Site-wide FAQ Listings

Currently only Engineers and Geoscientists BC has been granted authority to regulate firms that provide engineering and geoscience services. The College may seek to regulate firms in the future, building upon the experience and lessons learned from EGBC. How multi-disciplinary firms may be regulated in the future is an important policy area that requires further development.

In those instances where a multidisciplinary firm employs professional biologists and engineers, EGBC will only be concerned with the oversight of engineering professionals.

— OSPG staff

The Professional Governance Act (PGA) gives authority to all regulators under the Act – including the College – to regulate firms, however at this point only Engineers and Geoscientists BC (EGBC) is moving forward starting on July 1, 2021. The other regulators are three to five years away from developing a similar program. Before the CAB moves forward with any firm regulation program we will engage with registrants and the public.

As per the PGA, a firm refers to a legal entity or combination of legal entities engaged in providing services in respect of a regulated practice. Firms may be small, specialized organisations or larger, multidisciplinary organisations. The regulation of firms pertains to the regulated practice of a profession and is not linked to reserved practice.

— OSPG staff

As per the Applied Biologist Regulation the following titles and their acronyms (RPBio, RBTech, ABT, etc.) are reserved and must not be used by anyone who is not registered and permitted by the College to use that title.

From the Professional Governance Act:

“For the purposes of section 51 (1) (a) [reserved titles] of the Act, the following titles are reserved for the exclusive use of registrants:

1. “professional biologist”;
2. “biologist in training”;
3. “registered biology technologist”;
4. “registered biology technologist in training”;
5. “applied biology technician”;
6. “applied biology technician in training”.”

Section 55 of the Professional Governance Act provides a pathway for reconciling any overlaps in reserved practices between two or more regulatory bodies under the PGA. By specifying the same area of practice in the professional regulation for each regulatory body granted that particular area of reserved practice, registrants of each specified regulatory body are permitted to practice in that area of reserved practice.

For example, the professional regulation for Engineers and Geoscientists BC identifies reserved practice in the area of “forest engineering” while the professional regulation for the Association of BC Forest Professionals identifies reserved practice in the area of “forest transportation systems”. This structure provides that registrants of both regulatory bodies may practice in the area of forest roads and crossings.

Any overlapping areas of practice identified in regulation may be further supported by practice guidelines jointly developed by multiple regulators.

The College is currently working with OSPG to develop and define a path forward towards reserved practice. Once reserved practice is established, anyone practising within the defined scope will be required to register with the College.

— OSPG staff

The PGA enables a regulatory body to regulate firms when that regulatory body has been authorized through regulation and has developed the necessary bylaws to do so. Regulated firms must become registrants of the regulatory bodies and like individual registrants, must comply with the requirements of the PGA, subsequent regulations, and the bylaws of the regulatory bodies. Regulatory bodies can enforce requirements on their registrants.

— OSPG staff

As per Part 5, Division 3 section 5-3(1)(c) of the College bylaws, retired registrants are “non-practicing” and must not provide professional opinions. This is not a change from the College of Applied Biology Act and Rules that were in effect until February 5, 2021.

Implementation of the Professional Governance Act has no impact on trade agreements between provinces. Registrants already accepted through the New West Partnership Trade Agreement (NWPTA) will remain registrants of the College.

Professional self-regulation is in provincial jurisdiction. Any registrant working outside of BC where registration is required (such as Alberta) should be registered with that provincial regulator. If you live out of province and work in BC you should be registered with the College. Furthermore, the Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct still applies whether someone is working in the province or not.

OSPG is able to accommodate requests for engagement. Interested parties should send an email to OSPGEnquiries@gov.bc.ca. OSPG will continue to host PGA webinars in spring 2021. Dates for these webinars as well as recorded webinars will be posted on the website at https://professionalgovernancebc.ca/.

The Professional Governance Act section 58 requires registrants to report the practice of an identified registrant when there is reasonable and probable grounds to believe that the identified registrant’s practice may pose a risk of significant harm to the environment or to the health and safety of the public or group of people. This reporting duty extends to an employer or partner of an identified registrant when employment or partnerships are impacted because of the risk of harm from the identified registrant’s practice.

For clarity, the s. 58 duty to report is not meant to require registrants to raise concerns to regulatory bodies about risk of significant harm arising from government policies or authorization decisions a registrant may be operating under. There are other mechanisms for registrants and others to bring these types of concerns to the authority having jurisdiction.

Regulatory bodies must treat a report under s.58 as a complaint to the regulatory body by:

• Following the general complaint process
• Ensuring there is a process to triage and prioritise given the potential risk of significant harm to the environment or health and safety of the public (as appropriate, may draw upon the extraordinary measures to protect the public).
• Considering whether another authority having jurisdiction should be notified.
• Notifying other authorities if appropriate.

— OSPG staff

Each regulatory body that may regulate firms will determine an approach to regulating firms of various sizes. Currently only EGBC is authorized to regulate firms and their program will accommodate companies of different sizes. There will be specific attention and tailoring provided for sole proprietors, and how to address differences and the unique needs of different organisations.

For more information on the EGBC firm regulation program, please visit their website here.

— OSPG staff

Further information regarding duty to report can be found on the OSPG website.

The College makes sure that a registrant practicing applied biology in British Columbia has the necessary knowledge and skills. No one can call themselves a Professional Biologist or a Registered Biology Technologist without registration in the College. In addition, anyone carrying out work that is defined in the reserved practice section of the Applied Biologists Regulation must be registered with the College as a Registered Professional Biologist (RPBio), Registered Biology Technologist (RBTech) or Applied Biologist-Limited Licensee (AB-LL). The College addresses the behaviour, skills and knowledge of registrants through a complaint driven process and through random practice audits.

While causing severe outcomes in other ways, the ongoing coronavirus has restricted some activities of the College that has resulted in a budget surplus. While these restrictions saved money in the short term, it has meant that many of our important outreach activities have been neglected. As restrictions are removed the College is resuming its critical pre-Covid activities.

Dues for College registrants were last raised (by $50 for RPBios and RBTechs and $15 for ABTs) for the 2022 registration year. The College was continuing with implementation of the Professional Governance Act and was adding resources to be able to address increasing requests and requirements of the Office of the Superintendent of Professional Governance.

Under the Professional Governance Act, a referendum is no longer required to enact changes to registration dues. The Council of a governing body has the authority to set and adjust registration dues.

All regulators under the PGA have had to evaluate, revise and expand their statutorily mandated activities to come into and remain in compliance with the Act. Examples of investments and improvements made over the last four years includes:

• Legal fees for regulatory and Bylaw development
• Revisions to the Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct and corresponding mandatory course
• Revamped internal operating procedures
• Investments in technology to allow for better access for registrants including online CPD reporting, an in-house Learning Management System, and the online application portal
• Development of new mandatory courses, webinars and explanatory documents
• Enhanced engagement and consultation on changes because of the Act and the implementation of reserved practice

Ongoing costs will include:

• Increased capacity to support the required practice guidance program which includes development of a formal practice guidance program
• Increased support for statutory committees
• Bylaw updates and bylaw development
• Increased reporting functions as required through the OSPG’s Standards of Good Regulation
• Increased OSPG information requests, annual audits by the OSPG on meeting the Standards of Good Regulation, and annual reporting requirements
• Proactive approach to enforce Title and Reserved Practice infringement
• Operationalizing the Environmental Practice Panel (EPP) with the Association of Professional BC Forest Professionals (ABCFP) to develop better guidance for our registrants and the public
• Ongoing collaboration with other regulators on alignments and intersections of reserved practice, and overlaps in regulated practice
• Continued investments in technology
• Monthly meetings with the OSPG and other regulators, quarterly meetings with the Professional Governance Advisory Committee, and participation on a number of task-oriented committees (e.g., firm regulation)

As well as increased demands from the OSPG, ongoing regulatory requirements of the PGA continue to put increased pressure on the College’s capacity to meet its statutory requirements.

These requirements include:

• Maintaining a fair, transparent and robust Complaints and Discipline process in an environment that has seen the number of complaints double over the past five years
• Delivering an efficient and rigorous credentialing program that has seen applications increase seven per cent annually since 2019 that could still increase further now that reserved practice has been enabled
• Supporting effective audit and practice reviews programs to ensure that registrants continue to meet their professional development requirements and maintain high professional standards
• Implementing a new Practice Guidance program to support registrants proactively with their professional practice

It is important to note that the College is required to meet the same regulatory standard as other regulators under the Act who currently have more capacity.

Yes, if you were randomly selected in August 2022, you must complete the Indigenous Awareness training and Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct training through the College portal in order to pay your dues for the 2023 registration year. If you were not selected in August 2022, you can still complete the courses at your leisure through the registrant portal. More information about mandatory training courses can be found here.

Approved dues increases are summarized in the table below.

The College continues to achieve administrative and operational efficiencies to keep costs as low as possible, however, to ensure that it is serving the public interest as a professional regulator it must continue to extend its capacity on delivering on its statutory functions.

Delivery demands of increased applications, enforcement of reserved practice and ongoing compliance with government statutes require significant resources from both volunteers’ and staff’s workloads and increased financial pressures.

The College has identified that it will need to increase capacity by two full-time equivalencies (FTEs) in 2025 and possibly and possibly additional FTEs in 2026 and 2027. These costs are contemplated in the College’s three-year financial plan covering 2025-7.

These increases in resources will allow the organization to manage workloads at a reasonable level, support existing and future committees and Task Forces, and increase professional supports as mandated by the PGA for registrants such as practice guidance, continuing professional development and policy directives.

The 2025 budget will be finalized and posted in early 2025.

NB: To the College’s knowledge, all regulatory bodies under the PGA have increased staffing levels over the past two years to fulfill their obligations.

Yes, however with the increase in registrants comes an increase in workload for the College. This includes increases in:

• application processing,
• the number of annual audits of current registrants
• the number practice reviews,
• investigations and possible disciplinary actions stemming from an increase in complaints
• practice and title infringement enforcement

Yes, as with the statutory responsibilities mentioned above, reserved practice is a benefit to the public interest as it ensures that qualified professionals are competent and accountable.  That responsibility and higher profile of the profession requires greater resources. To ensure that the College is meeting this responsibility and maintaining the public trust in the profession the College will need to continue to build capacity.

Current economic conditions are a factor in the decision. The College has not been immune to the overall inflationary pressures that have impacted the global community.

Registrants are obligated to pay their dues by the dues deadline in order to avoid being suspended and to avoid risk of having their registration cancelled. The College begins taking dues payment in October.

Failure to pay the annual dues (as well as any late fee and GST on the late fee, which will be applied on January 1^st) will result in a registrant being listed as suspended on the register according to College bylaw Part 5, Division 5, 5-15 and Part 12, 12-2. Suspended means that the registrant is not authorized to practice applied biology. Continued non-compliance will result in a registration being cancelled. Under reserved practice, having your registration cancelled may compromise your ability to work in compliance with the Professional Governance Act and could result in further sanctions.  A registrant that is cancelled must apply for reinstatement according to College bylaw Part 5,  5-11 and Part 12,  12- 4.

Annual dues for most other professionals under the PGA continue to outpace those of applied biology professionals even with the 2025 increase:

^Inclusive of Goods and Services tax (GST)

The College has developed three-year financial plan that includes the current dues increase for practicing registrants in 2025 and possible increases in 2026 and 2027 to adjust for economic indices (e.g. Cost of living, inflation). However, the College will continue to do an annual analysis of what, if any, dues increases are required. The College is confident that three-year outlook will allow for efficient and accurate fiscal management of budgets that will limit the need to raise dues significantly in subsequent years.

On the advice from our financial auditor the College will start collecting GST on dues starting in 2025. Not collecting GST has increased the administrative burden and costs associated with that to accurately report to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). By charging GST that administrative cost is eliminated which also negates the risk of not accurately reporting to the CRA.

As per the financial auditor’s recommendation, the College already collects GST on fees (such as application fees and late fees) and on tickets to College events like the conference.

Yes, the Architects Institute of BC (AIBC), Association of Applied Science Technologists and Technicians of BC (ASTTBC), Engineers and Geoscientists of BC (EGBC) and Forest Professionals of BC all collect GST as part of their registrants’ dues.

The changes will make individual applications faster to process (for example, by not needing to evaluate science courses for those with a BSc), but the processing timeline is primarily driven by the volume of applications submitted.

Draft BIT and RPBio applications that have not been submitted will be closed on June 1^st.

Submitting your draft application prior to June 1 will avoid having to create a new application.  If your application is closed, you will have access to the closed application to copy information from it to your new application.

Applications that are reviewed before June 1 will be assessed against the old standard, and applications reviewed after June 1 will be assessed based on the new standard. As mentioned previously, current applicants who qualify under the old Standard will continue to qualify

No. If your application is rejected prior to June 1, you may request a reassessment after June 1 (at no cost) and include additional information related to the new requirements. Your reassessment will be evaluated against the new Standard.

If your application is assessed after June 1, the College will consider the new requirements when reviewing your application and transcripts.

You may request a reassessment if you believe that you meet the requirements and your application was declined after Dec 1, 2025. If your application was declined prior to December 1, 2025, you would need to re-apply.

The new Standard will be posted June 1, 2026. A summary of the changes can be found here.

The new Credentialing Standard will be effective June 1, 2026.

One of the College’s responsibilities under the Professional Governance Act is to establish entrance requirements. The College reviewed the Credentialing Standard to ensure that registrants have the minimum knowledge and skills to practice independently, while avoiding unnecessary barriers to registration.

The College struck a Task Force consisting of nine registrants to recommend changes to the Standard. As part of their work, the Task Force conducted surveys of recent registrants and employers, and consulted with the College’s volunteer Credentials Assessors.

The changes bring closer alignment to the ASPB’s requirements by allowing applicants to use experience to make up for some missing courses. However, the College will continue to have some differences in its entrance requirements because ASPB has different obligations and a different scope of practice than what is in BC.

The changes ensure that required courses are relevant to the practice of applied biology. The changes also increase flexibility so that competent applicants are not needlessly excluded from the profession.

It’s important to remember that entrance requirements set a minimum threshold, and registrants have an obligation to only practice within their area of competence, while engaging in continuing professional development.

Yes, RBTech and AB-LL applicants will benefit from the changes being made to the minimum required number of Professional Work Products.  The College will be reviewing RBTech academic requirements in the future.

None of the changes to the Standard affect ABTs.

No. Programs that qualified for accreditation under the old standard will continue to qualify under the new standard.

The practice of applied biology is very broad, and it would be difficult to develop and administer a meaningful exam.

Universities determine what courses are needed to graduate from their programs, and changes to the College’s requirements do not affect program requirements.  The College will be updating accreditation agreements to reflect the new requirements.

The surveys with recent registrants and employers identified communications as very relevant to the practice of applied biology. There are many online communications courses available, and for applicants with over six years’ experience, there is flexibility to miss the communications course requirement.

No, any applied biology experience is acceptable.

We heard from recent registrants and employers that these courses were not strongly relevant to the practice of applied biology. You may still use these courses to count towards the 25 science requirement.

The 25 science course requirement existed to ensure that applicants had exposure to the scientific method. The College determined that a BSc addresses this without a course by course review. This will save these applicants time and improve processing times.

If an applicant has a PWP that is able to demonstrate that the applicant meets all the requirements, additional examples are unnecessary. Changing the minimum from two to one reduces the burden on applicants and improves processing efficiency.

No, an independent study document submitted as a PWP needs to be completed independently under the supervision of a faculty member.

Approved dues increases are summarized in the table below.

The College continues to achieve administrative and operational efficiencies to keep costs as low as possible, however, to ensure that it is serving the public interest and remaining in compliance with — most notably — the PGA and ICRA, it must continue to invest in its  capacity as a professional regulator.

The increased revenue from dues will be applied to offset increasing operational costs (processing applications, enforcing reserved practice, complying with legislative requirements).

In addition, the College plans to enhance it staff capacity to ensure that it can continue to meet its statutory obligations.  This is consistent with staffing level increases by other regulators to fulfil their PGA obligations.

The 2026 budget will be finalized and posted in early 2026.

In 2024 the College ran a substantial deficit of over $250K and in 2025 we are projecting a ~$40K deficit. This is not sustainable. Inflationary pressures such as increased costs like rent, salaries and IT equipment along with increased expectations from the provincial government and the public has required the College in invest in its capacity to deliver on its mandate. The College has also increased investments in compliance activities related to unlawful use of title and/or unlawful practice (practice infringement) as per the definition in the Applied Biologists Regulation.

Dues for College registrants were last raised (by $60 for RPBio and RBTech registrants and nominally for other registrants) in 2024 for the 2025 registration year. The College did not raise fees for the 2024 registration year.

All regulators under the Professional Governance Act (PGA) have had to evaluate, revise and expand their statutorily mandated activities to maintain compliance with the requirements in both the PGA and the International Credentials Recognition Act (ICRA). Examples of investments and improvements include:

• Ongoing investments in technology to allow for better access for registrants including online CPD reporting, in-house Learning Management System, and the online application portal
• Increased investments in compliance activities related to unlawful use of title and/or unlawful practice (practice infringement) as per the definition in the Applied Biologists Regulation
• Revamped internal operating procedures
• Further development of the self-evaluation to evaluate the College’s compliance with the Office of the Superintendent of Professional Governance’s (OSPG) Standards of Good Regulation (a performance review by the OSPG is scheduled for 2026)
• Coming into compliance with the 2024 International Credentials Recognition Act
• A substantive increase in complaints resulting in an increase in compliance activities including investigations, review of professional work product by subject matter experts, and when necessary, disciplinary actions.

Ongoing costs will include:

• Increased capacity to support the required practice guidance program
• Increased support for statutory committees (Nominations, Credentials, Audit & Practice Review, Investigations, Discipline)
• Bylaw updates and amendments
• Increased costs in adequately funding the Complaints and Discipline process
• Increased reporting functions as required through by International Credentials Recognition Act (ICRA)
• Increased reporting functions as required through the OSPG’s Standards of Good Regulation
• Increased OSPG information requests and annual reporting requirements
• Expansion of compliance work regarding unlawful Title and Reserved Practice infringement
• Ongoing collaboration with other regulators on alignments and intersections of reserved practice, and overlaps in regulated practice
• Continued investments in technology
• Ongoing outreach activities with registrants, employers, academic institutions and training providers, all levels of government (Federal, Provincial, First Nations, Municipal), other regulators, and the public at larg

Yes, however with the increase in registrants comes an increase in workload for the College. This includes increases in:

• Application processing,
• the number of annual audits of current registrants
• the number practice reviews,
• investigations and possible disciplinary actions stemming from an increase in complaints
• practice and title infringement enforcement

Yes, as with the other statutory responsibilities mentioned above, reserved practice is a benefit to the public interest as it ensures that qualified professionals are competent and accountable. That responsibility and higher profile of the profession require greater resources. For example, the College is continuing to expand its unlawful Title and Reserved Practice infringement compliance program to ensure that it is meeting its responsibility of maintaining the public trust in the profession.

The College has developed a three-year financial plan that includes the current dues increase for practicing registrants in 2026. This coming year represents the second year of the plan and there is a projected increase of equal or lesser value in 2027 to adjust for economic indices (e.g. Cost of living, inflation, increase in compliance programs). There are no increases anticipated for 2028 at this time. However, the College will continue to do an annual analysis of what, if any, dues increases are required. The College is confident that the three-year outlook is enabling efficient and accurate fiscal management of budgets that will limit the need to raise dues significantly in subsequent years. The College’s 2026-28 financial strategy estimates a balanced budget for 2027.

Registrants are obligated to pay their dues by the dues deadline in order to avoid being suspended and to avoid the risk of having their registration cancelled. The College begins taking dues payment in October.

Failure to pay the annual dues (as well as any late fee and GST on the late fee, which will be applied on January 1^st) will result in a registrant being listed as suspended on the register according to College bylaw Part 5, Division 5, 5-15 and Part 12, 12-2. Suspended means that the registrant is not authorized to practice applied biology. Continued non-compliance will result in a registration being cancelled. Under reserved practice, having your registration cancelled may compromise your ability to work in compliance with the Professional Governance Act and could result in further sanctions.  A registrant that is cancelled must apply for reinstatement according to College bylaw Part 5,  5-11 and Part 12,  12- 4.

Annual dues for most other professionals under the PGA continue to outpace those of applied biology professionals even with the 2026 increase:

It is important to note that the College is required to meet the same regulatory standard as other regulators under the PGA Act who currently have more capacity.

NB: Some regulators’ dues compared to other years due to differing fiscal cycles. Fees rounded to the nearest whole dollar.

^Inclusive of Goods and Services tax (GST)

The College recognizes Registered Biology Technologists (RBTechs) and Applied Biology Limited Licensees (AB-LLs) as fully qualified applied biology professionals. While Registered Professional Biologists (RPBios) have more latitude in their practice (e.g. preparing interpretive reports outside established parameters, protocols and guidelines), RBTechs and AB-LLs also have independent practice while practicing within established parameters.

The College recognizes that the RBTech designation is sometimes mistakenly under-valued by employers and the public. To rectify this misconception the College is fully committed to continuing its outreach efforts to raise the profile of this important registration category.

The College understands that there will be some concerns about the increase, but regards the increase as necessary as the cost to superintend the RBTech and AB-LL designations, with their responsibilities under reserved practice, is similar to RPBios.

No, the average gap of $125 between RPBios and RBTech/AB-LLs is by far the largest among regulators with a technologist registration. Forest Professionals BC (FPBC) have similar designations with Registered Professional Foresters (RPF) being equivalent to RPBio and Registered Forest Technologists (RFT) to RBTech. Comparative data show a narrower gap between these designations, with RFT dues being about $50 (6%) less than those charged for RPFs. The BC Institute of Agrologists likewise has the Professional Agrologist (PAg) and Technical Agrologist (TAg) designations. These registrants pay the same annual dues (see table 1).

Aligning RBTech and AB-LL dues more closely with RPBio dues would promote consistency and equity across registration categories and is acknowledgement that these designations have similar roles, responsibilities and authorities associated with their reserved practices.

Yes. The Professional Governance Act prescribes that the governing Board of regulatory bodies shall have four public representatives (Lay Board members) appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council through the Crown Agency and Board Resourcing Office. Public representatives are also required for Committees and are appointed by the Board.

The College makes sure that a registrant practicing applied biology in British Columbia has the necessary knowledge and skills. No one can call themselves a Professional Biologist or a Registered Biology Technologist without registration in the College. In addition, anyone carrying out work that is defined in the reserved practice section of the Applied Biologists Regulation must be registered with the College as a Registered Professional Biologist (RPBio), Registered Biology Technologist (RBTech) or Applied Biologist-Limited Licensee (AB-LL). The College addresses the behaviour, skills and knowledge of registrants through a complaint driven process and through random practice audits.

If you believe a registrant of the College — or a registrant of any other regulator under the Professional Governance Act — has contravened the Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, you should submit a complaint to the College by completing and submitting the complaint form.  

Members who resign to avoid an audit will be required to have a mandatory audit (including meeting CPD requirements) should they ever want to reactivate their membership. Members who have resigned are restricted from undertaking any work that requires Registered Professional Applied Biologist status.

Completing an audit is mandatory. Auditees must demonstrate cooperation and maintain a polite, professional demeanor with College staff and auditors. Failure to comply is a contravention of the College’s Code of Ethics and could result in disciplinary action (refer to Section 21.2 of the College of Applied Biology Act and Rule 14).

In rare situations, an audit may be deferred due to extenuating circumstances. Auditees must notify the College of the reason(s) for the deferral. If the reason(s) are acceptable, the Chair of the Audit and Practice Review Committee will grant approval and specify the year in which the audit is to occur.

College staff will email auditees advising them of their upcoming audit and provide related details (i.e. name of auditor, deadlines, required forms).  Notifications will be sent in January.

The Registrar will randomly select registered members from the eligible pool of members. Registered members of the College may also volunteer to be audited.

Under Schedule 6 there are allowances for a process to be other than simple random selection. This may occur as a recommendation of the Discipline Committee or based on another committee recommendation. The selection of auditees may also be stratified by membership category to ensure equitable representation.

Yes. Members of the College for less than three years are required to provide their CPD record for the duration of their membership, and are expected to demonstrate that they are on track to meet the College’s CPD requirement of 100 points over three years.

There are 6 possible outcomes:

1. Successful completion: No further action required (Rule 14.14.1). 
2. Additional information: The auditee may be required to provide additional information (Rule 14.14.2).
3. Remedial action required: When there is an isolated practice-related issue that can be addressed. The auditee must report to the College that the mandatory remedial action has been implemented within the required timeframe (Rule 14.14.3).
4. Referral for a practice review: Required if the auditee fails to demonstrate their compliance with College audit requirements or if practice-related concerns become apparent (Rule 14.14.4).
5. Referral to the Discipline Committee for non-compliance: When an auditee has failed to provide completed audit forms within 20 business days of being notified, or has not responded to requests for additional information within a reasonable timeframe, i.e. 5 business days unless otherwise indicated by the auditor (Rule 14.14.5), or has failed to meet the remedial action requirements.
6. Referral to Discipline Committee for breach of practice: If the audit process reveals egregious breaches of professional conduct in contravention of the College’s Rules and policies, the Discipline Committee may initiate an investigation of the member’s conduct (Rule 14.14.6).

You must notify the College as soon as possible, provide a reason, and the requested extension period. If the reasons are acceptable to the Chair of the Audit and Practice Review Committee, the schedule may be amended.

The audit process examines how members:

• generate and administer their work products;
• remain current with changing legislation;
• manage their records;
• adhere to the College’s Code of Ethics; and,
• track and document Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activities

Once the auditee is notified they will be audited, the auditee may declare any real or perceived conflicts with their assigned auditor within 5 business days of being notified. If there are no conflicts, the auditee must submit completed forms and supporting information to the College. The assigned auditor reviews the information and upon completion of the audit, makes a recommendation to the Audit and Practice Review Committee (APRC). The APRC considers the recommendation of the auditor(s) and determines one of six possible outcomes (see Question 15). Once the outcome has been determined, a letter is mailed to the auditee with the results of their audit.

Each auditee will receive an official letter explaining the result of their audit. The letters are sent by Express Post for guaranteed delivery and the College usually mails them by September.

The College matches each auditee with an auditor. All auditors are College members who have undergone an audit themselves. Auditors must have diverse and extensive experience in applied biology, be long-standing members of the College, and must also be mentored by an experienced auditor during their first year. 

Please contact the College office with any questions about the audit program in general. Contact the Director of Practice at: (250) 383-3306  or email: director_practice@cab-bc.org. 

If you are in the process of being audited, questions should be directed to your assigned auditor.

To proactively monitor members’ practice of applied biology to ensure that standards are being met. The audit program is one mechanism for the College to meet its legislated public interest mandate.

Relevant sections in the Act and Rules:

• Under Section 21 of the College of Applied Biology Act, the College is authorized to establish an Audit and Practice Review Committee (APRC), and establish the audit process by way of a Rule.
• Rule 14: sets out the rules for the establishment and conduct of the Audit and Practice Review Committee. 
• Under Schedule 6: a description is provided of the Audit program which includes a link to the member form used during the audit process.
• Under Schedule 4: information on associated CPD program and a template CPD form that can be used for tracking activities is provided. 

Following the successful completion of an audit, a member’s name is removed from the random draw list for a period of five years.

As a best management practice the College reviews and revises its bylaws annually to address any unintended issues in their application. The process includes working with the College’s legal counsel and the Office of the Superintendent to ensure compliance with the provisions in the Professional Governance Act.

Yes, Part 9 of the bylaws has been revised to remove the requirement for the Registrar to post publicly complaints that are dismissed. As the complaint process respects the confidentiality of both the complainant and the respondent if no non-compliance is determined by the Investigation Committee, there is little value in posting dismissals. The Registrar still may post a rationale if the dismissal, once anonymized, still has information that is pertinent for the public or for registrants. Information regarding non-compliances will continue to be posted on the College’s website.

As well, Principle 8 of the Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct now includes avoiding injuring the reputation of “members of the public”.

Yes. The College is committed to continuous improvement and will continue to review and improve its bylaws, standards and policies as required.

The Professional Governance Act section 58 requires registrants to report the practice of an identified registrant when there is reasonable and probable grounds to believe that the identified registrant’s practice may pose a risk of significant harm to the environment or to the health and safety of the public or group of people. This reporting duty extends to an employer or partner of an identified registrant when employment or partnerships are impacted because of the risk of harm from the identified registrant’s practice.

For clarity, the s. 58 duty to report is not meant to require registrants to raise concerns to regulatory bodies about risk of significant harm arising from government policies or authorization decisions a registrant may be operating under. There are other mechanisms for registrants and others to bring these types of concerns to the authority having jurisdiction.

Regulatory bodies must treat a report under s.58 as a complaint to the regulatory body by:

• Following the general complaint process
• Ensuring there is a process to triage and prioritise given the potential risk of significant harm to the environment or health and safety of the public (as appropriate, may draw upon the extraordinary measures to protect the public).
• Considering whether another authority having jurisdiction should be notified.
• Notifying other authorities if appropriate.

— OSPG staff

Further information regarding duty to report can be found on the OSPG website.

If you believe a registrant of the College — or a registrant of any other regulator under the Professional Governance Act — has contravened the Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, you should submit a complaint to the College by completing and submitting the complaint form.  

No. As a regulatory body, the College has the option of charging GST and has chosen not to do so.

CPD or Continuing Professional development information can be found on the Continuing Professional Development page. Information regarding payment of dues can be accessed on the Registration and Application Fees page..  If you are a current member you can pay your outstanding dues at https://www.cab-bc.org/payment-forms/college-dues.

Temporary withdrawal is available for members who are returning to school, for parental leave, and for medical or compassionate leave. If you plan on travelling, your only options would be to maintain your membership or resign and reapply or reinstate upon your return to practice.

You will have to pay your full ‘active status’ dues for the year in which you plan to go ‘On Leave’ (due by December 31st of the previous calendar year). When you change your status to ‘On Leave’, the extra dues you paid to have ‘active status’ for the full year will be held by the College as credit and applied to your account when you reinstate your membership to ‘active status’. You will only have to pay ‘On Leave’ dues if your leave continues until the next dues payment period (i.e., there is no charge associated with your ‘On Leave’ status for the portion of the first year in which you changed to ‘On Leave’ status). 

The College wants to ensure that all members, regardless of category, understand the obligations and restrictions of the category in which they hold membership.

No. As a regulatory body, the College has the option of charging GST and has chosen not to do so.

Temporary withdrawal is available for members who are returning to school, for parental leave, and for medical or compassionate leave. If you plan on travelling, your only options would be to maintain your membership or resign and reapply or reinstate upon your return to practice.

CPD or Continuing Professional development information can be found on the Continuing Professional Development page. Information regarding payment of dues can be accessed on the Registration and Application Fees page..  If you are a current member you can pay your outstanding dues at https://www.cab-bc.org/payment-forms/college-dues.

College dues can be paid online by credit card, by mailing a cheque or money order, or by providing a credit card number to the office over the phone. (Important note: Before phoning in your card card number, make sure to fill in your declarations otherwise your payment cannot be processed).

Temporary withdrawal is available for members who are returning to school, for parental leave, and for medical or compassionate leave. If you plan on travelling, your only options would be to maintain your membership or resign and reapply or reinstate upon your return to practice.

You will have to pay your full ‘active status’ dues for the year in which you plan to go ‘On Leave’ (due by December 31st of the previous calendar year). When you change your status to ‘On Leave’, the extra dues you paid to have ‘active status’ for the full year will be held by the College as credit and applied to your account when you reinstate your membership to ‘active status’. You will only have to pay ‘On Leave’ dues if your leave continues until the next dues payment period (i.e., there is no charge associated with your ‘On Leave’ status for the portion of the first year in which you changed to ‘On Leave’ status). 

The College wants to ensure that all members, regardless of category, understand the obligations and restrictions of the category in which they hold membership.

Registration in a student category was not contemplated by the Professional Governance Act (PGA) or any subsequent statute and was instead a legacy of the College of Applied Biology Act. The PGA only authorizes the College to regulate in-training, practicing, on leave and retired registrants; the student category does not fulfill the requirements of any of those areas.

Current members of the Student category will continue to be members of the College until the end of the current registration year. Their membership will not be renewed after this date. Those individuals will maintain their profile in the College’s portal.

Refunds on the application fee will be provided for members of the Student category who only joined in 2025.

The terms “practice rights” and “right to practice” have the same meaning as reserved practice, but reserved practice is the terminology that is used in the Act.

Most activities within academia would fall outside of the reserved practice. If activities fall under the biology objective, then the individual would be required to be a registrant.

Currently Engineers and Geoscientists of BC are the only regulator who regulates firms. (The Architects Institute of British Columbia will be the other regulator once they are brought under the Professional Governance Act.) The College continues to sit on the Advisory Committee on Firm Regulation with all our regulatory partners to monitor and advise on EGBC’s initiative. A key principle of this committee is to ensure that there is a streamlined and consistent approach to regulating firms.

At this time the College’s primary objective is the successful implementation of the Professional Governance Act, and most importantly reserved practice. We estimate it being at least five (5) years before starting to develop what firm regulation may look like for the College. This work will be done in collaboration with regulatory partners and firms.

The definition of reserved practice as it applies to regulators under the Professional Governance Act (PGA) means the ability to practice a profession is reserved for registrants of that regulatory body, with the exception of persons who may practice aspects of the profession in accordance with another legislation. Practically speaking, it means that a person must register with a regulatory body and meet all their professional, ethical and competency standards in order to offer their services as a professional when practicing within the defined reserved practice.

As per the PGA, a firm refers to a legal entity or combination of legal entities engaged in providing services in respect of a regulated practice. Firms may be small, specialized organisations or larger, multidisciplinary organisations. The regulation of firms pertains to the regulated practice of a profession and is not linked to reserved practice.

— OSPG staff

Section 55 of the Professional Governance Act provides a pathway for reconciling any overlaps in reserved practices between two or more regulatory bodies under the PGA. By specifying the same area of practice in the professional regulation for each regulatory body granted that particular area of reserved practice, registrants of each specified regulatory body are permitted to practice in that area of reserved practice.

For example, the professional regulation for Engineers and Geoscientists BC identifies reserved practice in the area of “forest engineering” while the professional regulation for the Association of BC Forest Professionals identifies reserved practice in the area of “forest transportation systems”. This structure provides that registrants of both regulatory bodies may practice in the area of forest roads and crossings.

Any overlapping areas of practice identified in regulation may be further supported by practice guidelines jointly developed by multiple regulators.

The College is currently working with OSPG to develop and define a path forward towards reserved practice. Once reserved practice is established, anyone practising within the defined scope will be required to register with the College.

— OSPG staff

As per Part 5, Division 3 section 5-3(1)(c) of the College bylaws, retired registrants are “non-practicing” and must not provide professional opinions. This is not a change from the College of Applied Biology Act and Rules that were in effect until February 5, 2021.

Implementation of the Professional Governance Act has no impact on trade agreements between provinces. Registrants already accepted through the New West Partnership Trade Agreement (NWPTA) will remain registrants of the College.

Professional self-regulation is in provincial jurisdiction. Any registrant working outside of BC where registration is required (such as Alberta) should be registered with that provincial regulator. If you live out of province and work in BC you should be registered with the College. Furthermore, the Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct still applies whether someone is working in the province or not.

The terms “practice rights” and “right to practice” have the same meaning as reserved practice, but reserved practice is the terminology that is used in the Act.

The definition of reserved practice as it applies to regulators under the Professional Governance Act (PGA) means the ability to practice a profession is reserved for registrants of that regulatory body, with the exception of persons who may practice aspects of the profession in accordance with another legislation. Practically speaking, it means that a person must register with a regulatory body and meet all their professional, ethical and competency standards in order to offer their services as a professional when practicing within the defined reserved practice.

Most activities within academia would fall outside of the reserved practice. If activities fall under the biology objective, then the individual would be required to be a registrant.

Currently Engineers and Geoscientists of BC are the only regulator who regulates firms. (The Architects Institute of British Columbia will be the other regulator once they are brought under the Professional Governance Act.) The College continues to sit on the Advisory Committee on Firm Regulation with all our regulatory partners to monitor and advise on EGBC’s initiative. A key principle of this committee is to ensure that there is a streamlined and consistent approach to regulating firms.

At this time the College’s primary objective is the successful implementation of the Professional Governance Act, and most importantly reserved practice. We estimate it being at least five (5) years before starting to develop what firm regulation may look like for the College. This work will be done in collaboration with regulatory partners and firms.

Currently only Engineers and Geoscientists BC has been granted authority to regulate firms that provide engineering and geoscience services. The College may seek to regulate firms in the future, building upon the experience and lessons learned from EGBC. How multi-disciplinary firms may be regulated in the future is an important policy area that requires further development.

In those instances where a multidisciplinary firm employs professional biologists and engineers, EGBC will only be concerned with the oversight of engineering professionals.

— OSPG staff

The Professional Governance Act (PGA) gives authority to all regulators under the Act – including the College – to regulate firms, however at this point only Engineers and Geoscientists BC (EGBC) is moving forward starting on July 1, 2021. The other regulators are three to five years away from developing a similar program. Before the CAB moves forward with any firm regulation program we will engage with registrants and the public.

The PGA enables a regulatory body to regulate firms when that regulatory body has been authorized through regulation and has developed the necessary bylaws to do so. Regulated firms must become registrants of the regulatory bodies and like individual registrants, must comply with the requirements of the PGA, subsequent regulations, and the bylaws of the regulatory bodies. Regulatory bodies can enforce requirements on their registrants.

— OSPG staff

The bylaws have been revised to refine the eligibility requirements for registrants to participate on statutory committees. Primarily, the language has been clarified that registrants who are practicing are eligible, which is consistent with Board member criteria. Registrants that are in-training or retired will still be eligible to participate on working groups and task forces.

Another revision that has been applied among statutory committees is the authority for a committee to designate a vice chair from its number should the chair not be available, which provides redundancy. As statutory committees are decision-making bodies, there needs to be flexibility for quorum to make timely decisions even if the chair is not available.

Finally, should a Discipline Panel need to be convened to adjudicate a hearing, panel members will no longer be drawn from the Discipline Committee.