2 Apr 2026
Here’s why it’s essential to maintain an awareness of the law and read the things you put your signature to, even when you’re busy.
Consider the following scenario: you are an engineering professional under pressure. You have many competing priorities and all of your clients want their work done before the Easter holidays. You’ve been contacted by a former client who has some urgent design work they need help with. It’s a stretch, but they’ve been a good, reliable client, so you come through for them. The design work is complete and you sign their PS1 (it’s an Engineering New Zealand template, rather than the ones you usually sign, but it should work anyway), all within a week. Job done. Client happy.
Months later, you receive a notification from Engineering New Zealand saying: “We have received a copy of a PS1 signed by you, in which you have claimed to be a Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng). Our records show you are not a CPEng. Please explain.”
It is an offence under section 7 of the Chartered Professional Engineers of New Zealand Act 2002 to represent yourself as a CPEng without actually being one. This is what is known as a “strict liability” offence – no intention is required, and an offence is committed even if you do it by mistake. In 2025, Engineering New Zealand detected a number of individuals falsely claiming to be CPEng in documentation, usually producer statements. When asked, the reasons are varied, but often go along the lines of “it was a mistake” or “in my region, Chartered Members/Technologists etc can sign producer statements, so I thought it was ok”.
Producer statements are used across the motu to help building consent authorities process consent applications. It is generally understood that different authorities have different standards. While many require all producer statements to be signed by Chartered Professional Engineers, others do not. It’s up to the authority to decide who they consider qualified enough to provide assurances as to a design or object’s compliance with the Building Code. What appears to be less understood is that this difference is reflected in the various producer statement templates that are available. Importantly, the widely used Engineering New Zealand and ACE New Zealand producer statement template is drafted in such a way that only CPEngs can sign it, and when you place your signature on the document, you are representing yourself as a CPEng.
It appears that this is where some have gone astray. Many engineers are not properly reading the documents they are signing. Crucially, the issue is not the signing of the producer statement itself, it is the signing of a document – any document – that represents the signatory as a CPEng. It is only after this is pointed out to them that they realise what they have signed.
Engineers lead busy lives. Frequently at the centre of important projects with many moving parts, they often find themselves under intense pressure, particularly around holiday times like Easter or Christmas. It is all too easy to affix your signature to a document given to you late in the day to get it out before the end of the workday. However, section 7 is strict: you must not represent yourself as a CPEng if you are not a CPEng. The lesson is clear: please take the time to read what you are signing. Documents can be different and templates can change. If the template you are using requires you to be a CPEng to sign and you are not a CPEng, you’ll need to find another template. The best of intentions will not save you from what is in black and white on a signed page.
Izaac Sugrue is the former Legal Team Leader at Engineering New Zealand.
This article was first published in the March 2026 issue of EG magazine.
