Engineers Australia Assessment Types: CDR, KA and Accord

When lodging a skills assessment through Engineers Australia (EA), the first step is not writing a CDR — it is identifying the correct assessment type for your qualification and occupation. Choosing the wrong assessment type can have your application rejected from the outset.

Overview of the assessment types

EA has five main assessment types, corresponding to different groups of qualifications and engineering occupations:

1. CDR — Competency Demonstration Report
2. Knowledge Assessment — an assessment of knowledge
3. Washington Accord — a degree from an Accord signatory institution
4. Sydney Accord — an Engineering Technologist degree
5. Dublin Accord — an Engineering Associate degree

CDR (Competency Demonstration Report)

The CDR is the most common assessment type and also the most complex. It applies to:

• Professional Engineers who graduated from an institution that is not a Washington Accord signatory
• Most engineers who graduated from domestic universities will fall into this group

The CDR has three components:

• Career Episodes (3 of them): describing real engineering experience
• Summary Statement: mapping competencies against EA’s standards
• Continuing Professional Development (CPD): a list of professional development activities

See how to write Career Episodes in detail at Engineers Australia CDR: what Career Episodes are and how to write them.

Knowledge Assessment (KA)

KA is for people with engineering experience but no suitable formal engineering qualification (or a qualification that is not sufficiently related). EA assesses based on engineering knowledge and practical experience instead of qualifications.

KA is less common than CDR and usually applies to particular cases — for example, someone with a natural science degree (physics, maths) who has worked as an engineer for many years.

Washington Accord

The Washington Accord is an international agreement between the engineering accreditation bodies of various countries. If your qualification is confirmed by EA to be from a Washington Accord program, you are exempt from the CDR — you only need to submit your qualification and transcripts.

Countries with Washington Accord institutions: Australia, USA, Canada, UK, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, China (some institutions), India (some institutions), and others.

Note: Most domestic engineering universities are currently not confirmed under the Washington Accord — meaning most of those engineers will need to go through the CDR.

To check: look up the institution name on the EA Assessment Tool or the IEA (International Engineering Alliance) website.

Sydney Accord

The Sydney Accord is for Engineering Technologists — usually people with a 3-year degree (an Associate Degree or Advanced Diploma in engineering). This is the level between a full professional engineer (Washington Accord) and an Engineering Associate.

If your degree is from a Sydney Accord signatory, you are exempt from the CDR at the Engineering Technologist level.

Dublin Accord

The Dublin Accord is for Engineering Associates — a 2-year practical engineering qualification. This is a lower level than the Sydney and Washington Accords.

People with a degree from a Dublin Accord signatory are assessed at the Engineering Associate level — not as a Professional Engineer.

How to know which type you fall under

Steps to identify:

1. Find out the ANZSCO code of the occupation you want assessed
2. Check your qualification: the institution name, the level (3 years or 4–5 years), the year of graduation
3. Look up the institution name on the EA Assessment Tool to see whether it falls under an Accord
4. If it is not under an Accord: do a CDR

Practical advice: most applicants will go through the CDR. If your qualification is from an ordinary institution not under an Accord, start learning about the CDR right away.

Cost and time

• Cost: varies by assessment type and over time — see the official fee schedule on the Engineers Australia website.
• Processing time: varies by assessment type and application volume — check the current timeframes on the official Engineers Australia website.

Fees and times may differ between assessment types — check the Engineers Australia website before lodging your application.