Every health practitioner in Australia declares at renewal that their National Board's continuing professional development standard has been met. There is no single Ahpra CPD rule: each of the National Boards sets its own standard, in hours or credits, over a year, a cycle or a three-year period, with its own sub-minimums — and every one of those declarations is one Ahpra can audit after the event. This guide puts the nine standards side by side as they apply in 2026, sets out what they share, shows how an ethics and professionalism course counts under each, and says what to keep as evidence and what happens if the records are asked for.
National Board CPD Requirements at a Glance
The minimum each Board asks for, and the date registration is renewed:
| National Board | Minimum CPD | Renewal by |
|---|---|---|
| Medical Board (doctors) | 50 hours a calendar year, logged with a CPD home: 12.5 educational, 25 reviewing performance and measuring outcomes, 12.5 any | 30 September |
| Nursing and Midwifery Board | 20 hours a registration period (1 June – 31 May); 40 for dual registration; +10 for an endorsement | 31 May |
| Dental Board | 60 hours a three-year cycle (1 Dec 2025 – 30 Nov 2028), at least 80 per cent scientific or clinical | 30 November |
| Pharmacy Board | 40 CPD credits a CPD year (1 Oct – 30 Sep): Group 1, 2 and 3 at 1, 2 and 3 credits an hour, at least 20 from Groups 2 and 3 | 30 November |
| Psychology Board | 30 hours a cycle (1 Dec – 30 Nov), at least 10 of peer consultation, a learning plan | 30 November |
| Physiotherapy Board | 20 hours a year, a CPD portfolio | 30 November |
| Chiropractic Board | 20 hours a year, a portfolio of goals, plan and reflections; a current first-aid qualification | 30 November |
| Osteopathy Board | 25 hours a cycle, at least 4 on the mandatory topics; a current first-aid certificate | 30 November |
| Optometry Board | 20 hours a year (30 with a scheduled medicines endorsement, 10 of them on it); non-clinical CPD capped at 5 hours | 30 November |
Each profession's standard is set out in full in its own guide: doctors, nurses and midwives, dentists, pharmacists, psychologists, physiotherapists, chiropractors, osteopaths and optometrists.
An assessed two-hour ethics course is 2 hours (4 Pharmacy Board credits) under every standard, and counts toward the Osteopathy Board's mandatory topics and inside the Optometry Board's non-clinical cap. Australian Healthcare Professionals can see the ethics and professionalism courses written for health practitioners that count under the standard.
What Every Board's Standard Has in Common
Behind the different numbers the standards ask for the same four things. Relevance: every activity must relate to your scope or context of practice; no Board accepts hours for their own sake. A plan and a reflection: the Medical Board asks for a professional development plan, the Psychology Board for a learning plan, the Chiropractic and Physiotherapy Boards for a portfolio, the NMBA for a learning need and a reflection on each activity, the Osteopathy Board for a review of needs and an annual summary — the names differ, the chain of identify, plan, complete, reflect is the same. A declaration, not a submission: at renewal you declare the standard has been met; nothing is uploaded. Evidence kept for five years: every Board can audit, and most say five years in terms.
Ethics and professionalism belong in every plan because the code of conduct — the shared Code of conduct for most professions, Good medical practice for doctors, the NMBA's codes for nurses and midwives, the Psychology Board's Code of conduct for psychologists — is what a notification is measured against, whatever the profession, and CPD that covers it is relevant by definition.
Ethics and Professionalism as CPD: How They Count
An online ethics course with an assessment you must pass to receive the certificate counts under every standard, logged in hours: a two-hour course is 2 hours toward the Medical Board's educational minimum, the NMBA's 20 (and both professions on dual registration), the Dental Board's 60 across the cycle, the Psychology Board's 20 non-peer hours, and the Physiotherapy, Chiropractic and Osteopathy Boards' annual totals; it is 4 credits as a Group 2 activity for a pharmacist, 2 of the 4 mandatory-topic hours for an osteopath, and 2 of the 5 non-clinical hours an optometrist may count. The certificate records the course title, the provider, the date of completion and the hours, which is what every Board's record and an audit need.
For a practitioner responding to an Ahpra notification, under conditions, or preparing for a Performance and Professional Standards Panel, ethics CPD does a second job. A completed, assessed course on the standard you are said to have breached — consent, confidentiality, record-keeping, professional boundaries, communication, the duty to report — is evidence of insight and remediation that your National Board weighs alongside the written response. It shows engagement with the standard rather than a statement that you have read it. A dated certificate attached to the response, with a paragraph on what you took from the course and what you have changed, is the form that evidence takes.
For a practitioner renewing with no concern raised, the same course is a planned activity that answers the audit question before it is asked.
Recording and Keeping Your CPD Evidence
Nothing is submitted to Ahpra at renewal; you declare that your Board's standard has been met. The record behind that declaration is yours to keep, in whatever form your Board names — a log, a portfolio, a record folder, a CPD home's system — and it is what an audit asks for. For each activity, record:
- The date, title, provider and hours (or credits), and the category your Board uses — activity type, group, scientific or non-clinical, peer consultation, mandatory topic.
- The evidence: the certificate, the attendance record or the assessment result.
- A line of reflection on what the activity changed in your practice, tied to the plan.
Keep the plan and the records for at least five years. Ahpra can audit a past period, and a notification can reopen a question about CPD completed years earlier.
Ahpra CPD Audits and What Happens If You Fall Short
After each renewal Ahpra audits a sample of practitioners against the registration standards, CPD among them. Selection is largely random; being audited is not a sign of concern. You are asked to supply evidence for the declaration you made in the form your Board names: the plan, the log or portfolio, and the certificates or records behind each entry. There is a set period to respond, and a response that is late or thin is itself a finding.
Where the evidence falls short of the standard, your National Board can require the shortfall to be made up and may impose conditions on registration until it is. Where the declaration was not true — hours claimed for activities not completed — the matter is no longer a CPD question but a conduct one: a false declaration to the regulator is a probity matter, and the Board treats it as such. The practical protection is a contemporaneous record kept through the year, not a reconstruction after the audit letter arrives.
Choosing Ethics Courses That Count Toward Your Renewal
- An assessment you must pass. The assessment is what shows the learning happened; a course that only has to be opened is weaker evidence under every standard, and is Group 1 for a pharmacist.
- A certificate with the detail an audit needs: your name, the course title, the provider, the date of completion and the hours.
- Content written for health practitioners under the Board's standards. Relevance to your practice is a requirement of the standard, and a course built on the shared Code of conduct (or your own Board's code) and the Board's guidelines meets it directly.
- A provider you can name. An audit assesses the evidence, and evidence from an identifiable provider with a dated certificate is evidence that stands on its own.
Key Regulatory Resources for Australian Healthcare Professionals on CPD
- Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) — the renewal dates (30 November for twelve of the fifteen professions, 30 September for medical practitioners, 31 May for nurses and midwives), the renewal declarations and the audit process.
- Your National Board — the CPD registration standard, its guidelines and FAQ, and the code of conduct: Medical, Nursing and Midwifery, Dental, Pharmacy, Psychology, Physiotherapy, Chiropractic, Osteopathy, Optometry.
- Your indemnity insurer — the first call when a notification arrives; the medical defence organisations and the professional indemnity insurers run CPD programs of their own.
Related Reading: Australian Healthcare Professionals
How to Respond to an Ahpra Notification: A Practical Guide for Australian Healthcare Professionals →
Ahpra and Tribunal Disciplinary Process Step-by-Step for Australian Healthcare Professionals →
All Ethics Courses for Australian Healthcare Professionals →
Ethics CPD that satisfies your renewal and your audit
Online, immediate access, a dated certificate on completion, an assessment you must pass. Written for health practitioners under Ahpra and National Board standards: 2 CPD hours a course.
All ethics courses for health practitioners →
Frequently asked questions
Is there one Ahpra CPD requirement for all health practitioners?
No. Each National Board sets its own CPD registration standard: 50 hours a calendar year with a CPD home for doctors, 20 hours a registration period for nurses and midwives, 60 hours a three-year cycle for dental practitioners, 40 credits a year for pharmacists, 30 hours with 10 of peer consultation for psychologists, 20 hours for physiotherapists and chiropractors, 25 for osteopaths, and 20 (or 30 with an endorsement) for optometrists. Ahpra administers the renewal and the audits.
When do Australian health practitioners renew their registration?
By 30 November for twelve of the fifteen registered professions, including dental practitioners, pharmacists, psychologists, physiotherapists, chiropractors, osteopaths and optometrists; by 30 September for medical practitioners; by 31 May for nurses and midwives. Each has a one-month late period.
Is ethics CPD mandatory under the National Boards' standards?
The standards set hours or credits and, in some cases, categories, not topics — except the Osteopathy Board, whose mandatory topics include professional boundaries, consent, confidentiality, records and communication. Ethics and professionalism are relevant under every standard because the code of conduct is what a notification is measured against. A practitioner under conditions, or preparing a response to a notification, is often required or advised to complete structured ethics CPD as part of remediation.
How does an online ethics course count?
A course with an assessment that you must pass counts under every standard, logged in hours: a two-hour course is 2 hours (4 Group 2 credits for a pharmacist). It counts toward the Osteopathy Board's mandatory topics and sits inside the Optometry Board's 5-hour cap on non-clinical CPD. Record the title, provider, date, hours and category, and keep the certificate.
Do I submit my CPD to Ahpra at renewal?
No. You declare that your Board's standard has been met. The record stays with you (or, for doctors, with your CPD home) and is produced if you are audited.
How long should I keep CPD records?
At least five years. The Chiropractic, Physiotherapy, Psychology and Osteopathy Boards say five years in terms, and the NMBA recommends it; a notification can reopen a question about CPD completed years earlier.
What happens if Ahpra audits my CPD?
Ahpra audits a sample of practitioners after renewal, and the Boards run audits of their own. You will be asked for the plan, the log or portfolio and the evidence behind each entry, in the form your Board names. If the evidence does not support the declaration, the Board can require further CPD, impose conditions, and treat a false declaration as a conduct matter in its own right.
Can ethics CPD completed during an Ahpra notification help the outcome?
It can. A completed, assessed ethics course with a dated certificate is evidence of insight and remediation that a National Board can weigh alongside your written response. It shows engagement with the code you are said to have breached. Attach the certificate to the response and say what you took from the course and what you have changed.
This article is published by Healthcare Ethics Australia for general information. It is not legal advice and does not replace advice from your indemnity insurer, professional association or a lawyer about your own matter.