CPD requirements

This information is for members living in Australia or internationally, but not in New Zealand. Members living in New Zealand, please refer to that section

Depending on your designation, your verifiable CPD hours vary.

If you are:

• A CA or affiliate, of your 120 CPD hours each triennium, 90 hours must be formal CPD. A minimum of 20 hours CPD must be completed in each year.
• An ACA, of your 90 CPD hours each triennium 45 hours must be formal CPD. A minimum of 15 hours CPD must be completed in each year.
• An AT, of your 60 CPD hours, 30 hours must be formal CPD. A minimum of 10 hours CPD must be completed in each year.

Formal CPD is usually:

• an organised activity
• interactive
• has a definite planned approached with clear learning objectives
• includes some form of assessment.

Other formal CPD activities could include:

• CA ANZ and other international, national conferences and courses
• CA ANZ branch courses and seminars
• CA ANZ Special Interest Group training events
• training from other providers or professional bodies
• in-house training and presentations
• assessed distance learning
• university courses, including time taken to research and write essays
• other structured courses
• serving on a technical committee
• publishing professional or academic papers, articles, research and other publications relevant to current or future work
• developing training sessions or courses
• facilitating and/or marking professional examinations.

There are limits on how many hours you can claim for some of these activities.

If you are unsure whether an activity qualifies, first check Regulation CR7. If you are still not sure, contact us.

Members who hold one or more statutory registrations or licences, need to complete at least 40% of their CPD in activities related to each of their registrations.

It doesn’t matter if you do not use the registration or licences, you are still expected to meet the CPD requirements.

One CPD activity may count towards more than one licence. The aim is to ensure that the majority of your CPD hours are relevant to any licences you may hold.

The statutory registrations or licences are:

• Registered company auditor;
• Registered company liquidator;
• Registered trustee in bankruptcy;
• Australian Financial Services (AFS) license holder;
• Approved SMSF auditor; and
• Registered tax agent.

Approved SMSF Auditors have additional CPD requirements:

1. at least 8 hours of formal superannuation CPD
2. at least 8 hours of formal financial statement or compliance audit CPD
3. at least 4 hours of formal financial accounting CPD

You will find more information in Regulation CR7.

Informal CPD is also referred to as technical reading. You may complete 10 hours per year of informal CPD hours and no more than 10 hours per triennium on SMSF auditing for approved SMSF auditors.

Reading industry journals, including Acuity, white papers or business related research articles can be included as technical reading.

You need to keep a record of your CPD activity. The record is not just for personal satisfaction; you may need to show your current or prospective employer. You may also need to submit your records as part of a practice review or to us if we request them for audit purposes.

There is no specified CPD activity record format.

You can choose to record your CPD activity online in our community; click on the tile Manage My Education. Then select My Education records on the left hand panel.

There is also a form you can download.

If you prefer to keep your own record, you need to ensure it includes:

• Date/s of the activity
• The provider
• Details of the learning activity undertaken
• Number of CPD hours
• Whether formal or informal
• Hours allocated to a specialisation, licence or accreditation, if relevant

If your employer maintains a record, keep an up to date copy for yourself. If you leave that employer, ask for a copy to take with you.

Each year at the time you complete your membership renewal, you will be asked to confirm you have complied with the CPD requirements.

Each year, a random selection of members is included in the CPD Monitoring Programme. If selected, we contact you and ask for a copy of your CPD records. Depending on the circumstances, we may request records for a year or a triennium.

Your records are checked to ensure you have met your CPD obligations in Regulation CR7, including the record itself. The majority of records received from members’ show they have complied.

If you are asked to submit your records and you have not met the requirements or cannot provide your records, contact us.

If you are asked to submit your records and you have not met the requirements or cannot provide your records, contact us as soon as you can.

We can work with you to bring you back to compliance.

You may be asked to:

• Provide a statutory declaration that you have completed the hours but have not kept a record, or
• Make up any shortfall in the next year or triennium, or
• Provide a learning plan if the shortfall is significant.

It’s important that you do respond if you are asked to provide your records. If you don’t, there are consequences for your membership under By-Law 21c.

This information is for members who live in New Zealand only. If you live in Australia or outside of New Zealand, please refer to that section.

Depending on your designation, your verifiable CPD hours vary.

If you are:

• a CA or affiliate, of your 120 CPD hours each triennium, 60 hours must be verifiable CPD. A minimum of 20 hours CPD must be completed in each year.
• an ACA, of your 90 CPD hours each triennium, 45 hours must be verifiable CPD. A minimum of 15 hours CPD must be completed in each year.
• An AT, of your 60 CPD hours each triennium, 30 hours must be verifiable CPD. A minimum of 10 hours CPD must be completed in each year.

You will also need to complete at least 4 hours of CPD on ethics every 5 years as part of your CPD requirements.

Verifiable CPD is a learning activity than can be objectively verified by a competent source.

Verifiable CPD is usually:

• an organised activity,
• interactive,
• has a definite planned approached with clear learning objectives,
• conducted by a qualified / trained specialist, and includes some form of assessment
• may include some form of assessment.

Other verifiable CPD activities could include:

• CA ANZ and other international, national conferences and courses
• CA ANZ branch courses and seminars
• CA ANZ Special Interest Group training events
• training from other providers or professional bodies
• in-house training and presentations
• assessed distance learning
• university courses
• other structured courses
• serving on a technical committee
• publishing professional or academic papers, articles, research and other publications relevant to current or future work
• speaking at conferences, briefing sessions and discussion groups
• developing training sessions or courses
• facilitating and/or marking professional examinations.

If you are unsure whether an activity qualifies, first check Regulation CR7. If you are still not sure, contact us.

Your activities that fit this category of CPD are informal, for example, reading technical or professional articles, mentoring discussions and collegial discussion where learning is fostered.

Members who hold one or more specialisations, licences or accreditations need to complete specific CPD in activities related to their specialisations, registrations or licences.

It doesn’t matter if you do not use the registration or licence, you are still expected to meet the CPD requirements.

Licenced auditors are required to undertake CPD that develops and maintains your professional competence required to perform your role as audit engagement partner.In addition, to complying with the standard CPD policy, licensed auditors must comply with International Education Standard 8 which is based on an outcome model.  More information can be found in our Policy and Guidance for New Zealand Licensed Auditors.

Accredited insolvency practitioners must have at least 30 of your 60 verifiable hours relating specifically to insolvency each triennium.

You need to keep a record of your CPD activity. The record is not just for personal satisfaction; you may need to show your current or prospective employer. You may also need to submit your records as part of a practice review or to us if we ask.

There is no specified CPD activity record format.

You can choose to record your CPD activity online in our community; click on the tile Manage My Education. Then select My Education records on the left hand panel.

If you prefer to keep your own record, you need to ensure it includes:

• Date/s of the activity
• The provider
• Details of the learning activity undertaken
• Number of CPD hours
• Hours allocated to a specialisation, licence or accreditation, if relevant
• Details of the relevance of the learning activity to your current or future professional development
• Evidence of undertaking the verifiable CPD is requested.

If your employer maintains a record, keep an up to date copy for yourself. If you leave that employer, ask for a copy to take with you.

Each year at the time you complete your membership renewal, you will be asked to confirm you have complied with the CPD requirements.

Each year, a random selection of members is included in the CPD Monitoring Program. If selected, we contact you and ask for a copy of your CPD records. Depending on the circumstances, we may request records for a year or a triennium.

Your records are checked to ensure you have met your CPD obligations in Regulation CR7, including the record itself. The majority of records received from members’ show they have complied.

If you are asked to submit your records and you have not met the requirements or cannot provide your records, contact us as soon as you can.

We can work with you to bring you back to compliance.

You may be asked to:

• Provide a statutory declaration that you have completed the hours but have not kept a record, or
• Make up any shortfall in the next year or triennium, or
• Provide a learning plan if the shortfall is significant.

It’s important that you do respond if you are asked to provide your records. If you don’t, there are consequences for your membership under By-Law 21c.

Repeatedly failing to meet your requirements may result in referral to the Professional Conduct Committee.