Is there any set of rules to write a CDR that EA might approve?

Answer:

Your Competency Demonstration Report, also known as the CDR, could open doors to professional success that you never imagined having existed. If approved by the assessing authority EA, it allows you a smooth entry to Australia with a skilled migration visa. Allowing you to begin an enriching professional journey, in a new land.

Considering the significance of it all, it is very important to understand the correct process to adopt as you apply for the visa. Always remember that EA will be assessing you on your language skills, along with the professional expertise in the engineering domain. So, everything that you write in the application form must be absolutely correct in terms of facts and language.

As you submit your CDR, keep handy everything that goes along with:

An application form towards the CDR
An acknowledgement in the form of a self-attested copy of the report, accepting that the report has been written by you, shares your personal story, and is ‘unique’
Attested scans of your educational certificates
A copy of your resume
Academic Degrees and transcripts
CPD (or, Continuing Professional Development) listing
Test results of your IELTS
Three Career Episode Reports
A conclusive summary statement elaborating on the competencies shared through the three Career Episodes

While you collect all of this, ensure to attach English transcripts of the documents if those are originally in some other language.

One of the most important criteria to get an EA approval with your CDR is that everything that you write, attach or claim, must be genuine. Remember you have also signed and shared an acknowledgement of the same. EA does not entertain any kinds of plagiarism and strictly conducts a background check on the projects that you claim to be a part of or towards the authenticity of your documents. Therefore, everything needs to be 100% genuine.

Once you move forward to complete the report, along with genuine claims and documents regarding your academic and professional background, focus on the projects to choose for the Career Episodes.

Each CER ranges from 1000-2500 words and is sectionalised into:

Introduction: Defines the project duration (sharing dates wherever possible), the location of the project, organization name, and the role that you performed. It could range around 1000 words.
Background: In this section share details about the project: intent and objective, the area of focus and expertise desired, a hierarchical chart to show your position and elaborate on specific job role and description. Limit the section to around 500 words.
Personal Engineering Activity: Here you need to detail out specific contributions to the project from your end. Like details of the assignment, your role in it, and how it impacted the larger goal. You can throw light on what competencies and skills you displayed, how you utilised your knowledge in the domain, any innovative solutions you suggested, obstacles encountered and how you overcame those, etc. The section can range from 500-1000 words.
The Summary Statement: It is the last and conclusive section of the CDR. It is structured in a manner that offers a quick overlook to the audience about your roles (as explained in the CERs). Moreover, they can refer to a precise mapping of the competency elements that you displayed and how through your project roles.

While I am sure you can keep track of the kind of documents that need to go along with your CDR, there are some standing rules to ensure success.

Always follow EA instructions on the way you draft your CDR (as guided above)
Never copy paste any content. It will cease to be your unique story, the moment you do it, leading to a rejection
Ensure error free language comprehension
Focus on your personal contributions and achievements, while sharing the projects in your episodes
Through the different episodes try and cover the gamut of competencies that the EA expects from you, pertaining the occupational category you are applying for
The assessors show keen interest in your design experiences, so surely put in details of any Designing Training in your CPD
Perform multiple quality checks on your report before submitting it to the EA

You may now understand that the CDR works to allow EA an insight into your professional expertise in the engineering domain. They need to see the larger picture with you being in their team of established engineers and what will be the value addition. And, CDR helps them take that call. So, to succeed in this process, it’s imperative that you make the correct claims and choose the most professional language to do that. Take expert assistance to submit the most professional CDR to the EA.