Calls for the ACT to adopt an engineers register date as far back as 2012, when the then-government promised to tighten-up the regulation of the territory's engineers in the wake of the 2010 Barton Highway bridge collapse and other incidents.

"It's time to get on with it," Engineers Australia ACT general manager Keely Quinn said.

"There is no reason why this can't happen in the ACT, and in fact the government has promised to deliver it a number of times.

"There are already models that are proven to work, as Queensland has had a registration scheme for many years."

Last week the Victorian government introduced a bill into parliament that would require all engineers working in the state to either register with the government, or to work under the eye of someone who is registered and appropriately experienced.

"With the Victorian government spending billions on infrastructure, they acknowledged that a registration scheme can lead to better design, construction and OH and S outcomes," Ms Quinn said.

"[This is] and assurance of competence for the community."

Peak body Engineers Australia recently highlighted concerns about fire safety risks potentially impacting a "significant" number of buildings in the ACT, including aged-care facilities.

"'Engineer' is not a protected term in Australia. You can't call yourself an architect unless you are trained and registered, but anyone can use the word engineer," Ms Quinn said at the time.

"And this creates issues when it comes to things such as fire safety. You need to know what you are looking at."

Territory regulators came under fire earlier this month for failing to clamp down on defect-riddled apartment buildings and dodgy developers.

Chief Minister Andrew Barr said as recently as October 2016 the government was "progressing" the engineers register, two years after its initial deadline of 2014.

The ACT planning directorate has struggled to pinpoint why the scheme has taken so long, although has said there were difficulties in deciding what types of work it should apply to.

It is understood the ACT government recently wrote to professional bodies representing engineers to canvass their views on how a registration scheme could work in the ACT.

"It's time for the ACT government to act on a mandatory registration scheme for engineers in the territory," Ms Quinn said.

The head of the ACT's planning and development directorate, Ben Ponton, said the government would be consulting on engineering regulations in the second half of 2018.

"In finalising details of the scheme we have been looking at the different forms of regulation affecting engineering work in each jurisdiction and the risks associated with different types of work," he said.

"We will be talking to our colleagues in Victoria and other jurisdictions as we move towards our scheme for better regulation of engineering work."