Occupational Therapy CPD in Australia

Continuing Professional Development is defined by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and the Occupational Therapy Board of Australia (OTBA) as “how occupational therapists maintain, improve and broaden their knowledge, expertise and competence. CPD is a significant component in providing safe and effective practices. Occupational therapists are required to undergo a total of 20 CPD hours including 5 hours of interactive learning by the 30th of November every year.

To ensure the continued development of occupational therapists in Australia, Continuing Professional Developments (CPD’s) aims to provide members with informative, innovative and evidence-based training opportunities.

To encourage lifelong learning, knowledge sharing and skill development, workshops, webinars, and other events have been designed for Occupational Therapists to educate and update the knowledge and skills of those who practice occupational therapy in Australia.

The CPD registration standard specifies the following:

1. All practising occupational therapists must complete a minimum of 30 hours of CPD per year.

2. The CPD activity claimed must be directed towards maintaining and improving the practitioners' competence in occupational therapy practice. The CPD activities should have clear goals and outcomes.

3. A CPD record must be kept to documents details of activities completed.

4. Practitioners must keep evidence of completed CPD activities. The evidence should be retained for a complete of 5 years.

5. Practitioners must sign a CPD Registration Standard Compliance Statement when renewing their registration each year.

6. Periodic audits can be performed to ensure that professionals are complying with this standard. When auditing, a professional must provide their CPD record and CPD test portfolio.