College Board approves increase on 2025 registrant dues

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.

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.

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.

Approved dues increases are summarized in the table below.

Practicing, In-Training, and Temporary Withdrawal Status Dues	2024 Dues ($)	2025 Dues ($)	2025 Dues ($, incl. GST as of Jan. 1, 2025)
RPBio Dues	485	545	572.25
RPBio Dues (On Leave)	110	110	115.50
RBTech Dues	350	410	430.50
RBTech Dues (On Leave)	75	75	78.75
BIT Dues	150	180	189
BIT Dues (On Leave)	110	110	115.50
ABT Dues	150	175	183.75
ABT Dues (On Leave)	55	55	57.75
Trainee ABT Dues	83	95	99.75
Trainee ABT Dues (On Leave)	55	55	57.75
Trainee RBTech Dues	110	135	141.75
Trainee RBTech Dues (On Leave)	75	75	78.75
Applied Biology – Limited Licensee Dues	350	410	430.50
Retiree Dues
RPBio (Retired)	50	50	52.5
RBTech (Retired)	50	50	52.5
ABT (Retired)	50	50	52.5

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.