Self-regulation means the legislature has delegated to the profession the power to govern its own members rather than running a government licensing department. The profession sets entry standards, writes the Code of Ethics, and disciplines its own. But this is a privilege, not a right, and it can be removed by the legislature if abused.
The single organizing purpose of every regulator is the protection of the public interest. Every power the regulator holds (registration, standards, discipline) exists to ensure that only competent, ethical practitioners serve the public, because the public generally cannot judge engineering or geoscience competence for itself.
📌 Exam tip: When a question pits "the interests of members" against "the public," the public always wins. The regulator is not a union, a trade association, or a lobby group. Member advocacy, salary negotiation, and promoting the profession's business interests are the job of separate member/advocacy associations, not the regulator.
This is the most heavily tested distinction in the whole domain. A regulator that protected its members at the public's expense would be violating the very bargain that justifies its existence.