What CPD activities count toward registration renewal

CPD activities that count toward registration renewal vary by jurisdiction and profession, but most regulators recognise structured learning (accredited courses, seminars, webinars), professional reading, conference attendance, technical writing, mentoring, and on-the-job learning within set caps. Accredited CPD activities delivered by recognised providers with formal learning objectives and assessment typically count toward formal CPD categories. Informal activities such as professional reading and on-the-job learning generally count toward general points up to a defined maximum.

The difference between formal and informal CPD

Most Australian registration frameworks distinguish between formal and informal CPD. Formal CPD is structured learning with defined learning objectives, content delivered by a recognised provider, and some form of assessment or evidence of completion. Informal CPD is the broader range of professional activities that contribute to professional currency without meeting the structured learning criteria.

Formal CPD typically carries a higher point value and may be required to make up a minimum proportion of total annual CPD. Informal CPD is recognised but capped regulators want practitioners to maintain genuine structured currency rather than relying entirely on reading and reflection.

What regulators typically recognise as formal CPD

Accredited courses delivered by registered training organisations, professional associations, or recognised CPD providers are the strongest form of formal CPD. They carry learning objectives, formal content, and an assessment or certificate of completion.

Conference attendance and seminars also count as formal CPD when the content is structured and attendance is documented. Webinars with assessment components are widely recognised, particularly post-pandemic as remote CPD has become mainstream.

Workshops and intensive courses count where they meet the structured learning criteria. The defining feature is structured content with defined learning outcomes not just being present at an event.

What regulators typically recognise as informal CPD

Professional reading is the most commonly recognised informal CPD activity. Reading professional journals, technical publications, regulatory updates, and industry analysis contributes to professional currency. Most regulators cap this at a defined number of hours or points per year.

Mentoring and supervising junior practitioners is recognised because the activity requires currency from the mentor. The reflection and articulation involved in mentoring reinforces the mentor’s own professional knowledge.

Committee work for industry associations, regulatory bodies, or professional institutes is recognised because committee work typically involves engagement with current issues and emerging practice.

Technical writing articles, technical papers, contributions to industry publications is recognised because it requires substantive engagement with the subject matter.

Accredited versus non-accredited courses

Not all CPD courses are equal. An accredited course is one that has been formally recognised by a relevant body typically a professional association, regulator, or accreditation authority. Accreditation signifies that the course meets defined criteria for content, learning objectives, delivery, and assessment.

Non-accredited courses may still be valuable and may still count as CPD, but they carry a lower weight and may not satisfy mandatory category requirements. Practitioners should check the accreditation status before booking a course if they need it to count toward a specific category.

Ethics, NCC, and mandatory categories

Most professional registration frameworks include mandatory CPD categories typically professional ethics or business practice, the National Construction Code or other regulatory updates, and technical content relevant to the practitioner’s class of registration.

Mandatory categories must be satisfied each year regardless of how many points the practitioner has accumulated overall. A practitioner with 50 total points but no NCC content does not meet the requirements if NCC is a mandatory category.

Professional reading caps

Reading is recognised but capped. The cap exists because regulators want practitioners to engage with structured CPD as well as self-directed reading. A common cap is 20 to 30 per cent of total CPD, but this varies by regulator.

Reading that counts is reading that is documented what was read, when, and what was learned. A practitioner who reads extensively but does not record any of it will struggle to claim it during an audit.

Mentoring and supervision

Mentoring counts because it requires currency from the mentor. The mentor must be able to provide guidance, answer questions, and reflect on practice all of which exercise professional knowledge.

Formal mentoring through a recognised program typically counts more than ad hoc informal mentoring. Documentation of mentoring activity sessions held, topics covered, hours spent supports the CPD claim.

Documentation and evidence

All CPD activity needs to be documented. The standard evidence package is a CPD record showing the activity name, date, hours or points, provider, and a brief description of the learning outcome, plus a certificate of completion for accredited courses.

Maintaining records throughout the year is significantly easier than reconstructing them during an audit. Most practitioners who lose CPD points during audits lose them not because they did not do the activity but because they did not record it.

Common audit pitfalls

Common audit pitfalls include claiming hours rather than points or vice versa, claiming professional reading without records, claiming attendance at events that did not meet structured learning criteria, claiming non-accredited activity in mandatory accredited categories, and inability to produce certificates of completion.

An audit is a documentation exercise. The practitioner who has the documentation passes the audit. The practitioner who did the activity but cannot prove it does not pass.

Quick reference

Formal CPD equals structured learning with learning objectives and assessment courses, seminars, accredited webinars. Informal CPD equals professional reading, mentoring, committee work, technical writing capped by the regulator. Mandatory categories like ethics and NCC currency must be satisfied each year. Documentation is the evidence that protects registration.

About CPD On Demand

CPD On Demand produces accredited CPD courses for the Australian building and construction industry across all mandatory regulatory categories. Courses are recognised by major professional associations and registration authorities and are designed to satisfy state-based CPD requirements for designers, builders, assessors, surveyors, and trades.