CPD Requirements for Locum Doctors in 2025: What You Need to Know

Continuing one’s professional development is an essential and mandatory part of being a medical practitioner. As a locum, it is even more crucial to keep on top of this as you will be across multiple different hospitals and specialities. Prior to 2023, locum doctors could meet their CPD obligations using a ‘self documentation’ method. This involved, if audited, having to detail how you met the 50 hours of CPD throughout the year. However, this was often poorly done (or not at all). As of 1st Jan 2023, the Australian Medical Council (AMC) have put forward new requirements for CPD in order to create a consistent framework for all doctors, including locums. 

CPD Requirements 2023

The new Registration Standard, effective from 1st January 2023, mandates that medical practitioners must:

• Complete a minimum of 50 hours of CPD activities per year 
• Create a yearly written Professional Development Plan (PDP) 
• Join a “CPD Home” accredited by the Medical Board of Australia (MBA) by 1st January 2024

What is a CPD Home?

A CPD Home is an organisation, accredited by the (AMC), that provides CPD programs for medical practitioners. Here is a list of approved CPD homes:

https://www.medicalboard.gov.au/professional-performance-framework/CPD/about-cpd-homes.aspx

Most of these homes are with training colleges, however as locums are usually not with a college there are limited homes for us to join. 

To help locum doctors find a cheap and effective CPD home, StatDoctor has partnered with AMA CPD home for an exclusive 10% discount.

AMA CPD Home:

• At just $220/yr it is the cheapest CPD home in Australia
• It is college independent
• Verified and compliant with AHPRA

The Importance of a (Professional Development Plan) PDP:

A PDP is a written document outlining a medical practitioner’s learning goals related to their current or intended scope of practice, along with strategies to achieve these goals. The PDP involves self-evaluation, reflection on learning progress and planning CPD activities for the upcoming year. CPD Homes may provide templates or structures for constructing PDPs, but specific requirements can vary slightly with each Home.

CPD Activity Time Requirements:

The 50 hours of annual CPD should be distributed across three different CPD activities:

• Education – minimum of 12.5 hours annually 
• Reviewing performance and measuring outcomes – minimum of 25 hours annually, with a minimum of five hours in each category 
• Remaining 12.5 hours – allocation to any type of CPD activity of the medical practitioner’s choice 

These requirements are harder for locums than they might seem. This is because as you are not a formal employee, hospitals have no obligation to include you in their education or mentoring when you are at work.  

The best way to help meet these requirements is to organise your CPD Home as soon as possible. Then whilst working across different hospitals try to get involved in as much teaching as possible and document it in your CPD home. If you’re struggling to meet the requirements, offer to do teaching or attend courses throughout the year.