ACEM CPD Program

MBA’s new Registration Standard effective 2023

The Medical Board of Australia has instituted new registration and recertification standards effective from 1 January 2023.

There are three core changes to the standards:

• Introduction of CPD Homes
• An annual professional development plan
• Requirement for doctors to undertake CPD 50 hours of CPD in the categories of reviewing performance, measuring outcomes and educational activities, to improve the value of their professional development

More information on these is available on the MBA website, or read the MBA's CPH Homes FAQs.

What are CPD Homes?

The Australian Medical Council has accredited all specialist medical colleges as CPD Homes for 2023. You can continue to undertake your CPD with ACEM to satisfy your CPD requirements.

What does this mean for you?

Continue logging your CPD as you have been in 2022. ACEM revised its CPD program to align with these pending changes in 2021. No further changes will be made to the ACEM CPD Program in 2023.

What do I do with my Annual Professional Development Plan (PDP)?

The PDP has been a requirement of the ACEM CPD program since 2021. It can be completed in the MY ACEM portal. Provision has been made in the online PDP page, to securely hold your workplace PDP form and allow you to reflect on this plan in order to meet your annual PDP requirements.

Personal circumstances affecting your capacity to undertake the CPD program may warrant a full or partial (exemption from a CPD Program).

Please note that you may still be required to fulfill reduced CPD requirements for the CPD year. Contact the CPD Unit for more details.

Grounds for exemption

Possible reasons for temporary exemptions include:

Before (applying for an exemption) you are advised to read the Exemption Policy and the (Policy on Re-entry to Practice following a Period of Absence). The requirements of this policy align with the Medical Board of Australia (MBA) ‘Recency of Practice Standard’ and the Medical Board of New Zealand (MCNZ) ‘Policy on doctors returning to medical practice after an absence from practice for three years or more’.

• Not practicing for the duration of the exemption period (four or 12 months)
• No longer in clinical practice
• Full-time study
• Extended leave eg., long service leave and travel
• Parental leave
• Prolonged carers leave
• Prolonged illness
• Compassionate leave
• Special consideration
• Dual/Other Fellowship exemption (application to be submitted upon completion of the exempt alternate CPD program requirements, which are the hourly CPD requirements and PDP/reflection)
  • CICM
  • RACP (Paeds)
  • RACMA
  • RACGP
  • ACRRM
  • ANZCA

• Regulation E Recertification
• CPD219 Policy ACEM Continuing Professional Development Participation
• CPD600 Policy on CPD Compliance Audit
• CPD639 Provision of Evidence Guideline
• CPD307 Policy on Re-entry to Practice Following a Period of Absence
• CPD431 Policy for Managing Remediation and the Poorly Performing Practitioner
• CPD412 Procedural Skills Suggestion form
• CPD499 Policy CPD Program Exemption
• CPD792 ACEM Recognition of External CPD Program Activities
• COR909 CPD Homes Policy

A strategic priority for the College is to ensure that we remain aware of developments in the requirements of regulatory bodies and that College programs enable you to meet these requirements in an efficient and effective manner.

The Medical Board of Australia and the Medical Council of New Zealand have revised their CPD registration and recertification standards.

The updated standard will strengthen CPD and assure that doctors are engaging in learning that is relevant, effective and evidence based. The goal is to ensure that the time doctors spend on CPD is useful and keeps them practising at their best throughout their working lives.

The latest on Medical Board of Australia CPD regulations can be found here, while the Medical Council of New Zealand's information is located here.

Participation in the ACEM CPD Program provides access to a wealth of educational courses and events specially curated to support you in your lifelong journey as a physician, as well as assisting you in meeting regulatory requirements.

Eligible hours spent attending these events is also automatically recorded towards your annual CPD requirements – saving time and ensuring you can focus on what matters to you.

Access the College’s events calendar to view upcoming eligible events.

The latest news on CPD accredited events can also be found in the Bulletin.