Under section 38 of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law as in force in each state and territory, the Medical Board must develop and recommend to the Ministerial Council a registration standard about the requirements for CPD for registered health practitioners registered in the profession.
In 2023, the Medical Board revised the Registration Standard: Continuing Professional Development to make it mandatory for all doctors to join an AMC-accredited CPD home (unless exempt), complete 50 hours of CPD, and comply with CPD requirements, to maintain registration.
To meet these requirements, each calendar year, registered medical practitioners must:
- Participate in a CPD program offered by an accredited CPD Home
- Develop a written professional development plan annually
- Complete a minimum of 50 CPD hours relevant to their scope of practice and development needs, allocated as follows:
- 12.5 hours (25%) in educational activities
- 25 hours (50%) in performance review and outcome measurement activities, with a minimum of five hours for each category
- 12.5 hours (25%) in any of the above categories or additional activities beyond the minimum 50 hours
- Conduct a self-evaluation of their CPD activities at year-end to inform the next year’s development plan
- Maintain records of annual CPD activities for three years, available for audit by their CPD Home and the Board
This CPD standard applies to all registered medical practitioners, except for the following:
- Medical students
- Interns in accredited intern training programs and doctors in postgraduate year 2 who are completing structured programs
- Medical practitioners with limited registration in the public interest or for teaching/research purposes, granted registration for no more than four weeks
- Practitioners granted exemptions or variations by their CPD Home due to extended absence (6-12 months) for parental leave, illness, or other approved reasons
- Practitioners with non-practicing registration
The CPD registration standards are updated regularly - to view the latest requirements you can head to the Medical Board of Australia's website
here.
