What Counts as CPD?

To meet your Board’s CPD registration standard - and pass an audit, you must complete a set number of CPD hours each year. But more importantly, the learning activities you record must be relevant, purposeful, and linked to your practice.

This article outlines what types of activities can count, how to choose them wisely, and why documentation matters.

The Essential Criteria

If you want to know whether a CPD activity counts, check that it:

• Helps close or narrow a gap in your professional practice
• Aligns with an identified learning need or goal
• Is something you can reflect on meaningfully
• Is relevant to your current context of practice (or future anticipated context of practice if you’re planning a career change, for example, to a new role or speciality area of practice)

If you can say yes to all four, then, within reason, it likely qualifies as CPD.

Examples of CPD Activities

There are many types of CPD activities, from formal study to informal learning. With so many options available, choosing wisely based on relevance and impact is important.

• Completing online education modules
• Reflecting on feedback or journaling
• Attending conferences or seminars
• Undertaking relevant postgraduate studies
• Mentoring or being mentored
• Participating in case reviews, in-services, or journal clubs
• Developing or delivering education (if it meets your own learning goals)
  

The format doesn’t matter as much as the relevance. If it meets your needs and improves your practice, it likely counts.

How Should You Choose Activities?

To make the most of your CPD hours, choose activities based on:

1. Your Learning Style and Schedule

Do you retain more through listening or reading? Do you prefer short, sharp learning or long-form sessions?

Pick formats that work for you, from podcasts and short videos to immersive workshops.

2. Your Identified Gaps

Your learning should target specific areas of your professional practice where your knowledge, skills, confidence or competence need strengthening.

Not sure where to start? Talk to your supervisor or use feedback from appraisals and audits.

3. Your Career Goals

Once immediate gaps are addressed, consider CPD that supports your long-term growth, like leadership, education, or a clinical specialty.

Why Choosing the Right Activities Matters

It’s insufficient to show you did 20 hours of learning during an audit. The Board will review your CPD portfolio, looking for evidence that your CPD activities:

• Align with your context of practice.
• Help meet clear learning goals.
• Are documented correctly.
• Include reflections showing that the activity had value to your professional practice.

Activities that are random, outdated, or irrelevant (including repeated documentation of annual mandatory training) may be rejected, and put your registration at risk.

What Doesn’t Count as CPD?

Some activities might seem like CPD at first glance, but won’t meet the standard if they lack relevance, reflection, or learning impact, such as:

• Activities with no link to your goals or context of practice
• Mandatory training that doesn’t include new learning
• Repeated tasks (like delivering the same education session without change)
• CPD done purely to “tick a box” without reflection or application

When in doubt, ask: Did I learn something? And can I show how it helped my professional practice?

Looking for a smarter way to manage your CPD?

Track your CPD hours, document your learning, and stay audit-ready with the Ausmed CPD App.

Start now at ausmed.com.au