Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is critical to maintaining professional registration and ensuring high-quality patient care in Australia. The Medical Board of Australia mandates CPD for all registered medical practitioners, with specific requirements implemented from January 1, 2023.
These guidelines are essential for healthcare practitioners to remain current in their fields and for HR professionals to ensure compliance within their practices.
Why doctors need CPD
CPD ensures that medical practitioners maintain and enhance their skills, knowledge, and professional conduct throughout their careers. It is a commitment to lifelong learning and adapting to evolving best practices, ultimately benefiting patient outcomes.
Who is required to participate in healthcare CPD?
Generally, all registered medical practitioners engaged in any form of practice must participate in CPD. However, certain exceptions apply:
- Medical students
- Interns participating in accredited intern training programs
- Doctors in postgraduate year 2 positions who are participating in a structured program that leads to a certificate of completion
- Medical practitioners with limited registration for teaching or research (limited to registrations for no more than four weeks)
- Medical practitioners with non-practicing registration
Components of CPD requirements in healthcare
To meet the Medical Board of Australia’s CPD registration standard, practitioners must fulfill the following key components annually.
Accredited CPD home
An accredited CPD home is an organization that has been quality-assured and formally recognized by the Australian Medical Council (AMC) as meeting specific standards for providing CPD programs to medical practitioners in Australia.
Professional Development Plan (PDP)
Each practitioner must develop a written annual professional development plan. Time spent on this contributes to their CPD hours. Templates may be provided by the CPD home. The time spent doing and reviewing a PDP counts towards the 50 CPD hours required each year, as a performance measurement activity.
CPD hour requirements
A minimum of 50 hours of CPD activities must be completed each year. These activities must be relevant to the practitioner’s scope of practice and individual professional development needs.
Ways to complete CPD requirements in healthcare
All CPD programs must include elements of the following three types of activities, adding up to at least 50 hours. It helps to inquire with the CPD home, as they can help you determine appropriate and relevant activities and which ongoing activities can be recognised as part of CPD.
Educational activities
At least 12.5 hours (25% of the minimum) must be dedicated to educational activities. These activities keep practitioners updated on their field’s latest knowledge and advancements.
Examples include conferences, courses, workshops, journal clubs, grand rounds, and lectures.
Reviewing performance and measuring outcomes
At least 25 hours (50% of the minimum) must be dedicated to activities focused on reviewing performance and measuring practice outcomes, with a minimum of 5 hours for each category. These activities promote self-reflection and improvements in patient care.
Examples of reviewing performance include peer reviews, monitoring, case conferences, and clinical reviews. On the other hand, measuring outcomes can consist of clinical audits, patient feedback surveys, and morbidity and mortality reviews.
Other remaining hours
The remaining 12.5 hours (25% of the minimum) and any CPD activities exceeding the 50-hour minimum can be allocated across any of these types of CPD activity. This flexibility lets practitioners tailor their CPD to their specific needs and interests.
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High-level CPD requirements per specialisation (as of 2025)
Any practitioner registered as a specialist must include the relevant high-level requirements in their annual CPD program, regardless of the CPD home the specialist chooses. These requirements are in addition to the general CPD requirements set by the Medical Board of Australia and are designed to ensure specialists maintain competence in their specific field.
These requirements complement the general CPD framework, providing a comprehensive approach to professional development.
Anaesthesia
Specialist anaesthetists are required to complete at least one emergency response activity annually.
Additionally, they must engage in at least one of the following activities each year to evaluate and reflect on their clinical practice:
- Structured patient survey
- Multi-source feedback
- Peer review
- Clinical audit
Required CPD type: Educational activities, performance review and/or outcome evaluations
Emergency medicine
Specialist emergency medicine physicians, encompassing all fields of specialty practice, must annually complete core procedural skills. These skills include:
- Core airway procedural skill
- Core breathing procedural skill
- Core circulation procedural skill
Required CPD type: Educational activities (e.g., simulation-based training).
Intensive Care Medicine (CICM)
Specialist intensive care medicine physicians are required to complete an airway management activity for critically ill patients once every three years. This comprehensive activity should:
- Be at least three hours long and include an in-person practical workshop.
- Cover airway assessment, approaches to difficult airways and emergencies, teamwork, leadership, familiarity with equipment, CICO algorithms, and management of tracheostomy emergencies.
- Include simulation activities with mannequins to practice difficult airway scenarios and team-based responses.
Required CPD type: Educational activities (e.g., hands-on training with mannequins).
General Practice
Specialist general practitioners must complete a cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) course every three years.
Required CPD type: Educational activities (e.g., practical training sessions).
Obstetrics and Gynaecology
Specialist obstetricians and gynaecologists must complete an in-person Basic Life Support (BLS) program every two years.
Required CPD type: Educational activities (e.g., workshops and simulation training).
Pain medicine
Specialist pain medicine physicians must complete at least one emergency response activity annually.
Additionally, they must engage in at least one of the following activities each year to evaluate and reflect on their clinical practice::
- Structured patient survey
- Multi-source feedback
- Peer review
- Clinical audit
Required CPD type: Educational activities, performance review and/or outcome evaluations
Psychiatry
Specialist psychiatrists must complete at least 10 hours of formal peer review annually.
Required CPD type: Performance reviews
Sports and exercise medicine
Specialist sport and exercise physicians must complete WADA/Sport Integrity Australia anti-doping education every three years.
Additionally, they must complete one of the following courses in every three years:
- Management of Sports Trauma (MOST)
- Basic Cardiac Life Support (BCLS)
- Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)
- AFL Emergency Care
- Immediate Care in Rugby (level 2 or 3)
Required CPD type: Educational activities
Surgery (except OMS)
Specialist surgeons, excluding those in OMS, must participate in the Australia and New Zealand Audit of Surgical Mortality (ANZASM) by completing all surgical case forms sent by ANZASM.
Required CPD type: Preview and/or outcome evaluations
Recording and reporting doctor CPD activities
All medical practitioners in Australia must maintain annual CPD records. They should document their professional development plan, self-evaluation, and activities. They should find a CPD home with a system to report this information. CPD records need to be retained for any upcoming audits or check-ins with the medical board or the CPD home, generally for three years after the end of each one-year cycle.
As practitioners prepare their plans for the next year, they must self-evaluate their CPD work and how they have improved and grown their practice. This ensures they are up to par in their practice to assist and care for all patients.
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