2025 Continuing Professional Development Program
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The Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (RCPA) Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Program is a requirement of membership for all registered specialists in active medical or dental practice in Australia or New Zealand in the following RCPA membership classes:
- RCPA Fellows
- Specialist International Medical Graduates (SIMGs) who are undertaking at least a calendar year quarter (three months) of peer review practice to meet the requirements of their training determination to become a Fellow
- RCPA Faculty Fellows who are registered to practice, and
- RCPA Affiliates.
Other RCPA members who are not currently practicing are encouraged to participate in the CPD Program, this includes:
- RCPA Faculty Fellows who are not registered to practice with the relevant body in their country of domicile
- RCPA Trainees (including SIMGs required to undertake training and pass an examination) who are documenting their education in a training portal[1]
- RCPA Associate members, and
- Specialist International Medical Graduate (SIMG)/Area of Need (AON) doctors undertaking training to become Fellows.
The RCPA CPD Program meets the CPD requirements of the:
- Medical Board of Australia as an Australian Medical Council (AMC)-accredited CPD Home
- Medical Council of New Zealand
- Dental Board of Australia
- Dental Council of New Zealand
See Appendix A for an overview of CPD requirements for each of these registration bodies.
The RCPA annually reports CPD Program compliance to the Australian Health Practitioner Registration Agency (Ahpra) Medical Board of Australia and the Medical Council of New Zealand (MCNZ). RCPA members registered to practice with the Medical Board of Australia and MCNZ do not need to undertake additional CPD reporting to these bodies.
RCPA members registered for practice with other registration bodies must follow those bodies’ requirements regarding CPD reporting.
2025 Annual CPD Program requirements
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CPD Program Cycle
The CPD Program cycle follows the calendar year (January to December). Program requirements commence in the quarter after a participant’s admission and are calculated based on the remaining quarters of that year. For example, if admitted in May, requirements begin in July and 50% of the annual requirements apply, distributed equally across all CPD categories.
CPD Program Cycle & Key Dates
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CPD Submissions
- CPD Program participants are encouraged to enter CPD activities into the RCPA CPD portal as soon as the activity is completed.
- Due to compliance and reporting requirements with registration bodies, the annual submission method will be phased out at the end of the 2025 CPD cycle.
- Completed RCPA-endorsed CPD activities are automatically entered into the CPD Program participant’s CPD portal.
- All materials uploaded to the RCPA CPD portal will be retained confidentially and securely in accordance with the RCPA Privacy Policy and participants may request removal of their personal information at any time.
[1] Should an RCPA Trainee choose to participate in the RCPA CPD Program (noting it is not mandatory), they are able to enter activities undertaken as part of their training in both the training portal, as well as the RCPA CPD portal.