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CPD for Nurses, Midwives & Mental Health Nurses

This summary outlines CPD activities that allow the requirements of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia to be met. The standards are in accordance with the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act.

CPD Cycle

CPD cycle runs for 12-months, from 1st June to 31st May every year. This cycle applies to all nurses and midwives.

CPD Requirements

In the table below identify the type of registration to learn the amount of CPD hours needed each year.

Nurses and Midwives Table


 

CPD must be directly relevant to the context of practice. More specifically, CPD must adhere to the conditions that define your nursing and/or midwifery practice. These include the:

Type of practice setting (e.g. clinical care, management, administration, education, research).
Location of the practice setting (e.g. urban, rural, remote).
Characteristics of patients or clients (e.g. health status, age, learning needs).
Focus of nursing and/or midwifery activities (e.g. health promotion, research, management).
Degree which practice is autonomous.
Resources available, including access to other healthcare professionals.

In addition, an eligible midwife is also required to successfully complete a Board-approved midwifery professional practice review (MPPR) every 3 years to demonstrate competence in providing pregnancy, labour, birth and postnatal care to women and their infants.

CPD Activities

The following activities can be counted as CPD for nurses and midwives:

Attending tertiary and other accredited courses including distance education (needs to related to context of practice).
Attending conferences, forums, seminars, symposia, short courses, workshops, seminars and discussion groups through a professional group or organisation who issues a certificate of compliance/completion.
Mandatory learning activities in the workplace in the area of practice.
Service to the profession.
Self directed learning.
Any other structured learning activities not covered above.

If CPD activities are relevant to both nursing and midwifery professions, they can be counted as evidence for both nursing and midwifery CPD hours, provided they are relevant to the context of practice.

CPD Documentation

Evidence of completion of the minimum CPD hours per year should be kept in the event of an audit. Evidence of CPD should include documentation of the identified learning needs, a learning plan, participation in the learning activity and the outcome achieved from the learning activity. It is recommended that CPD evidence, including self-directed learning, be kept for 3 years.

For more information about these CPD guidelines click here.

Date of Issue: 1st June 2016
Last reviewed: 2nd April 2020
These guidelines will be reviewed every 3 years.