Certified Environmental Health Practitioner/Technician Scheme (CEHP/CEHT)®

Any professional seeking to develop a fulfilling career as an Environmental Health Practitioner (EHP) should be actively considering how they demonstrate their skills and competence to current and future employers, clients, other professionals, and the community at large. It is for these reasons that Environmental Health Australia (EHA) has developed the CEHP/CEHT Scheme for EHPs.

What is CEHP/CEHT?

The CEHP/CEHT Schemes are certification schemes developed for member Environmental Health Practitioners (EHPs) in which they are able to undertake peer assessed professional development. The CEHP Scheme is based on a graduated professional development program which commences upon graduation from an accredited degree program and continues over a professional career from Certified Practitioner through to Certified Advanced Practitioner status. The CEHT Scheme is seen to be an integral component of a graduated professional development program which commences on successful completion of an approved environmental health VET qualification and continues through Certified Technician to Certified Advanced Technician.

Studying for and maintaining CEHP or CEHT ensures that practitioners/technicians keep up to date on the latest developments in their field of practice or specialty, and it demonstrates commitment to continued experiential or life-long learning.

What are the benefits of participating in the CEHP or CEHT Scheme?

For participants in the Scheme there are a number of benefits including:

• Promotion of a CEHP/CEHT as a quality practitioner or technician;
• Improves employability with prospective employers and/or clients;
• Reduces the selection risk for employers;
• Enhances career transitions in various fields of environmental health practice;
• Allows for benchmarking against the best environmental health practitioners in Australia;
• Provides for status and recognition with professional peers; and
• Entitles participants to the post nominals of CEHP or CEHT.

 What are the prerequisites for entry to the Schemes?

The prerequisites for entry into the Certified Environmental Health Practitioner or Technician Schemes are:

• completion of relevant undergraduate or postgraduate degree (including an EHA accredited tertiary course for the training of EHOs) or an approved VET qualification (for EHTs)
• 2 years relevant work experience in environmental health practice
• for EHPs submission and peer assessment of an experiential learning portfolio (ELP) of work experience showing the identification and implementation of professional development strategies resulting in improved professional practice. For EHTs submission of a log book.
• involvement as a mentee in a mentoring program for at least 1 year (either EHA or employer sponsored)

• the prerequisite for continuing in the CEHP/CEHT Scheme is successful completion of the EHA CPD program.

There are additional prerequisites for entry into the Certified Environmental Health Practitioner (Advanced) or Certified Environmental Health Technician (Advanced) aspect of the Scheme.

 What are the costs?

The costs for participating in the Schemes are currently being examined and will be announced on 1 July 2008.

When will the Schemes become operational?

The Schemes will become operational as from 1 July 2008 and the first intakes for the Scheme will commence shortly afterwards.

Further information

Costs and intake details will be advertised on the Environmental Health Australia (EHA) website (www.eh.org.au) and in EHA National and Branch newsletters.

For more information please contact Mr Waikay Lau, CEO, at Environmental Health Australia (EHA) on T: 0412 628 500 or E: waikay.lau@eh.org.au

Certified Environmental Health Practitioner and CEHP are Registered Trademarks of Environmental Health Australia, formerly the Australian Institute of Environmental Health (AIEH).

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