Nothing stays the same for long

Life can be unpredictable, and we know that for a variety of reasons, our members may be unable to meet all of their CPD hours.

Depending on the circumstances, you may be eligible for a reduction (exemption) in your CPD hours.

Whether you’re planning a career break, taking time off to start a family, or something less expected comes along, you may qualify for an exemption from CPD.

Please be aware that a large workload, working outside of the accounting profession, or an employer that doesn’t provide CPD does not meet the exemption criteria. All members are required to meet the obligations under Regulation CR 7 unless they qualify for an exemption.

If you do meet the criteria for a full or partial exemption from the requirements in Regulation CR 7, please note that all members are still required to maintain their competence under the Code of Ethics.

While you may have a CPD exemption, you must still complete your Mandatory Notifications each year as part of your membership renewal. This is a key membership requirement. If you do not have any CPD hours to declare, simply write “0”.

CPP Holders and Affiliates

CPP holders, Affiliates, NMPs, and NZ Licensed Insolvency Practitioners are not eligible for an exemption. This is because their responsibilities and level of expertise requires you to always keep your skills and knowledge up to date.

Retired exemption

Where you do not hold a CPP and have fully and permanently withdrawn from the workforce, you are no longer required to undertake a minimum number of hours of CPD. However, as mentioned above, although you may have an exemption from the requirements in Regulation CR 7, all members are still required to maintain their competence under the Code of Ethics for any professional activities they may undertake.

Full or partial exemption

Members are entitled to pro-rated CPD exemptions in the following circumstances (where they do not hold a CPP and are not an Affiliate member or approved NMP):

• extended leave from professional work, such as parental leave, career break or sabbatical
• extended absence from work due to unemployment or illness
• working on a part time or casual basis
• exceptional circumstances of hardship or difficulty in completing their required CPD (subject to approval)

Calculating an exemption

For periods from 1 July 2021, members are no longer required to submit an application in writing to CA ANZ other than for exceptional circumstances, or if you wish your exemption to be recorded on your My CA CPD log. If so, members should use the CPD exemption form on My CA. Otherwise, members should calculate their CPD exemption and keep this with their CPD records. If a member is selected as part of the CA ANZ CPD monitoring programme, they will be asked to provide a copy of these calculations supporting their exemption.

The information you need to keep with your records is:

1. A brief explanation of the reason for the exemption.
2. If an exemption is due to working part-time, the hours you were working and the dates that you were working part-time.
3. All relevant dates, for instance if you are going on parental leave, the start date and finish date of your leave.
4.  A calculation supporting the exemption.
5. 5The triennium for which the exemption applies.

For instance, if you are away for six months on parental leave during one triennium you would note that fact and also the dates of the parental leave and the calculation showing that an exemption of 15 verifiable hours based upon 6/36 months multiplied by 90 applies. Your verifiable CPD hours for that triennium would be reduced to 75 hours. Note that you would still be obliged to undertake 6 hours verifiable ethics CPD in the triennium where your triennium commences on or after 1 July 2024, otherwise 2 hours verifiable ethics CPD is required.

Where the minimum CPD calculated in accordance with the above is less than 10 hours per triennium, no minimum CPD per triennium applies.