Public consultation: Draft revised Registration standard: Continuing professional development

13 Nov 2019

The Medical Board of Australia is now consulting on its proposed revised CPD Registration standard.

The proposed revised standard builds on existing arrangements and strengthens CPD requirements for medical practitioners.

The consultation paper, including the proposed revised CPD Registration standard is published on the current consultations page.

The Board is not proposing fundamentally new processes through the proposed revised standard. Rather, the goal is to extract more value from existing CPD programs and encourage development and innovation.

The proposed standard is evidence-informed and requires practitioners to undertake a range of activities that have been shown to improve performance. These include educational activities, reviewing performance and measuring outcomes.

The proposed draft CPD registration standard applies to all medical practitioners except:

• students
• interns
• those holding non-practising registration
• those holding short-term limited registration
• those granted an exemption.

Under the proposed CPD registration standard practitioners must:

• complete a minimum of 50 hours of CPD per year that includes a mix of:
  • at least 25 per cent on activities that review performance 
  • at least 25 per cent on activities that measure outcomes, and
  • at least 25 per cent on educational activities
• have a CPD home and participate in its CPD program
• do CPD that is relevant to their scope of practice
• base their CPD on a personal professional development plan.

Specialist trainees will meet these requirements by participating in a specialist training program.

New guidance to support the CPD registration standard has also been developed on the high-level requirements for CPD programs and the principles for CPD homes.

Further details about the reasons for the proposal are contained in the consultation paper, including a table providing details about where changes have been made to the standard.

The consultation is open until 14 February 2020. More information about the proposed revised CPD registration standard and the consultation process is on the current consultations page.