The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) is seeking feedback on proposed changes to recency of practice (ROP) and continuing professional development (CPD) registration standards.
Fourteen National Boards – including the Optometry Board but excluding the Medical Board of Australia – are taking part in this review, which seeks to ensure that standards align across healthcare professions.
Health practitioners must meet recency of practice and CPD standards to renew their registration. The revised standards propose that practitioners must complete:
- 150 hours of practice in the past year or 450 hours of practice in the past three years,
- 20 hours of CPD every year, including five hours of interactive CPD,
- 10 extra hours of CPD for practitioners with additional technical or profession-specific skills, such as a scheduled medicines endorsement, and
- CPD that helps improve patient outcomes and draws on available evidence.
The proposals would have a relatively modest direct impact on optometry compared with several other professions as optometry already is aligned with most of the proposals.
The biggest direct change for optometrists is likely the proposed removal of mandatory cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)/first aid/anaphylaxis training
First Aid Requirements
The biggest direct change for optometrists is likely the proposed removal of mandatory cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)/first aid/anaphylaxis training.
Current CPD registration standards for chiropractors, optometrists, osteopaths and podiatrists require completion of these first aid requirements; healthcare professions covered by other National Boards do not.
“While first aid/CPR training may be relevant to many practitioners’ practice, National Boards recognise that requiring all practitioners to maintain a resuscitation/first aid certificate as a minimum requirement for renewal of registration imposes a regulatory burden in cost and time that may not be equally relevant to all practitioners practising in the profession,” the Ahpra consultation paper explains.
The Optometry Board is specifically seeking feedback about the proposed approach to remove mandatory first aid/CPR training requirements from the CPD standard, in alignment with other professions.
The Ahpra consultation paper is available online. Submissions are being sought with a closing date of 17 July 2026.
