Revised standards and CPD guidelines for pharmacists published today

30 Oct 2015

The Pharmacy Board of Australia (the Board) has today published revised registration standards for pharmacists.

Revised registration standards

To supplement the requirements set out in the revised CPD standard, the Board has also published revised Guidelines on continuing professional development (CPD guidelines).

Revised guidelines and Summary of changes

The revised standards and CPD guidelines come into effect on 1 December and will replace the standards and guidelines that are currently in place. Pharmacists holding general registration will need to meet the obligations of the revised CPD and RoP standards by the next registration renewal period on 30 November 2016.

Changes to the revised standards and guidelines are minor and expected to have limited impact on pharmacists. These are detailed in a summary of changes document above. Some of the changes include:

• introduction of a requirement that all pharmacists develop a CPD plan to assist in identification of areas in need of further development (in the revised CPD standard), and
• inclusion of an additional option for applicants to meet the minimum practice requirements (150 hours during the previous 12 months, in addition to the current option of 450 hours during the previous three years) (in the revised RoP standard).

The revised standards and CPD guidelines also contain additional detail to facilitate pharmacists’ understanding of the minimum requirements, including the consequences if a pharmacist does not meet the requirements. Clearer wording and structure have been used to make the requirements easier to understand.

Revised FAQ on CPD, an Intern pharmacist and preceptor guide and FAQ for pharmacy interns and preceptors will also be published on the Board’s website in the coming weeks, which will provide further guidance for pharmacists and interns, to assist them in complying with the Board’s requirements.

The revised standards were approved by the Australian Health Workforce Ministerial Council on 27 August 2015 and were part of a scheduled review of standards. A public consultation was held as part of the review. National Boards today published consultation reports providing a summary of the consultation processes, rationale for any changes and proposed way forward, including areas where further work is planned. The submissions to the public consultation are published on the past consultations page.

A revised PII arrangements standard will be published on the Board’s website soon, which will be in effect from early 2016.

Additional resources

The following additional resources about the revised standards are available on the AHPRA website. 

• Letters of approval
• consultation reports:
  • Continuing professional development registration standard
  • Recency of practice registration standard
  • Professional indemnity insurance arrangements registration standard
• common FAQs and timetable for commencement