CU 78230 — Engineering design and engineering consulting services
ACC files this unit under Professional, Scientific and Technical Services, in the group “Architectural, Engineering and Technical Services”, in levy risk group 693.
The work this unit covers
- Boat designing service
- Building consulting service
- Building inspection service
- Chemical engineering consulting service
- Civil engineering consulting service
- Construction consulting service
- Construction project management service (on a fee or contract basis – except prime contractor)
- Drafting service, engineering
- Electrical engineering consulting service
- Electronic engineering consulting service
- Engineering consulting service (not elsewhere classified)
- Geotechnical engineering consulting service
- Hydraulic engineering consulting service
- Industrial design service
- Irrigation system design service
- Marine engineering consulting service
- Materials handling engineering consulting service
- Mechanical engineering consulting service
- Mining engineering consulting service
- Naval architecture service
- Pipeline engineering consulting service
- Process engineering consulting service
- Product design service (for furniture, fittings, machinery or equipment)
- Quantity surveying service
- Sanitary engineering consulting service
- Traffic engineering consulting service
Levy rate, 2026-27
| Employer / self-employed (CoverPlus) | $0.1 per $100 of liable earnings |
|---|---|
| Experience Rating programme rate | $0.1072 |
| CoverPlus Extra (standard) | $0.18 |
| CoverPlus Extra (lower weekly compensation) | $0.13 |
| At the 2026-27 maximum liable income ($156,641) | $157 a year |
Per $100 of liable earnings, GST-exclusive, as ACC publishes them; the Working Safer and Earners' levies are separate flat levies and are not included.
Rate history
| Levy year | Rate per $100 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | $0.11 | — |
| 2025-26 | $0.11 | −$0 |
| 2026-27 | $0.1 | −$0.01 |
Commonly confused with
CU 78520 — Specialised design services (not elsewhere classified)
Specialised design covers commercial art, graphic, fashion, interior and jewellery design. Engineering design covers engineering consulting and design, building consulting and building inspection. Interior design is the usual point of confusion, and it sits with specialised design.
CU 41220 — Heavy and civil engineering construction (not elsewhere classified)
Heavy and civil engineering construction builds the works — dams, canals, breakwaters, power plant structures. Engineering design and consulting designs and advises on them without doing the construction.
$0.1 against $0.87: $0.77 apart, CU 41220 dearer , $1,206 a year at the ceiling.
CU 78290 — Scientific testing and analysis services
Scientific testing and analysis covers chemical analysis, forensic science and geological and geophysical services. Engineering design covers design, consulting and building inspection. Testing a material is not the same unit as designing with it.
$0.1 against $0.35: $0.25 apart, CU 78290 dearer , $392 a year at the ceiling.
CU 78340 — Computer systems design and related services
Computer systems design covers programming, software and hardware consulting, and internet and web services. Engineering design covers engineering consulting, design and building inspection. A software engineering business sits with computer systems design.
$0.1 against $0.02: $0.08 apart, CU 78230 dearer , $125 a year at the ceiling.
Also in risk group 693
BIC codes that map here
ACC assessors work from Business Industry Classification codes. These are the codes that land on CU 78230:
| M692305 | Boat designing service |
|---|---|
| M692310 | Building consultancy service |
| M692315 | Chemical engineering service |
| M692320 | Civil engineering consulting service |
| M692325 | Construction project management service – fee or contract basis |
| M692330 | Drawing office service – engineering |
| M692335 | Electrical engineering service – consulting |
| M692340 | Electronic engineering service – consulting |
| M692343 | Engineering consulting service nec |
| M692345 | Engineering drafting service |
| M692347 | Irrigation system design service |
| M692350 | Marine engineering service – consulting |
| M692355 | Mining engineering service |
| M692360 | Naval architecture service |
| M692365 | Product design service |
| M692370 | Quantity surveying service |
| M692375 | Traffic engineering service |
Changing a BIC code takes two agencies, not one.
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Run the ACC levy checkSource: ACC Levy Guidebook 2026-27. Extracted 2026-08-06. Maximum liable income from ACC — calculate your levies. All 537 classification units.