Your Training and Development (CPD) Points, Rules and Requirements

Every year you need to participate in training and continuing professional development (CPD) to maintain your ability to practice as an accountant, keep up-to-date with industry developments and improve your practical knowledge.

How to earn CPD points with Legalwise Seminars

Whether you are an accountant, an SMSF adviser, a financial planner or any other accounting, financial services or tax professional, Legalwise Seminars offers you a host of opportunities to gain the CPD points you need each year to comply with your professional development obligations. These include:

attending face to face seminars and conferences
watching and listening to seminars and conferences live online
accessing on demand recordings of past seminars and conferences
preparing and presenting at seminars and conferences

Each industry organisation has its own rules and regulations

To assist you in further understanding your CPD rules and requirements, we link to Australia’s main industry organisations’ rules below. Click on your organisation to view the rules.

Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (ICAANZ)

	Annual Requirements		Triennium Requirements
CPD Hours	Formal	Technical Reading	Formal	Technical Reading
CPD Hours	10 (minimum)	10 (maximum)	90 (minimum)	30 (maximum)

The Training and Development year commences on 1 July and ends on 30 June based on financial year. (If you joined before 30 June, your triennium starts 1 July that year. If you joined after 30 June, your triennium starts 1 July the following year.)
A minimum of 20 hours of CPD must be undertaken over a financial year, and a total of 120 hours of CPD must be demonstrated for a three-year period (triennium).
Any individual or affiliate member offering specialist services must undertake at least 40% of the minimum CPD requirements in each of their appropriate specialty areas.

Type	Triennium Minimum Requirements
Specialty hours for members with a statutory registration	36 (A maximum of 30 hours may comprise technical reading)
Hours for SMSF Auditors	20 (A maximum of 10 hours may comprise technical reading)

Source: Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (ICAANZ)

Certified Practising Accountants (CPA)

	Annual Requirements		Triennium Requirements
CPD Hours	Formal	Technical Reading	Formal	Technical Reading
CPD Hours	10 (minimum)	10 (maximum)	90 (minimum)	30 (maximum)

The Training and Development year commences on 1 January and ends on 31 December based on calendar year. (If you joined before 30 June, your triennium starts 1 January that year. If you joined after 30 June, your triennium starts 1 January the following year.)
A minimum of 20 hours of CPD must be undertaken over a calendar year, and a total of 120 hours of CPD must be demonstrated for a three-year period (triennium).
Fifty percent of specialist service providers’ CPD requirements must be completed within a specific field.

Specialist areas include:+ Company auditors+ Company liquidators+ Tax agents+ Trustees in bankruptcy+ Financial services licensees or representatives+ Self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) auditors

Source: Certified Practising Accountants (CPA)

Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA)

The Training and Development year commences on 1 July and ends on 30 June based on financial year.

The required CPD points will depend on the membership category as shown in the table below:

Membership category	Minimum CPD points each year	Minimum CPD points each triennium
CPF Professional	35	120
Financial Planner AFP	25	90
Associate	25	90
Allied Professional	No CPD requirements
Student	No CPD requirements

Below is a table of CPD categories

CPD categories	Description
FPA accredited	A program that has been accredited by the FPA or an authorized FPA CPD Assessor
Non-accredited	Any relevant non-accredited CPD activity including participation at training presentations, seminars or discussion groups that are not FPA accredited or accredited by an FPA CPD assessor Preparation of lectures, course materials or presentations to discussion groups Facilitation or presentation of seminars, training programs, conferences
Non-accredited professional reading	Any professional reading which has not been accredited. These hours also contribute to a member’s “non-accredited training”cap

Restrictions of CPD hours will depend on the membership category as shown in the table below:

Membership category	FPA accredited	Non-accredited	Non-accredited professional reading
CPF Professional	Unlimited	50% or 60 hours (including non-accredited reading)	A maximum of 20 hours over the triennium
Financial Planner AFP	Unlimited	50% or 45 hours (including non-accredited reading)	A maximum of 15 hours over the triennium
Associate	Unlimited	50% or 45 hours (including non-accredited reading)	A maximum of 15 hours over the triennium

Source: Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA)

Institute of Public Accountants (IPA)

The Training and Development year commences on 1 January and ends on 31 December based on calendar year.If you joined before 30 June, members will be required to complete a minimum of 20 hours CPD if the end of the biennium period is the 31 December of that year, or a minimum of 60 hours CPD if the end of the biennium period is the 31 December in the following year.If you joined after 30 June, members will not be required to complete any CPD hours if the closing of the biennium period is the 31 December in the same year as the Member was admitted, or a minimum of 40 hours CPD if the closing of the biennium period is the 31 December in the following year.

A minimum of 10 hours of CPD must be undertaken over a calendar year, and a total of 80 hours of CPD must be demonstrated for a two-year period (biennium).

The maximum amount of CPD hours permitted through relevant technical or professional reading is 25% of the total CPD hours for the biennium.

Members are permitted to carry forward a maximum of 20 hours CPD into the subsequent biennium if the required 80 hours of CPD has been completed in the previous biennium.

Examples of CPD activities that meet the requirements are:

Activity	Maximum Hours per Year
Conferences, congresses and seminars	10 hours per biennium
Workshops, discussion groups and webinars	No maximum
Studies undertaken with an IPA recognised educational provider	No maximum
Research, writing or presentation of technical material	No maximum
Serving on a technical committee	No maximum
A mentor for the IPA Mentor Experience Program	40 hours per biennium
Participation in a PPQA review	10 hours per biennium

Source: Institute of Public Accountants (IPA)

SMSF Association

The Training and Development year commences on 1 April based on membership year. (A member’s first triennium begins on 1 April in the year following the join date.)

The required CPD points will depend on the membership category as shown in the table below:

Membership category	Minimum CPD points each year	Minimum CPD points each triennium
Associate Member	20	90
Specialist Member	30	120

Below is a table of CPD categories, allocation limits and knowledge areas:

CPD categories	Sources	Allocation limit
Accredited	SMSF Association activities (Inc. Committee participation) SMSF Association accredited external activities	At least 50% (up to 2 CPD per hour)
Non-accredited	Other association education activities Other organization education activities Professional reading (sub-limit of 30 hours per triennium)	No more than 50% (limited to 1 CPD point per hour)
Knowledge Areas	SMSF, Superannuation, Practice Management, Ethics, Life Insurance, Securities, Managed Investments, General Insurance, Deposit Products

Source: SMSF Association

Tax Practitioners Board (TPB)

There are different requirements for members to completed CPD based on your registration type. Please click on one of the links below for further information on CPE requirements.

Tax Agents

The Training and Development year commences on registration date.

A list of different CPE requirements based on types of tax agent registration:

Type of tax agent registration	Minimum hours of CPE each year	Minimum hours of CPE within a 3-year registration
Standard	10 hours	90 hours
Conditional: Australian financial services	7 hours	60 hours
Conditional: Quantity surveying	2 hours	6 hours
Conditional: Fuel tax credit specialty	2 hours	6 hours
Any other condition	5 hours	45 hours

No more than 25 percent of CPE should be undertaken through relevant technical or professional reading.
Please click the link below to understand which CPE activities are considered appropriate under TPB’s policy: https://www.tpb.gov.au/cpe-activities

BAS Agents

The Training and Development year commences on registration date.
A list of different CPE requirements based on types of BAS agent registration:

Type of BAS agent registration	Minimum hours of CPE each year	Minimum hours of CPE within a 3-year registration
Standard	5 hours	45 hours
Conditional: Fuel tax credit specialty	2 hours	6 hours

No more than 25 percent of CPE should be undertaken through relevant technical or professional reading.
Please click the link below to understand which CPE activities are considered appropriate under TPB’s policy: https://www.tpb.gov.au/cpe-activities

Tax (Financial) Advisers

The Training and Development year commences on registration date.
A list of different CPE requirements based on types of tax adviser registration:

Type of tax adviser agent registration	Minimum hours of CPE each year	Minimum hours of CPE within a 3-year registration
Standard	7 hours	60 hours
Condition	5 hours	45 hours

No more than 25 percent of CPE should be undertaken through relevant technical or professional reading.
Please click the link below to understand which CPE activities are considered appropriate under TPB’s policy: https://www.tpb.gov.au/cpe-activities

Source: Tax Practitioners Board (TPB)


Type of BAS agent registration	Minimum hours of CPE each year	Minimum hours of CPE within a 3-year registration
Standard	5 hours	45 hours
Conditional: Fuel tax credit specialty	2 hours	6 hours

Type of tax adviser agent registration	Minimum hours of CPE each year	Minimum hours of CPE within a 3-year registration
Standard	7 hours	60 hours
Condition	5 hours	45 hours

The Association of Taxation and Management Accountants (ATMT)

The Training and Development year commences on 1 July and ends on 30 June based on financial year.

A minimum of 40 hours of CPD must be undertaken over a financial year.

Below is a table which aims to summarize what will count as CPD:

Type of CPD	CPD points
All ATMA seminars, workshops and PD’s e.g. Public Practice Certificate workshop	Please refer to the CPD hours stated on the event brochure and/or certificate issued
Workshops, courses, seminars, discussion groups and PD’s held by other tax and accounting associations e.g. IPA, ICAA, CPA and the Taxation Institute of Australia	Please refer to the CPD hours stated on the event brochure and/or certificate issued
Studies taken for the purpose of preparing the student for a post-qualification specialisation e.g. taxation	1 point per hour
Courses run by an RTO, private establishment, TAFE or university that are relevant to the line of work	1 point per hour
Courses run by an employer for its staff (in-house training) in accountancy and related activities i.e. structured in house training on subject matters related to one’s work presented by a suitably qualified person	1 point per hour
Self-study, Distance Learning courses, audiotape, web based training or video tape packages which require participation by the member related to their work or are learning packages e.g. the Taxation Institute tax tape of taxation matters. This does not include the time a member takes to do a talk on radio on a particular subject matter	1 point per hour
Research for and writing of technical articles, papers or books related to the area of work	1 point per hour
Working as a lecturer, instructor or seminar paper on a structured course related to their area of work. This includes the research, preparation and presentation of lectures of a technical nature by non-academics. (repeats of the presentation are not counted)	3 point per hour
Conventions, Conferences and Congress gatherings. (Technical sessions only) They must be structured	1 point per hour
Service as a member of a technical committee of a Professional Body or individual firm	3 point per hour
Learning associated with the acquisition of new computer software i.e. software training	1 point per hour
Peer review of research, individual research including reading of technical publications related to areas of work	1 point per hour
An ATMA Quality Assurance Review undertaken	5 points
Attendance at appropriate Australian Taxation Office seminars and presentations According to the duration of the meeting not including travel time	1 point per hour
Mentoring under an approved program such as the CPA Program or ICAA Program	1 point per hour
Developmental activities, presented by experts under the auspices of institutions, reputable commercial educational establishments or other professional associations	1 point per hour

No more than 25 percent of CPE should be undertaken through relevant technical or professional reading.

Please click the link below to find more information on CPD areas that members must complete these relevant areas: https://www.atma.com.au/resources/what-counts-as-cpd/what-counts-as-cpd

Source: The Association of Taxation and Management Accountants (ATMT)

The National Tax and Accountants Association (NTAA)

There are no CPD requirements for membership, but for fellowship. If you apply for fellowship, please find below a brief summary of fellowship’s CPD requirements.

	Annual Requirements	Triennium Requirements
CPD Hours	A minimum of 10 hours must be completed	Structured	Unstructured
		67.5 (minimum)	22.5 (maximum)

At least 67.5 hours must refer to structured tax-specific professional development.

Source: The National Tax and Accountants Association (NTAA)

The Tax Institute (TTI)

The Training and Development year commences on 1 July and ends on 30 June based on membership year.
Based on membership types, there are different CPD requirements.

Membership Category	Membership CPD Requirements
CTAs	30 hours of structured tax-related CPD per annum
Fellows and Associates	30 hours of tax-related CPD per annum made up of 50% unstructured (15 hours) and 50% structured (15 hours)

A list of structured CPD activities that meet the requirements are:

Activity	CPD Hours	Maximum Hours per Year
Attendance at face-to-face seminars, conferences, conventions and workshops on tax-related subjects (run by The Tax Institute or equivalent CPD providers).	1 hour per hour of attendance	No maximum
Purchase and private study of recorded tax-related CPD event or other online learning packages via non-face-to-face mediums (CD, audio tape, CD-ROM, DVD, podcast etc.).	1 hour per hour of attendance	No maximum
Completion of The Tax Institute’s tax education program (Foundation Tax, Applied Tax or Advanced Tax).	30 hours of CPD	30 hours
Attendance at in-house training on tax-related subjects run by employers or other education providers.	1 hour per hour of training	No maximum
Preparation of papers and presentations for delivery at seminars, conferences, conventions, workshops, discussion groups or university courses.	1 hour per hour of preparation	No maximum
Presentation of papers at seminars, conferences, conventions, workshops, discussion groups or university courses.	1 hour per hour of preparation	No maximum
Attendance and participation in tax-related discussion groups.	1 hour per hour of attendance	No maximum
Writing articles that are published for tax-related journals, newsletters or other relevant publications (1,000-word minimum).	2 hours per article	No maximum
Member of relevant technical committee or technical sub-committee.	1/2 hour per hour of attendance and participation	3 points
Attendance through digital channels such as webinars or live streaming on tax-related subjects run by The Tax Institute or equivalent providers.	1 hour per hour of attendance	No maximum
Purchase and private study of online books with the online learning module on tax-related subjects provided by The Tax institute (or purchased as a package as part of Tax Knowledge exchange subscription).	2 – 5 points per book	5 points

Unstructured CPD includes activities such as reading your Taxation in Australia journal or attending a networking, social or tax community-building activity.

Source: The Tax Institute (TTI)

Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA)

New Entrants are required to hold an Approved Degree before they commence their Work and Training (Professional Year) requirement. They must be mid way through their Professional Year before they are eligible to sit the Financial Adviser exam and commence using the term Provisional Financial Adviser or Provisional Financial Planner.
Existing Advisers have until 1 January 2021, to pass the Financial Adviser Exam and until 1 January 2024, to reach an education standard equivalent to an Approved Degree.
The annual requirement for 40 hours Continuous Professional Development commenced on 1 January 2019. Provisional Financial Advisers will be required to undertake CPD after completion of their Professional Year.
The Code of Ethics will commence on 1 January 2020, with all Financial Advisers required to adhere to the Code from that day onwards.

New entrants will need to undertake this post professional year. Existing advisors will need to undertake this from 1 January 2019

40 CPD hours (incl. professional reading at 4 hours)
36 CPD hours for part-time with prior consent from Licensee
70% approved by licensee
Formal education capped at 30 hours CPD

CPD categories minimum hours

CPD category	Minimum CPD Hours per Year
Technical Competence	5
Client Care and Practice	5
Regulatory Compliance and Consumer Protection	5
Professionalism and Ethics	5
With the balance up to 40 hours consisting of qualifying CPD

Relevant provider returning >2 years career break is required to prepare a CPD plan for their first year that is approved by their Licensee
Templates will be available as guidance
Licensee must publish their CPD policy
Evidence collection and record keeping for 7 years
CPD requirements will align with Tax Practitioners Board requirements
Transition arrangements for 2019 will be pro-rated for licensees whose CPD year is not a calendar year

Source: FASEA