Ethics CPD Requirements for Australian Nurses & Midwives in 2026: AHPRA Renewal Guide

Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia CPD Requirements at a Glance

The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia's CPD registration standard, which came into effect in 2023, requires all registered nurses and midwives to complete a minimum of 50 CPD hours per registration year. The registration year runs from 1 October to 30 September, aligning with AHPRA's annual renewal cycle.

The 50 hours must include activities from each of three recognised categories:

Activity Type	Minimum Required	Examples
Educational activities	At least 12.5 hours	Online courses, conferences, seminars, workshops, journal reading
Outcome-measured activities	At least 25 hours	Clinical audit, case review, peer review, quality improvement projects
Reviewing performance	At least 12.5 hours	Multi-source feedback, patient experience surveys, performance review

Ethics and professionalism courses sit within the educational activities category. Online ethics courses that include a formal assessment and issue a certificate of completion provide the documentation required to claim the hours and support an AHPRA audit if one occurs.

Australian nurses and midwives can browse the full range of professional ethics courses available for Australian nurses and midwives that count toward renewal requirements.

The CPD Home Requirement: What It Means for Nurses and Midwives

One of the most significant changes introduced under the 2023 CPD registration standard is the requirement for all registered nurses and midwives to have a CPD home. A CPD home is a recognised organisation, typically a medical college, specialist association, or other AHPRA-approved body, that provides a structured CPD program and takes responsibility for verifying a nurse or midwife's CPD compliance at renewal.

Having a CPD home is a condition of registration. At renewal, nurses and midwives must declare their CPD home and confirm that they have met the requirements of that home's program. Their CPD home then independently verifies this with AHPRA. Practitioners without a CPD home, or who have not met their CPD home's requirements, cannot renew their registration.

Different CPD homes may have requirements that exceed the Board's minimum of 50 hours, or may specify particular activity types within their programs. Ethics and professionalism activities are generally recognised across CPD homes as legitimate educational activities. Always check your specific CPD home's requirements in addition to the Board's minimum standard.

Ethics and Professionalism as CPD: How They Count

Ethics and professionalism are explicitly recognised within the NMBA's CPD framework as legitimate educational activities. A structured online ethics course that includes a formal assessment and issues a certificate of completion is a recognised educational activity under the standard, and the hours spent completing it are claimable as CPD hours against the 12.5-hour educational activities minimum.

The practical value of ethics CPD extends well beyond the renewal checkbox. For nurses and midwives who have received an AHPRA notification, are subject to conditions on their registration, or are preparing for a Performance and Professional Standards Panel hearing, ethics CPD completed before or during the regulatory process provides concrete, documented evidence of professional engagement. The NMBA and state tribunals consistently regard structured professional development as relevant to assessing the regulatory response to a matter and the nurse or midwife's insight into what occurred.

For nurses and midwives renewing without any regulatory concerns, ethics CPD demonstrates ongoing engagement with the professional standards that underpin safe and ethical practice. Given that AHPRA audits approximately 5-10% of practitioners after each renewal cycle, having well-documented CPD records including ethics activities provides a straightforward audit response.

Tracking and Submitting Your CPD Record

Under the current system, nurses and midwives do not submit CPD records directly to AHPRA at renewal. Instead, they declare their CPD compliance and their CPD home verifies that declaration. However, AHPRA may audit your CPD records after renewal, at which point you will need to provide evidence of the activities you declared.

Best practice for CPD record-keeping includes:

• Keeping contemporaneous records. Record each CPD activity as you complete it, including the date, duration, activity type, and category. Do not rely on memory at renewal time.
• Retaining all certificates and documentation. For online courses, save the completion certificate. For conferences, retain your registration confirmation and attendance record. For clinical audit or peer review activities, retain a record of the activity and its outcomes.
• Recording learning outcomes. The NMBA's standard requires that CPD activities are relevant to your practice and contribute to improving patient outcomes. Recording a brief note about what you learned and how it applies to your practice strengthens your CPD records if audited.
• Using your CPD home's recording system. Most CPD homes provide an online portal for recording and tracking CPD activities. Using this system ensures your records are in the format your CPD home expects when verifying your compliance at renewal.

AHPRA Audit Process and Consequences of Non-Compliance

AHPRA conducts CPD audits of a proportion of registered practitioners after each annual renewal period. Selection for audit is largely random, though practitioners who have previously had compliance issues may be audited more frequently. Being audited does not indicate that AHPRA has concerns about your compliance, it is a standard quality assurance process.

If selected for audit, you will receive a notification from AHPRA requesting evidence of the CPD activities you declared. You will typically have a specified period to provide this evidence. Acceptable evidence includes certificates of completion for online courses, attendance records for conferences or workshops, documentation of clinical audit or quality improvement activities, and records from your CPD home's portal.

The consequences of failing an audit depend on the nature and extent of the non-compliance. Minor discrepancies may result in a requirement to complete additional CPD. More serious non-compliance, particularly where a nurse or midwife declared CPD hours that were not completed, may result in conditions on registration, referral to the NMBA for assessment, or in cases involving deliberate misrepresentation, more serious regulatory action.

Choosing Ethics Courses That Count Toward Your Renewal

Not all online courses are created equal in terms of CPD credibility. When selecting ethics courses to count toward your AHPRA renewal, look for the following:

• A formal assessment component. Courses that include a knowledge assessment and require a pass mark to obtain the certificate demonstrate that learning has occurred, not just that the content was accessed. AHPRA auditors and CPD home verifiers look for evidence of engaged learning, not just access.
• A certificate of completion with specific details. The certificate should identify the course title, the provider, the date of completion, the hours claimed, and the practitioner's name. Generic certificates without these details are less useful as CPD evidence.
• Content relevant to your practice. The NMBA's CPD standard requires activities to be relevant to your scope of practice. Ethics and professionalism courses written specifically for Australian nurses and midwives, covering AHPRA standards and the NMBA's Code of Conduct, satisfy this relevance requirement directly.
• An identifiable provider. The course provider should be identifiable and reputable. AHPRA auditors assess the credibility of CPD providers when evaluating submitted evidence.

Key Regulatory Resources for Australian Nurses & Midwives on CPD

• Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia, The National Board responsible for CPD registration standards for Australian nurses and midwives. The NMBA's website includes the current CPD registration standard, guidance on CPD homes, and information on the annual renewal process.
• Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA), Administers the registration and renewal process, including CPD audits. AHPRA's website includes guidance on the renewal declaration process and what to expect if audited.
• Avant Mutual, One of Australia's principal medical defence organisations, providing professional development resources and medico-legal support for Australian nurses and midwives.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many CPD hours do Australian nurses and midwives need each year?

The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia's CPD registration standard requires a minimum of 50 CPD hours per registration year (1 October to 30 September). These must include at least 12.5 hours of educational activities, at least 25 hours of outcome-measured activities, and at least 12.5 hours reviewing performance. Ethics and professionalism courses count within the educational activities category.

Is ethics CPD mandatory for Australian nurses and midwives?

Ethics and professionalism are recognised as legitimate CPD activity types under the NMBA's standard, but there is no fixed minimum number of ethics-specific hours for most nurses and midwives. Practitioners under AHPRA conditions or preparing for regulatory proceedings are frequently required or advised to complete structured ethics CPD as part of their remediation. Completing ethics CPD proactively demonstrates ongoing engagement with professional standards.

What is a CPD home for Australian nurses and midwives?

A CPD home is a recognised nursing association, college, or AHPRA-approved body that provides a structured CPD program and verifies a nurse or midwife's CPD compliance at renewal. Having a CPD home is a condition of registration under the NMBA's current standard. Your CPD home's requirements may exceed the Board's 50-hour minimum, so always check both.

When is the AHPRA registration renewal period for nurses and midwives?

AHPRA registration renewal for most nurses and midwives occurs on 30 September each year, with registration covering the period 1 October to 30 September. The CPD year aligns with this cycle. Practitioners declare CPD compliance at renewal, and their CPD home verifies this declaration with AHPRA.

What happens if AHPRA audits my CPD records?

If selected for audit, you will be required to provide evidence of the CPD activities you declared, including certificates of completion, attendance records, or documentation of clinical activities. Approximately 5-10% of practitioners are audited after each renewal. Failing to provide adequate evidence can result in conditions on registration. Keeping contemporaneous records and retaining all certificates is essential.

Do online ethics courses count toward AHPRA CPD for nurses and midwives?

Yes. Online self-directed learning is a recognised educational activity under the NMBA's CPD registration standard. Online ethics courses that include an assessment and issue a certificate of completion provide the documentation needed to support your CPD declaration. The hours claimed should reflect actual time spent on the course.

Can ethics CPD completed during an AHPRA notification help my regulatory outcome?

Yes, significantly. Ethics CPD completed proactively during an AHPRA notification process demonstrates genuine engagement with professional standards and provides concrete evidence of insight and remediation. Including completion certificates with your written response provides the NMBA with documented evidence that goes beyond words. Tribunals and the Board consistently regard structured professional development as relevant to assessing regulatory outcomes.

What CPD activity types count toward the NMBA's requirements?

The NMBA recognises three activity types: educational activities (courses, conferences, online learning), outcome-measured activities (clinical audits, case review, quality improvement), and reviewing performance (multi-source feedback, patient surveys). Ethics courses count as educational activities. At least 25 hours must be outcome-measured, at least 12.5 must be educational, and at least 12.5 must be reviewing performance.