Constitution update 2026 – member consultation

At a high level, we are proposing the following changes:

• Updates to the member pathway: introduction of a Group Member class and phasing out of the Companion class.
• Adjustments to member obligations: removing the requirement for members to manually commit each year to the Code of Ethical Conduct and Continued Professional Development policy.
• Public register clarification: clarifying what is on the public register and how it gets there, as well as how it is removed.
• Alignment of dispute, complaint and disciplinary provisions: making sure dispute provisions are aligned across the Constitution, as well as making sure member complaint processes mirror those of the chartered professional engineers.
• Technical and special interest group framing: clarifying the terminology around technical and special interest groups, ensuring that they are identified as committees of Engineering New Zealand and that we have appropriate operational frameworks in place.
• Updates to payment provisions: changing payment timeframes so that payments are not due on the first day of the financial year but instead are due 30 days after invoicing.

As the changes proposed impact both the membership class structure and member obligations, we are seeking feedback before finalising motions for the 2026 Annual General Meeting.

A note on chartered membership

We know there is some ongoing confusion and frustration about chartered membership because the chartership title sits across both our regulatory register (chartered professional engineer - CPEng) and our membership register (chartered member - CMEngNZ). There is a history as to why this is and we recently reviewed this history, as well as options to address the confusion and frustration. Options included:

1. Status quo: maintaining status quo while continuing to work to separate the registers and inform stakeholders of the difference.
2. Name change: a name change to the chartered member class to remove the chartership title.
3. Changes to the membership class structure: large changes to the structure of the membership classes to remove the assessed member class.

We concluded our best option for now is to retain the chartered membership class in its current form as this holds significant value to members and is important for international recognition. We have a large work programme dedicated to the ongoing separation of our regulatory and membership functions. This work programme includes communications to key stakeholders on the differences in the chartered titles.