Victoria makes CPD mandatory for registered building practitioners from 1 March 2028

Correct as at November 2026. Based on the regulations (S.R. No. 172/2026), the Statement of Reasons and the Department of Transport and Planning’s CPD Pathways factsheet.

Victoria’s building practitioners now have a start date. The Building Amendment (Continuing Professional Development) Regulations 2026 have been made, and from 1 March 2028 CPD becomes part of renewing a registration.

The headline number is 60 points over five years. The detail worth your time is how those points are split, when the rules reach your particular renewal, and one definition that decides what counts towards half of the total.

Who it covers

The regulations apply to every individual registered as a building practitioner in Victoria. That takes in domestic and commercial builders, building surveyors and inspectors, quantity surveyors and registered draftspersons, the category that covers building designers, among others.

Practitioners whose registration comes through mutual recognition are outside the scheme. Plumbers are also outside it for now, because the plumbing regulations are being finalised in a later phase. If you’re an architect registered only with the Architects Registration Board of Victoria, these regulations don’t change your CPD.

What you’ll need: 60 points in four parts

One point is earned for each hour of participation. Eligible activities are broad: an online, paper-based or face-to-face course or module (self-paced included), a lecture, seminar, workshop, conference or trade session, a technical demonstration by a manufacturer, professional association, trade union or public authority, private study, research, writing for a technical journal, and on-the-job training.

If you hold more than one registration, it’s still one total of 60. Your structured learning needs to include at least one point of technical knowledge for each category or class you hold. Your reporting period follows your designated reporting registration, which is generally the first one you renew after the regulations start.

The definition worth reading twice

Being eligible and being structured learning are two different tests. An activity can count as CPD and still not count towards the 30 points. Under the regulations, an eligible activity is structured learning only if one of these applies:

• It forms part of a qualification delivered by an RTO, a university or a TAFE institute.
• It’s delivered by or on behalf of the Australian Building Codes Board or a public sector body, and it includes an assessment to validate the learning outcomes.
• The Building and Plumbing Commission has determined that it’s structured learning.

For that third route, the Commission has to be satisfied about the provider’s qualifications or specialist expertise, that the activity covers technical knowledge relevant to a category or class of practitioner, that it reflects up-to-date standards and practices, that it has published content with clear learning outcomes, and that it includes an assessment. It has to consult with affected stakeholders first, and it must publish the list of determined activities on its website.

We haven’t yet seen how the Commission will take applications. The Statement of Reasons says further clarity will come through guidance the Commission develops with stakeholders. CPD On Demand’s courses don’t hold a determination, and we won’t describe them as structured learning unless that changes.

Two ways to meet the requirement

Pathway A is points-based. You choose your own activities, meet the split above and keep your own evidence.

Pathway B is program-based. You complete a program the Commission has approved as delivering equivalent learning outcomes. Program providers don’t need to be RTOs. They retain the evidence and respond to the Commission’s audit requests on your behalf, and they need to keep start and completion records for 8 years. If a program doesn’t cover all your registrations, you can top up from either pathway.

Pathway B is likely to interest associations and larger employers. We haven’t seen any approved programs announced so far.

When it reaches you

As a worked example, a renewal received on 1 March 2030 falls exactly two years in. Two fifths of the requirement is 24 points, 12 of them structured technical learning.

The earlier date to note is 1 March 2027. The Commission may allow CPD completed between 1 March 2027 and 29 February 2028 to count towards a single reporting period, where the activity is equivalent to an eligible activity. It’s discretionary, so there’s no guarantee. Keeping records from that date costs very little.

What you’ll have to show

When you apply to renew, you’ll state that you’ve met the requirements and list each activity’s name, its provider, and the dates you started and completed it. Evidence has to be kept for at least 3 years after the reporting period ends. It can be proof of attendance, a statement of attainment, a receipt of attendance or completion, or a personal log of the activity and its learning outcomes.

The Commission may take compliance into account when deciding a renewal, and failing to meet the requirements is a ground for disciplinary action.

There’s some flexibility. You can apply for an exemption for a reporting period on the grounds of illness or disability, parental leave, reduced hours from part-time or casual work, or hardship and other special circumstances. The application has to reach the Commission before that period ends. If you’ve held your designated registration for 3 months or less during the period, you’re exempt for that registration. The Commission can also grant exemptions on its own initiative. The Statement of Reasons names limited and restricted registrations among the groups that raised concerns about the burden, although nothing has been decided for them.

The Commission can also direct further CPD on particular technical topics where it sees a skill or knowledge gap.

Three things worth doing now

Find your renewal date. It decides when the rules first apply to you and how many points you’ll need in your first period.

Start a simple log before 1 March 2027. Activity name, provider, start date, completion date, subject area and whether it was structured learning. That’s the information you’ll be asked for, and it’s much easier to record as you go.

Ask providers which route applies. If a course is offered as structured learning for Victoria, it’s reasonable to ask which of the three routes it relies on.