnerships Act 2008;

“manager” —

(a)	in relation to a corporation or partnership, means the principal executive officer of the corporation or partnership for the time being by whatever name called and whether or not he or she is a director or partner thereof; and
(b)	in relation to a limited liability partnership, has the same meaning as in section 2(1) of the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2005;

“nominee”, in relation to any person, means a person who is accustomed or under an obligation (whether formal or informal) to act in accordance with directions, instructions or wishes of the firstmentioned person, except that a person is not to be regarded as a nominee of another person by reason only that the person acts on the advice given by that other person in a professional capacity;

“partnership” includes a limited partnership;

“practising certificate” means —

(a)	in relation to a registered professional engineer — an annual certificate issued under section 28 authorising him or her to engage in professional engineering work in Singapore;
(b)	in relation to an allied professional who is an architect registered under the Architects Act 1991 — a practising certificate issued under section 18 of that Act; and
(c)	in relation to an allied professional who is a land surveyor registered under the Land Surveyors Act 1991 — a practising certificate issued under section 15 of that Act;

“prescribed branch of professional engineering work” means professional engineering work in any of the following branches of engineering:

(a)	chemical engineering;
(b)	civil engineering;
(c)	electrical engineering;
(d)	mechanical engineering;
(e)	any other branches of engineering that may be prescribed;

“president” means the president of the Board;

“professional engineering services” means consultancy or advisory services that require a person to engage in professional engineering work;

“professional engineering work” includes any professional service, consultation, investigation, evaluation, planning, design, or responsible supervision of construction or operation in connection with any public or privately owned public utilities, buildings, machines, equipment, processes, works or projects where the public interest and welfare, or the safeguarding of life, public health or property is concerned or involved, and that requires the application of engineering principles and data;

“register of licensees” means the register of licensed corporations, partnerships and limited liability partnerships kept by the Board under section 13(1)(d);

“register of practitioners” means the annual register of practitioners kept by the Board under section 13(1)(c);

“register of professional engineers” means the register of professional engineers kept by the Board under section 13(1)(a);

“registered” means registered under section 21;

“Registrar” means the Registrar of the Board, and includes any individual acting in that capacity;

“rules” means rules made by the Board under section 61;

“specialist professional engineer” means a person registered under section 22 as a specialist professional engineer;

“unlimited corporation” means a corporation formed on the principle of having no limit placed on the liability of its members.

[18/2003; 27/2005; 36/2017; 5/2018]

Act not to apply to Government, etc.

3.—(1) Nothing in this Act applies to anything done or omitted to be done by the Government or by a public officer under the Government’s authority.

(2) This Act is not to be construed as requiring any public authority which supplies professional engineering services in Singapore under any written law to obtain a licence; and in this subsection, “public authority” means any body established by or under any written law and exercising powers vested therein by written law for a public purpose.