Corporations (Relevant Providers Continuing Professional Development Standard) Determination 2018

The instrument organises CPD compliance around a small set of interlocking concepts: CPD policy, CPD plan, qualifying CPD activity, CPD areas, responsible licensee, CPD year and education provider. These concepts are defined or described in the Determination and many are cross-referenced to definitions in the Corporations Act 2001 (see section 4 and the notes in that section).

CPD policy is the documented framework each responsible licensee and each licensee who is a relevant provider must adopt (section 5(1)). The policy must be in writing (section 5(3)), published on the licensee’s website and made accessible to the relevant providers for whom the licensee is responsible (section 5(5)). The policy must specify the CPD year and set out the licensee’s approach to meeting CPD obligations and the CPD obligations of the relevant providers for whom it is responsible (section 5(4)(a) and (b)). The policy must describe procedures to assess and approve CPD plans, monitor plan implementation, assess and approve CPD activities and attribute hours, ensure at least 70 per cent of required hours are on approved activities, check compliance, and record and maintain evidence of completion and outcomes (section 5(4)(c)(i)-(vii)).

CPD plans are the individual relevant provider’s written programs for each CPD year (section 6(1), 6(5)). A plan must identify the areas for improvement of the provider’s competence, knowledge and skills, and describe the qualifying CPD activities the provider will complete to meet those objectives (section 6(6)). Where the provider is employed by a financial services licensee, the licensee must monitor plan implementation and the provider must give the employer a copy of the plan on request (section 6(7)).

Qualifying CPD activity is given a substantive definition in section 7(1). An activity qualifies only if it is in one of the prescribed CPD areas, has sufficient intellectual or practical content, primarily concerns matters related to provision of financial product advice and financial advice services and business, is led or conducted by appropriate and suitably experienced persons (except for professional or technical reading, where the leadership requirement does not apply), and is designed to enhance relevant providers’ knowledge and skills relevant to advice provision (section 7(1)-(2)).

The Determination specifies five CPD areas in the table in section 7: Technical competence; Client care and practice; Regulatory compliance and consumer protection; Professionalism and ethics; and General (section 7 table). The table describes the content and purpose of each area, which feeds into what a CPD plan must address and what activities can be counted.

Responsible licensees play a gatekeeper role. They must approve qualifying CPD activities sufficient to enable relevant providers to meet the 70 per cent approved-hours requirement (section 8(1)), and must satisfy themselves that any approved activity is a qualifying activity (section 8(2)). The approval must specify the number of hours that may be counted for the activity (section 8(3)).

The CPD year is defined by reference to the Corporations Act: if the relevant provider is a financial services licensee it is the provider’s CPD year, otherwise it is the CPD year of the provider’s responsible licensee (section 4(2)). The Determination accommodates adjustments where a CPD year is extended under subsection 1546E(5) of the Act, by adjusting the applicable hours proportionately (section 9(6)).

Finally, the Determination requires record-keeping: providers must keep complete and accurate records of activities, timing, hours, evidence of completion, outcomes and progress against the CPD plan, and retain records for at least seven years (section 12(1) and (4)). A provider satisfies its record-keeping obligation where the provider’s responsible licensee maintains the records (section 12(2)).

These concepts form a compliance architecture that distributes administrative duties between relevant providers, their employers where applicable, and responsible licensees, with the latter required to perform approvals, monitoring and record maintenance functions.

The Determination applies to relevant providers as defined in the Corporations Act 2001 and to the financial services licensees who authorise or employ them. The definition section of this Determination cross-references the Act for several core terms including relevant provider, provisional relevant provider, CPD year, financial services licensee, and professional association (section 4 note). Operationally, the instrument creates obligations that fall on three distinct groups.

First, relevant providers themselves must prepare, in writing, a CPD plan for each CPD year applicable to them and carry out the qualifying CPD activities in their plan (section 6(1) and 6(6)). They must also make and maintain complete and accurate records of their qualifying activities, the timing, hours, evidence of completion and outcomes, and progress against the plan (section 12(1)). The note in section 9 states that provisional relevant providers do not have to meet CPD requirements; the Determination otherwise applies to relevant providers as defined in the Act (section 9 note).

Second, responsible licensees are targeted. A responsible licensee is the licensee who has authorised the provider or the employer of the provider to give personal advice to retail clients on the licensee’s behalf in relation to relevant financial products (section 4 definition). Each responsible licensee (and each licensee who is also a relevant provider) must develop and adopt a CPD policy, in writing, and publish it on its website to ensure accessibility to the relevant providers for whom it is responsible (section 5(1), (3) and (5)). Responsible licensees must assess and approve CPD plans where required by section 11 (career breaks), monitor implementation (section 5(4)(c)(i)-(ii) and section 10(2)(a)), approve qualifying activities and attribute hours (section 5(4)(c)(iii) and section 8), ensure at least 70 per cent of the minimum CPD hours are spent on approved activities (section 5(4)(c)(iv) and section 9(3)), and keep records or ensure records are kept (section 5(4)(c)(vi) and section 12(2)).

Third, employers of relevant providers have obligations. Where a relevant provider has an employer who is a financial services licensee, the licensee must monitor the provider’s implementation of the plan and the provider must give the employer a copy of the plan on request (section 6(7)). Separately, each employer and responsible licensee must make appropriate resources and opportunities available to the provider to enable compliance with the Determination (section 10(1)).

Additional groups are referenced in the Determination’s definitions. Education providers who can deliver formal relevant education are identified by reference to registration under the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011, registration on the National Register as an RTO under the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011 (and corresponding State legislation), or a professional association (section 4(1)(a)-(c) and section 7(4)). Those entities are potential suppliers of qualifying CPD activities but do not bear the core statutory duties unless they are also licensees or relevant providers.

There are several tailored application points. Provisional relevant providers are explicitly exempt from CPD requirements (section 9 note). Providers who have been out of practice for two or more continuous years face additional procedural constraints on resuming practice: employers and licensees must approve the provider’s CPD plan for the first CPD year after resumption and must be satisfied the plan addresses competence gaps (section 11). Finally, the Determination treats the licensee differently if the licensee is itself a relevant provider (section 5(1) and section 4(2) on CPD year reference).

In short, the principal affected parties are relevant providers, their responsible licensees, and employers that are financial services licensees, with education providers identified as activity suppliers.

The Determination allocates specific duties across licensees, responsible licensees, employers and relevant providers. These duties are expressed in mandatory terms and many are accompanied by procedural requirements such as being in writing, published, or retained.

Duties imposed on licensees and responsible licensees

• Develop, adopt and maintain a written CPD policy (section 5(1) and (3)). The policy must be published on the licensee’s website and accessible to relevant providers for whom it is the responsible licensee (section 5(5)).
• The CPD policy must specify the licensee’s CPD year and set out the licensee’s overall approach to CPD obligations (section 5(4)(a)-(b)).
• The policy must describe how the licensee will assess and approve CPD plans (if required under section 11), monitor implementation, assess and approve activities and attribute hours, ensure the 70 per cent approved-hour requirement, check compliance with the policy and Determination, and record and maintain evidence of completion and outcomes (section 5(4)(c)(i)-(vii)).
• Approve qualifying CPD activities in sufficient number and with specified hours such that relevant providers can meet the requirement that at least 70 per cent of minimum CPD hours are on approved activities (section 8(1) and note to section 8). The responsible licensee must be satisfied an activity is a qualifying activity before approving it (section 8(2)). The approval must specify the maximum number of hours that may be counted for the activity (section 8(3)).
• Monitor implementation of providers’ CPD plans and check compliance with the policy and Determination (section 10(2)(a)-(b), and section 5(4)(c)(ii) and (v)).

Duties imposed on relevant providers

• Prepare and, where applicable, amend a written CPD plan for each CPD year (section 6(1), (5)). Plans must be prepared before the start of the CPD year except in specified transitional circumstances (section 6(2)-(4)).
• Identify areas for improvement in competence, knowledge and skills and describe the qualifying activities to be undertaken (section 6(6)).
• Complete the minimum number of qualifying CPD hours for each CPD year: default minimum 40 hours, reduced to 36 if working part-time for the whole CPD year with the prior written consent of the responsible licensee (section 9(1)).
• Meet area-specific minima of hours: at least 5 hours each for technical competence, client care and practice, regulatory compliance and consumer protection, and at least 9 hours in professionalism and ethics (section 9(2)).
• Ensure at least 70 per cent of the minimum hours are spent on qualifying CPD activities approved by the responsible licensee (section 9(3)).
• Observe limits on countable activities: no more than 4 hours for professional or technical reading and no more than 30 hours of activities referred to in section 7(4) (formal relevant education) in a CPD year (section 9(4)).
• Make and maintain complete and accurate records of qualifying CPD activities, timing, hours, evidence of completion and outcomes, and progress against the CPD plan, and retain records for at least seven years (section 12(1) and (4)). The provider’s obligations are satisfied if the responsible licensee makes and maintains the records (section 12(2)). Providers must supply copies of records to the responsible licensee on request (section 12(3)).

Other duties and rights

• Employers and responsible licensees must make appropriate resources and opportunities available to the provider to enable compliance with the Determination (section 10(1)).
• Providers who lead or conduct a qualifying CPD activity may count hours spent in preparation and first delivery of the activity (section 9(5)). This is an entitlement tied to leadership of the activity and is limited to preparation and first delivery.
• Where a provider has not practised for two or more continuous years, the provider cannot resume practice as an employee or authorised representative without the licensee’s approval of the provider’s CPD plan for the first CPD year after resumption; the employer or licensee must be satisfied the plan addresses gaps in competence arising from absence from practice (section 11(1)-(4)).

Rights implicit in the Determination include the provider’s ability to amend plans at any time (section 6(1)) and a licensee’s ability to amend its CPD policy at any time (section 5(1)). However, amendments must be in writing (sections 5(3) and 6(5)). The Determination also provides transitional and adjustment mechanisms for extended CPD years under subsection 1546E(5) of the Act (section 9(6)), and a narrow COVID-related timing concession for CPD years that include 18 March 2020 allowing counting of qualifying activities completed in the three months after the CPD year’s end (section 9(7)), with the caveat that such additional activities cannot be counted for any other CPD year (section 9(7)(b)).

All duties above are statutory obligations created by this Determination and are stated in mandatory terms in the cited sections.

The Determination itself prescribes substantive standards and procedural obligations but does not specify numerical penalties or a bespoke enforcement regime within its text. The instrument is made under subparagraph 921U(2)(a)(iv) of the Corporations Act 2001 (section 3), and therefore operates within the wider enforcement architecture of the Corporations Act and the powers and oversight of the relevant regulator. The Determination requires responsible licensees to monitor, check compliance and maintain records (sections 5(4)(c)(ii), 5(4)(c)(v), 10(2)(b) and 12), which creates mechanisms for internal compliance and audit trails that an external regulator could review when enforcing statutory obligations under the Act.

Specific procedural mechanisms in the Determination that affect enforcement and supervisory activity include:

• The written CPD policy requirement and the mandatory public publication on the licensee’s website (sections 5(3) and 5(5)). Having a published policy creates an observable standard against which compliance can be assessed.
• The requirement that responsible licensees approve qualifying activities and specify the hours for each approval (sections 8(1)-(3) and 5(4)(c)(iii)), which centralises approval responsibility with entities that are subject to licensing oversight.
• The record-keeping obligations and the seven-year retention period (section 12(1) and (4)), which produce documentary evidence that can be inspected by the licensee’s internal compliance function and external regulators.

Because the Determination does not itself provide enforcement sanctions, compliance and any sanctioning action would depend on the Corporations Act and the regulator’s powers under that Act. The Determination’s own architecture therefore places emphasis on internal gatekeeping by responsible licensees and on traceable records, which are plausible substrates for regulatory review, investigation and action under the Act’s enforcement provisions. The Determination also imposes discrete obligations on employers to make resources available (section 10(1)) and to approve CPD plans for returning practitioners (section 11), which are discrete points regulators might examine for evidence of systemic compliance or supervisory failures.

Practitioners and compliance officers should therefore treat the Determination’s duties as enforceable compliance obligations within the Act’s regulatory framework even though the Determination does not itself set out sanctions. For precise details concerning civil penalties, professional disciplinary consequences, licensing conditions and other enforcement mechanisms that may flow from non-compliance, the Corporations Act and regulator guidance and instruments should be consulted in conjunction with this Determination.

This Determination is an instrument made under the Corporations Act 2001 and intentionally cross-references and links to provisions in that Act. Section 3 states the authority: subparagraph 921U(2)(a)(iv) of the Act. Section 4 explicitly notes that a number of core expressions used in the Determination are defined in the Act, including CPD year (section 910A of the Act), financial services licensee (section 761A), professional association (section 910A), provisional relevant provider (section 910A), relevant provider (section 910A) and retail client (sections 761G and 761GA). The Determination therefore operates as a subordinate instrument that fills in mandatory detail required by the Act’s CPD framework.

There are several explicit cross-references that create operational interactions:

• The Determination’s provisions on adjusting the minimum hours where a CPD year is extended refer to subsection 1546E(5) of the Act and require proportional adjustment of minimum hours (section 9(6). That subsection in the Act applies where a licensee’s first CPD year starts after 1 January 2019 in particular circumstances; the Determination’s rule makes the quantitative CPD obligations work with that Act provision.
• Section 7(4)(a) includes as formal relevant education a degree or equivalent qualification approved under the Corporations (Relevant Providers Degrees, Qualifications and Courses Standard) Determination 2018. That links this Determination to another legislative instrument that determines which qualifications count, creating a dependency between instruments.
• The Determination references external education regulation frameworks in defining education provider. Paragraphs 4(1)(a) and 4(1)(b) identify entities registered under the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011 and registered training organisations listed on the National Register under the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011 (and corresponding State legislation) as education providers for the purposes of formal education (section 4(1)(a)-(b) and section 7(4)). That locates qualifying formal education within existing higher education and vocational training regulatory regimes.
• Section 9 includes a note referring to the Code of Ethics Standard 10, which requires maintenance of a high level of knowledge and skills. The Determination’s substantive minima for CPD hours and the specified ethics/professionalism hours therefore interact with the Code of Ethics requirement as an interpretive or complementary standard.
• Section 9(7) explicitly refers to the Biosecurity (Human Biosecurity Emergency) (Human Coronavirus with Pandemic Potential) Declaration 2020 in setting a narrow transition rule for CPD years including 18 March 2020. This creates an unusual interaction with public health emergency instruments, allowing qualifying CPD activities completed in the three months after the end of a CPD year that includes that date to be counted for that year, but only once (section 9(7)(a)-(b)). This is a time-limited and explicitly cross-referenced interaction between emergency legislation and CPD accounting.

The Determination is therefore not stand-alone. It depends on the Act for definitions, on another Corporations instrument for approved degrees, on higher education and vocational regulation for defining education providers, on the Code of Ethics for normative alignment, and even on an emergency biosecurity declaration for a specific temporal accommodation. Practitioners must therefore treat compliance as a multi-layered exercise: confirming a CPD policy or plan meets the Determination is necessary but not sufficient unless the plan also respects the definitions and approvals established by the referenced Act provisions and related instruments.

Finally, procedural obligations such as record retention and public posting of the CPD policy create points of interface with privacy, document retention and corporate governance practices. While the Determination does not expressly reference privacy law or freedom of information regimes, the requirement to publish the policy and to retain and make available records will operate alongside those legal frameworks and organisational obligations.

The text provided is the Corporations (Relevant Providers Continuing Professional Development Standard) Determination 2018 and contains its name, commencement provision and authority (sections 1-3). The instrument’s own text sets practical operational deadlines that were contemporaneous to its entry into force, for example requiring adoption of CPD policies by 31 March 2019 in the event a CPD year is affected by subsection 1546E(5) of the Act (section 5(2)(a)), and related transitional measures in section 6 for CPD plans.

The Determination text as presented contains no express amendment history within the instrument itself. It does not list amending instruments or historical notes. Where the Determination itself refers to other legislative instruments or Act provisions, those external instruments may have their own amendment histories that affect how provisions in this Determination operate (for example the Corporations (Relevant Providers Degrees, Qualifications and Courses Standard) Determination 2018 referenced in section 7(4)(a)). The Determination also embeds a time-limited accommodation linked to the Biosecurity Declaration of 18 March 2020 (section 9(7)), which indicates that some transitional adjustments were anticipated or made in relation to the COVID-19 emergency period; however, the Determination does not itself purport to amend earlier instruments.

For a definitive amendment history, one must consult the Commonwealth’s Federal Register of Legislation and the consolidated version of the Corporations (Relevant Providers Continuing Professional Development Standard) Determination 2018. Those sources will show if the instrument has been varied, re-registered, repealed, or otherwise amended since its commencement (section 2 notes commencement the day after registration). If a user requires the current operative text, they should check the consolidated and up-to-date entry on legislation.gov.au or the Federal Register of Legislation, which will list any amending instruments and the dates on which amendments commenced.

The Determination contains internal deadlines and references to days in 2019 and to the special treatment of 18 March 2020; those temporal references are embedded in the substantive rules and may have ongoing operational relevance (for example, the requirement to prepare CPD plans before the start of each CPD year subject to the transitional exceptions in section 6). Practitioners and compliance officers should therefore verify whether any later amending instrument has changed the timelines, minima, approval processes, or retention obligations in the Determination by consulting the official consolidated text.

The Determination text provided does not include any citation of judicial or tribunal decisions, nor does it set out a litigation history. It contains no references to case law or prior determinations that were judicially interpreted. As a subordinate legislative instrument, disputes about its meaning or application would be resolved by reference to the Corporations Act and, where engaged, by courts or tribunals having jurisdiction to review administrative action or interpret statutory instruments. The Determination itself does not identify decisions or disputes.

To establish whether there has been litigation concerning the Determination, relevant providers, licensees and advisers should examine public records of decisions from courts and tribunals, and regulator enforcement actions. Relevant sources include the Federal Court, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s published enforcement outcomes and guidance, and consolidated legislation notes on the Federal Register of Legislation. The Determination gives rise to compliance duties that can inform regulatory action and could be relevant in proceedings that involve questions of licensing, professional standards, disciplinary measures or civil penalties under the Corporations Act; however, the Determination does not itself create a record of such litigation.

If a reader needs to know whether any judicial authority has construed key terms of this Determination, whether enforcement actions have been taken against licensees for failures to approve CPD activities or maintain required records, or whether any novel legal issues (for example the meaning of “sufficient intellectual or practical content” in section 7(1)(b)) have been litigated, those matters must be researched in legal databases and regulator archives. The Determination’s provisions,such as the requirement that responsible licensees be satisfied an activity is a qualifying CPD activity before approving it (section 8(2)), the 70 per cent approval rule (section 9(3)), and the constraints on counting particular activity types (section 9(4)),are all plausible subjects for regulatory attention and therefore potential bases for administrative or court action, but the Determination text does not record any such actions.

In short, the Determination itself contains no litigation history; independent research in judicial and administrative archives is required to discover whether it has been the subject of dispute.

This Determination includes several operational features that can create compliance traps if not anticipated. The following points draw directly from the Determination’s provisions and identify areas where practitioners commonly err in implementing CPD systems.

Written form and publication requirements. CPD policies and CPD plans must be in writing (sections 5(3) and 6(5)). Licensees must publish their CPD policy on their website and ensure accessibility for relevant providers (section 5(5)). Failure to document policies and plans, or to publish the CPD policy, leaves an obvious compliance gap that is specifically required by the instrument.

Timing of plan and policy adoption. Licensees must adopt their CPD policy within specified timeframes: where the CPD year is affected by subsection 1546E(5) of the Act, by 31 March 2019, or otherwise within three months of becoming a licensee or responsible licensee (section 5(2)). Relevant providers must prepare CPD plans before the start of each CPD year, except in limited transitional circumstances (section 6(2)-(4)). Operationally, this means that entities cannot defer plan preparation and must be able to demonstrate planning before the CPD year starts unless they meet the narrow exceptions set out in the Determination.

Approval concentration with responsible licensees. The Determination requires that at least 70 per cent of minimum CPD hours be on qualifying activities approved by the responsible licensee (section 9(3) and section 8(1)). This concentrates procedural control in the hands of the responsible licensee. Responsible licensees must approve sufficient activities, be satisfied they are qualifying activities (section 8(2)), and specify the maximum hours attributable (section 8(3)). Relevant providers cannot rely solely on their own judgement to mark activities as qualifying where a responsible licensee exists; they must secure the licensee’s approval to meet the 70 per cent requirement.

Counting rules and double counting. If an activity spans more than one CPD area it may be counted in the area to which it predominantly relates provided there is no double counting of hours (section 7(3)). Practically, this requires careful attribution and documentation to avoid overstating hours across multiple area minima.

Limits on reading and formal education. No more than 4 hours of professional or technical reading may be counted in a CPD year (section 9(4)(a)). No more than 30 hours of activity referred to in section 7(4) (formal relevant education) may be counted in a CPD year (section 9(4)(b)). Organisations and individuals who rely heavily on formal education or self-directed reading to meet CPD minima risk breaching these caps. Relatedly, section 7(4) lists formal education that may count, which includes degrees approved under another Determination; practitioners must check the approved list rather than assume any degree counts.

Preparation and first delivery. A provider who leads or conducts a qualifying CPD activity can count hours spent in preparation and first delivery of the activity (section 9(5)). That benefit does not apply to repeated deliveries, and it is limited to preparation and first delivery. Failure to track whether a delivery is the first or successive delivery can lead to incorrect hour claims.

Career break approvals. Providers who have not been practising for two or more continuous years cannot resume practice without the relevant employer or licensee approving the provider’s CPD plan for the first CPD year after resumption, and the approver must be satisfied the plan addresses competence gaps (section 11(1)-(4)). This is not a formality; the approver must be satisfied of appropriateness. Employers and licensees must therefore maintain procedures to evaluate returning practitioners’ CPD plans substantively.

Record-keeping and retention. Providers must maintain complete and accurate records of qualifying CPD activities, timing, hours, evidence of completion and outcomes, and progress against the CPD plan, and keep those records for at least seven years (section 12(1) and (4)). A provider’s obligations are satisfied if the responsible licensee maintains the records (section 12(2)). Practically, this creates dependency on the responsible licensee’s record systems; providers who rely on a licensee to maintain records should document that arrangement and ensure access rights to those records (section 12(3)).

Part-time reduction requires written consent. A reduced minimum of 36 hours applies only where the relevant provider works part-time for the whole of the CPD year and has the prior written consent of the responsible licensee (section 9(1)). Absent that written consent, the full minimum remains.

Transitional and emergency timing rules. If a CPD year is extended under subsection 1546E(5) of the Act, minimum hours are adjusted proportionally (section 9(6)). For CPD years including 18 March 2020 there is a narrow concession that allows qualifying activities completed in the three months after the end of the CPD year to be counted for that year, but those activities cannot be counted for any other CPD year (section 9(7)). These are specific temporal rules and may not be widely applicable, but they require attention where relevant.

Employer resource obligation. Employers must make appropriate resources and opportunities available to enable the provider to meet the Determination’s requirements (section 10(1)). Employers who do not allocate time or resources risk creating compliance breaches that will be traceable to both the provider and the employer in internal monitoring.

Taken together, these provisions create multiple points where documentation and procedure must align precisely with the Determination’s language. Failure to observe written form, approval pathways, caps, attribution rules, record retention, and approval requirements for returning practitioners are the principal practical pitfalls.

To comply with this Determination, entities should translate the statutory requirements into concrete governance, operational and record-keeping arrangements. The following checklist maps statutory duties to practical actions and cites the source provisions.

1. Adopt and publish a written CPD policy (sections 5(1), 5(3) and 5(5))

   • Draft a CPD policy document that is in writing and adopt it formally.
   • Ensure the policy specifies the licensee’s CPD year (section 5(4)(a)).
   • The policy must set out the overall approach to CPD obligations and the CPD obligations of relevant providers for whom the licensee is responsible (section 5(4)(b)).
   • Include procedures for assessing and approving CPD plans (section 5(4)(c)(i)), monitoring implementation (section 5(4)(c)(ii)), assessing and approving activities and attributing hours (section 5(4)(c)(iii)), ensuring 70 per cent approved-hours compliance (section 5(4)(c)(iv)), checking compliance (section 5(4)(c)(v)), recording and maintaining evidence of completion and outcomes (section 5(4)(c)(vi)), and keeping records (section 5(4)(c)(vii)).
   • Publish the policy on the licensee’s website and ensure relevant providers can access it (section 5(5)).

2. Prepare and maintain written CPD plans for each relevant provider (sections 6(1), 6(5) and 6(6))

   • Ensure each relevant provider prepares a written CPD plan before the start of each CPD year (section 6(2)) unless a transitional exception applies (sections 6(3)-(4)).
   • The plan must identify areas for improvement of competence, knowledge and skills and list the qualifying CPD activities planned for the CPD year (section 6(6)).
   • If the provider has an employer who is a licensee, give the employer a copy on request and ensure the employer monitors implementation (section 6(7)).

3. Establish an approval process for qualifying CPD activities (sections 7 and 8)

   • Use the section 7 criteria to determine what qualifies as a CPD activity: falls within a CPD area, sufficient intellectual or practical content, primarily deals with advice matters, led by appropriate persons (except reading), and designed to enhance knowledge and skills relevant to advice provision (section 7(1)-(2)).
   • For activities approved by the responsible licensee, ensure the approval satisfies section 8: approve sufficient activities to enable providers to comply with section 9(3) and specify the maximum number of hours for each approved activity (sections 8(1) and 8(3)). Be satisfied the activity is a qualifying activity before approval (section 8(2)).

4. Meet minimum hours and area minima (section 9)

   • Ensure each relevant provider completes the minimum number of qualifying CPD hours: default 40 hours per CPD year, or 36 hours for full-year part-time providers with prior written consent from the responsible licensee (section 9(1)).
   • Ensure area-specific minima are met: at least 5 hours each for technical competence, client care and practice, regulatory compliance and consumer protection, and at least 9 hours for professionalism and ethics (section 9(2)).
   • Ensure at least 70 per cent of the minimum hours are spent on qualifying activities approved by the responsible licensee (section 9(3)).
   • Observe activity caps: no more than 4 hours of reading and no more than 30 hours of formal education counted in a CPD year (section 9(4)).

5. Track special cases and adjustments (sections 9(5)-(7))

   • If a provider leads or conducts a qualifying activity, permit counting of preparation and first delivery hours (section 9(5)).
   • Adjust minimum hours proportionally where a CPD year is extended under subsection 1546E(5) of the Act (section 9(6)).
   • For CPD years including 18 March 2020 only, record that qualifying activities completed in the three months after the end of the CPD year may be counted for that year, and ensure such activities are not double-counted across years (section 9(7)).

6. Implement employer and resource arrangements (section 10)

   • Employers and responsible licensees must make appropriate resources and opportunities available to enable providers to meet the Determination (section 10(1)). Ensure timetabling, budget, and access to approved activities are supplied.
   • Responsible licensees must monitor plan implementation and check compliance with the CPD policy and the Determination (section 10(2)).

7. Manage career breaks (section 11)

   • If a provider has been out of practice for two or more continuous years, do not permit resumption of practice as an employee or authorised representative without licence approval of the provider’s CPD plan for the first CPD year after resumption (section 11(1)-(3)).
   • Ensure approvers are satisfied the plan addresses competence gaps arising from the absence (section 11(4)).

8. Maintain records and retention (section 12)

   • Create and maintain complete and accurate records of qualifying CPD activities, dates, hours, evidence of completion and outcomes, and progress against the CPD plan (section 12(1)).
   • Keep records for at least seven years after the date they were made (section 12(4)).
   • If the responsible licensee maintains records on behalf of the provider, document the arrangement and ensure timely access for the provider (sections 12(2)-(3)).

9. Practical record elements and evidence

   • The Determination requires “evidence of completion and the outcomes of” qualifying activities (section 12(1)(d)). Reasonable evidence can include attendance lists, certificates issued by education providers, learning assessments, copies of substantive materials that demonstrate outcomes, and logs of preparation and delivery where the provider led an activity. Ensure documents identify the activity, CPD area, hours approved, and the approving responsible licensee where relevant (sections 7, 8 and 12).
   • Track whether activities map predominantly to a single CPD area to avoid double counting (section 7(3)).

10. Governance and audit

    • Embed the CPD policy and approval procedures into the licence-holder’s compliance manual and internal audit programme. Use the policy’s publication requirement (section 5(5)) to demonstrate transparency.
    • Perform regular checks as required by the policy and by section 5(4)(c)(v) to ensure both the licensee and its relevant providers are complying, and retain documentation of those checks.

11. Liaison with education providers and degree lists

    • For formal education counted under section 7(4)(a)-(d), confirm whether particular degrees or courses are included in the relevant Determination referenced in section 7(4)(a) and whether a course has been determined under paragraph 1546B(1)(b) of the Act (section 7(4)(b)). Maintain records of approvals for such courses.

Compliance requires converting the Determination’s statutory terms into clear operational processes for approvals, planning, documentation and monitoring. The statutory text sets specific numerical and documentary requirements; meeting them requires systems to attribute hours correctly, central approval and record maintenance by responsible licensees, and employer support for staff time and resources.