NMBA CPD requirements explained

Every nurse and midwife registered in Australia has to meet the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) continuing professional development (CPD) registration standard. When you renew your registration each year you declare that you have met it – and you may be asked to prove it in an audit. This guide walks through the requirements in plain English.

How many CPD hours do I need?

Under the NMBA standard, nurses and midwives who hold general registration must complete a minimum of 20 hours of CPD in each registration period (1 June to 31 May). The same minimum applies to enrolled nurses, registered nurses, nurse practitioners and midwives.

• Dual registration (nurse and midwife): you need CPD for each profession. Activities that are genuinely relevant to both can count towards both.
• Endorsements and notations: some endorsements (for example nurse practitioner or scheduled medicines endorsements) carry extra CPD expectations relating to that scope of practice – check the standard that applies to your endorsement.
• Non-practising registration: CPD is not required while you hold non-practising registration, but you will need to meet the recency of practice standard if you return.

What counts as CPD?

CPD is any learning activity that maintains, improves or broadens your knowledge, expertise and competence, and develops the personal and professional qualities you need in practice. One hour of active learning equals one hour of CPD. Examples that commonly count:

• in-service education, workshops and conferences
• online modules and webinars (when you actively engage, reflect and can show what you learned)
• post-graduate study, short courses and micro-credentials
• reading journal articles or clinical guidelines with written reflection
• journal clubs, case reviews and clinical supervision
• preparing and presenting education to colleagues
• mandatory training, when it is relevant to your practice and you document learning outcomes

What matters is not the format but the cycle: you identify a learning need, plan, do the activity, and then reflect on how it changes your practice.

The CPD cycle the NMBA expects

1. Identify and prioritise learning needs – based on your context of practice, feedback, incidents, new equipment or policies, and the NMBA standards for practice.
2. Plan – write down what you want to learn and which activities will get you there.
3. Participate – complete the activities.
4. Reflect and evaluate – record how the learning applies to your practice and what you will do differently.

What records do I need to keep?

Keep written documentation that shows each step of the cycle. A good CPD record includes:

The NMBA expects you to keep your CPD records for audit – keep them for at least five years and store certificates somewhere you can find them quickly. Our free CPD log lets you record these fields and print or export them.

What happens in an audit?

Ahpra and the NMBA randomly audit a proportion of practitioners each year. If you are selected you will be asked to provide evidence that you met the standards you declared at renewal – for CPD that means your learning plan, a record of activities and hours, and your reflections. Having everything in one log turns an audit from a stressful hunt into a short email.

Common mistakes

• Recording attendance only, with no reflection on how the learning changes practice.
• Counting time that was not active learning (breaks, travel, passive time).
• Choosing activities unrelated to your context of practice.
• Losing certificates when changing employers – keep your own copies, not just the employer's learning system.

Sources and further reading

• NMBA – Registration standard: Continuing professional development
• NMBA – Professional standards (codes, standards for practice)
• Ahpra – Registration renewals