What qualifies as formal CPD?

Formal CPD activities can be invaluable resources, helping you build on the knowledge and skills needed to excel in today's dynamic and ever changing work environment. Formal CPD can usually be qualified as:

• organised framework with clear objectives and
• imparts knowledge of an educational/technical nature and 
• requirement for involvement for participant.

As a guide relevant formal CPD has interactive learning, sometimes has an assessment component and is taught by competent specialists.

There is a wide range of activities that CA ANZ recognises as formal CPD, offering members the flexibility to choose when and how your CPD hours are accumulated.

For a comprehensive list of formal CPD activities, you can check Regulation CR7 Schedule 1, in our members handbook. You will also find information here about restrictions on CPD hours that can be claimed for some of these activities.

How many CPD hours do I need?

Your formal CPD hours will vary depending on your designation.

• For a CA or affiliate, of your 120 CPD hours each triennium, 90 hours must be formal CPD. A minimum of 20 CPD hours must be completed in each year.
• For an ACA, of your 90 CPD hours each triennium, 45 hours must be formal CPD. A minimum of 15 CPD hours must be completed each year.
• For an AT, of your 60 CPD hours, 30 hours must be formal CPD. A minimum of 10 CPD hours must be completed each year.
• If you are not working full-time your hours may be pro-rated.

What qualifies as informal CPD and how much do I need?

Informal CPD is also referred to as technical reading. You may record up to 10 informal hours per year, and up to 30 informal hours each triennium. If you are an approved SMSF auditor, 10 hours of technical reading needs to be in the area of SMSF auditing.

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

CPD related to specialisations, licenses or accreditation's

If you hold one or more statutory registrations or licenses, 40% of your CPD activities needs to be related to each of the registration/license.

It's important to remember that your CPD requirements need to be met, even if you do not use your registrations or licenses.

One CPD activity can count towards more than one registration/license, to ensure that the majority of your CPD hours are relevant to any licenses you hold.

Additional CPD requirements apply if you are holding one of the following professional registrations:

• registered company auditor;
• registered company liquidator;
• registered trustee in bankruptcy;
• Australian Financial Services (AFS) license holder;
• approved Self-Managed Super Fund (SMSF) auditor (SMSF Auditor); and
• registered tax agent.
• Reviews by non-RCAs of Second Tier Companies Limited by Guarantee
• CA SMSF Specialists
• CA Business Valuations Specialists
• CA Financial Specialists

Refer to Regulation CR7 in the members handbook.

Your CPD record

Keeping a record of your CPD hours can benefit you in several ways. It is a great way to track your progress, and it can confirm your CPD activities to your current or prospective employer. You may also need to submit your records as part of a practice review, or to us, for CPD monitoring purposes.

Your formal CPD records should include:

• date
• organisation presenting the CPD activity
• description of the CPD activity
• whether the CPD is relevant to the member's obligations associated with holding certain registrations or specialisations; and
• number of CPD hours.

One single repetitive activity should not make up the extent of a members CPD hours. You need to claim hours that can be attributed to genuine learning (e.g not breaks and entertainment sessions).

There is no specified CPD activity record format so we've come up with two options that might work for you.

Manage My CPD

You can track your CPD hours in the CPD Log on My CA and get a quick overview of how you are progressing against your specific requirements. From 1 October 2020, your CPD purchases from the CA ANZ store will automatically appear in your log. Once you've completed the training, simply confirm the new professional development record and see how it adds CPD hours to your CPD wheel. You can also enter CPD records from other providers.

In your annual notifications, you will be asked to confirm the CPD hours completed in the year. By logging all your CPD records in your CPD Log on My CA it will be easier to know how many CPD hours you have undertaken at any point in time.

CPD record forms

Or you can download our form so you can track your CPD hours.

Monitoring your CPD

When you complete your yearly membership renewal, you'll need to confirm that you have fulfilled your CPD requirements.

We run a CPD Monitoring Programme and each year, a random selection of members are asked to provide a copy of their triennium CPD records.

These records are checked against the CPD obligations in Regulation CR7 in the members handbook.