CPD stands for Contiuing Professional Development. Two professions that require CPD are Lawyers and Engineers.
LAWYERS
Practitioners are required under the Legal Professions Act 2007 s231 and Queensland Law Society Administration Rule 2005 pt 6 complete a minimum of 10 CPD points each year to maintain there practising certificate, stay up to date with legislation changes and the evolution of the business of law in their practise.
With reference to the Queensland Law Society website, practitioners can gain CPD points by attending
- Seminers and Conferences
- Reading articles in law journals and other legal publications, and
- Become a member of the QLS.
ENGINEERS
Engineers that are qualified within Australia are required to the CPD national policies General Regulations 2016 div 3.
For engineers to mee the CPD requirements they must record 150 hours of completed CPD over a period of 3 years. If howevr they are working part-time or have had extended leave then the period is spread over 5 years.
The 150 hours is spread out across:-
- 50 hours relating to the area of practise,
- 10 hours of risk management,
- 15 hours of addressing business and management skills, and lastly
- Remaining hours are covered by the relevant interest and caree of the practitioner.
By Lara Hodson
References:
- Professional Engineers. (2019). Professional Development – Professional Engineers. [online] Available at: http://www.professionalengineers.org.au/rpeng/professional-development/#1487801979292-6cc45817-938a [Accessed 18 Aug. 2019].
- Qls.com.au. (2019). Continuing professional development (CPD) — Queensland Law Society. [online] Available at: https://www.qls.com.au/For_the_profession/Your_legal_career/Continuing_professional_development_CPD [Accessed 18 Aug. 2019].
- Engineersaustralia.org.au. (2019). Continuing Professional Development | CPD | Engineers Australia. [online] Available at: https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/Training-And-Development/Continuing-Professional-Development [Accessed 18 Aug. 2019].
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