From July 2010, it became a legal requirement for all doctors to take part in CPD in order to re-register each year.
The Medical Board of Australia requires all doctors to enrol in one of the specialist medical colleges’ CPD programmes in order to fulfil their CPD
obligations. All medical practitioners are asked to declare annually on renewal of registration that they have met the CPD standard set by the Medical Board. The Australian Medical Council is, by law, responsible for the accreditation of
education providers, as well as colleges which provide CPD programmes. The AMC has accredited 27 specialist medical colleges which each run CPD
schemes. The accreditation process is appears to be one of the most robust in the world.
65 Sweeping changes to the regulatory framework of doctors in Australia have occurred recently. Up until July 2010, more than 85 health profession boards in eight States and Territories were governed by 66 Acts of Parliament. Doctors were regulated on a state/territory-specific basis, and no uniform, national system of regulation or CPD was in place. The registration and regulation of medical practitioners, including specialists, ‘was governed by the relevant state and territory Acts which established medical boards in each of the individual jurisdictions.’93
In 2008, the Council of Australian Governments ‘agreed to establish both a single national registration board and a single national accreditation board for the
registration, education and training of health professionals.’94 The Medical Board of Australia was established under the Health Practitioner Regulation Act 2008 to be the national regulator of doctors. The Medical Board of Australia is a sub-
organisation of the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). The AHPRA oversees the regulation of all health professionals in Australia (Dental, Medical, Nursing and Midwifery, Optometry, Osteopathy, Pharmacy, Physiotherapy, Podiatry and Psychology).
From 1 July 2010, the National Law (the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act 2009) came into effect, meaning that every doctor practising medicine in
Australia had to be registered with the Medical Board of Australia, and has to renew their registration every year. It is also now a legal requirement for doctors to take part in CPD in order to re-register each year.
The Medical Board of Australia (MBA) has not issued as prescriptive advice on CPD requirement as the MCNZ has. Instead, the MBA has issued the following guidance: ‘CPD must include a range of activities to meet individual learning needs including practice-based reflective elements, such as clinical audit, peer-review or
performance appraisal, as well as participation in activities to enhance knowledge such as courses, conferences and online learning. CPD programs of medical colleges accredited by the Australian Medical Council (AMC) meet these requirements.’95 All practising doctors who are not in training are advised to enrol on a college CPD scheme.
All medical practitioners are asked to declare annually on renewal of registration that they have met the CPD standard set by the MBA:
66 This declaration will be subject to audit, which will require a doctor to submit all their CPD to the MBA. The percentage of doctors to be audited has not yet been publicised. Doctors must ensure that their CPD activities are recorded, either by keeping records themselves or by using college systems, such as online CPD accounts.
According to the MBA guidance, ‘a failure to comply with this CPD standard is a breach of the legal requirements for registration and may constitute behaviour for which health, conduct or performance action may be taken.’96
Australian Medical Council accreditation
Under the Health Practitioner Act, the Australian Medical Council is responsible for the accreditation of education providers, as well as colleges which provide CPD programmes. The AMC has accredited 27 specialist medical colleges which each run CPD schemes. The AMC takes a very active accreditation role. For example, in 2011, the AMC is reaccrediting, amongst others, the College of Intensive Care Medicine of Australia and New Zealand, the Australasian College of Sports Physicians, the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists.
The AMC accreditation process includes both formal accreditation (validating that standards are met) and also peer review of CPD programme providers. During a peer review process, AMC expert assessment teams examine CPD programmes against standards set by the Council. The standards define the knowledge, skills and professional attributes expected at the end of CPD training. Training organisations that meet AMC standards are granted accreditation.
67 Under the Councils’ standards, the CPD programmes must be based on self-directed learning and the provider must assist participants to maintain and develop
knowledge, skills and attitudes essential for meeting the changing needs of patients and the health care delivery system. The CPD programme provider must determines the formal structure of the CPD program in consultation with stakeholders, and must take into account the requirements of authorities such as the MBA and the MCCNZ. The CPD programme providers should have processes and criteria in place for assessing and recognising external CME providers and/or the individual CME activities.
CME should be based on educational quality, the use of appropriate educational methods and resources, and take into consideration feedback from participants. The CPD programme provider must document the recognised CPD activities of
participants in a systematic and transparent way, and must monitor participation. Finally, the CPD programme provider must ensure there are mechanisms to allow doctors who are not its fellows to access relevant continuing professional
68