For the purposes of these regulations, the CPD requirements under regulations 5.1 shall be applicable as follows:

• In the case of persons who became Members of the Institute pursuant to the transitional provisions under Article 112 of the Institute’s Articles of Association and who hold a professional designation, the CPD requirements shall be complied with from 1 January of the year following the transition date;
  
• In the case of newly admitted Members or current Members who attained a professional designation (subsequent to the transition date), the CPD requirements shall be complied with from 1 January of the year following the attainment of the professional designation.

Members who have undertaken more than the amount of CPD as set out in regulation 5.1 may not carry forward the surplus hours to the following year or biennium (as applicable). The CPD attainment set out in regulation 5.1 is the minimum that Members are required to achieve to maintain their professional competence. It is recommended that the time investment in CPD exceed these minimum levels.

Members may undertake any learning activities relevant to their current or future work and professional responsibilities. The attainment of CPD shall be measured in terms of the time spent on the learning activity.

A. Structured CPD is any form of formal learning activity that is designed to achieve specific learning outcomes and is capable of being objectively verified by a competent source. These include participation in conferences, seminars and professional courses; achieving a specialist or degree qualification; undertaking structured online learning; and writing of technical articles, papers or books for publication. The examples of evidence that could be used for verification purposes include confirmation of participation by a provider, instructor or employer; assessment of learning outcomes achieved; examination result transcripts and the publication of professional articles.

B. Unstructured CPD is any informal learning activity such as on-the-job training, online research, self-study, casual reading of professional journals and participation in events where the focus is on knowledge sharing. Such learning activities may be measurable in terms of hours but may not be verifiable. These activities also contribute to the development and maintenance of professional competence, but would not be considered part of the prescribed quantum of structured CPD.

In assessing CPD hours, members should record only the actual time spent in active participation in the learning activity and only where the activity is in excess of one hour. Time spent in social or ceremonial events or in luncheons, dinners or other informal functions associated with CPD activities but do not form part of the professional development programme, will not be recognised as CPD hours.

Learning activities that are acceptable as structured CPD and unstructured CPD and the number of CPD hours that may be earned are shown in Appendix 2. These are for guidance purposes only and are not exhaustive.

All members subject to mandatory CPD (except as set out in regulation 7.2) are required to complete a CPD declaration in compliance with the CPD requirements. The declaration is to be submitted as follows:

• Members who hold professional designations are required to submit a CPD declaration annually by 31 January of the following year (e.g. the CPD declaration for 2017 should be submitted by 31 January 2018);
• Members who do not hold any professional designations are required to submit a CPD declaration biennially by 31 January following the end of the biennium (e.g. the CPD declaration for the biennium 2017–2018 should be submitted by 31 January 2019).

A member will not be required to submit a declaration of his/her CPD status for the year in which he/she attained a professional designation, even though he/she is subject to mandatory CPD. However, the CPD hours completed between the date on which the professional designation was attained and 31 December of that year can be reported as CPD hours.

Members who have been granted exemption from the CPD requirements are still required to make a declaration of their CPD status annually or biennially (as applicable) to confirm that they continue to meet the exemption criteria.

The CPD declaration must be made through the Member Portal on the AICB website within the timeframes stipulated in regulation 7.1. The CPD Declaration Form is illustrated in Appendix 3.

Members who fail to make a CPD declaration within the stipulated timeframes or make false declarations may have their memberships revoked. The matter will be referred to the Membership Committee for an appropriate course of action to be taken.

Members subject to mandatory CPD are required to record their CPD activities in the Member Portal on the AICB website. It is the responsibility of members to maintain appropriate records of all CPD activities undertaken, which may be reviewed for purposes of monitoring compliance with the CPD requirements.

When recording CPD activity, members should include information such as the date, organisation presenting the activity, description of the activity, method of learning and time expended. CPD hours earned can be recorded to the nearest half hour. To assist members in maintaining appropriate records, an Example CPD Record Form is provided in Appendix 4.

Members are also required to keep supporting documentation as evidence of attendance or completion of the CPD activities, e.g. enrolment records, certificates of attendance, certificates of completion, written confirmation of participation by an instructor, provider or employer.

Members must keep their CPD records and supporting documentation for a minimum of three years. Such records and supporting documentation shall be subject to review by the Institute and shall be provided to the Institute upon request.

Members subject to mandatory CPD who have attained the age of 60 years and who have retired from gainful employment and business activity may seek exemption from the CPD requirements by making a written application to the Institute.

A member subject to mandatory CPD who is unable to meet the CPD requirements due to special circumstances may apply for exemption from CPD. Circumstances recognised for exemption include:

• prolonged illness or disability
• onerous caring duties for a close family member
• parental leave
• unemployment
• career break.

Applications for exemption from CPD must be made through the Member Portal on the AICB website by 31 December of the current calendar year and no applications shall be considered in respect of previous years. Applications for exemption under regulation 10.2 must be supported by evidence such as a medical certificate or a letter from the employer confirming a leave of absence from work. The period of absence from work must be at least three months for the individual to be eligible for exemption from the CPD requirements and generally, full exemption will be granted for the current calendar year.

Exemption from CPD, once granted, will remain in force unless there is a change in the circumstances on which it was granted. It is the responsibility of members to notify the Institute:

• in the case of a member granted exemption, when he takes up new employment or commences business activity;
  
• in the case of a member granted exemption, when the circumstances on which it was granted cease to exist.

The member shall thereupon become subject to the CPD requirements under regulation 5.1.

A member who has been granted exemption from the CPD requirements will still be required to submit an annual CPD declaration in accordance with regulation 7.

Click here if you wish to apply for CPD exemption. Please go to the Special Request section in the Member Portal to submit your application.