At the end of this year, the Australian Pharmacy Council (APC) will retire its Accreditation Standards for Continuing Professional Development Activities.
To ensure CPD activities can continue to be accredited, PSA is developing a brand new set of standards for Continuing Professional Development for pharmacists.
AP sat down with PSA’s CPD Manager, Chloe Tobin, to find out what this means for you.
Why is the CPD accreditation system changing?
The APC’s Accreditation Standards for Continuing Professional Development Activities will no longer be active from 31 December 2025. To ensure pharmacists can continue to access CPD which has been assessed for quality and reliability in education, PSA is in the process of developing a set of standards for CPD activities.
The aim of this change is to ensure pharmacists can continue accessing accredited CPD activities without having to assess for themselves whether an activity meets the Pharmacy Board of Australia’s requirements or is relevant to their practice.
What can pharmacists expect from PSA accredited CPD activities?
When a pharmacist selects PSA-accredited CPD activities, they can be confident the education they access is of high quality, upholds pharmacy practice standards, guidelines and ethics, and is free from commercial bias.
With the impending changes to CPD, will I need to do anything differently?
No. Following the retirement of the APC’s CPD standards, PSA’s standards will provide a seamless transition for pharmacists to new criteria for assessing CPD activities.
Can I still complete CPD activities accredited against the APC CPD Accreditation standards?
Yes. CPD activities which have been accredited against the current APC CPD Accreditation standards will remain accredited until their expiry date, or up until 31 December 2026 – whichever is earlier.
Will CPD activities still be worth the same number of credits?
At this stage, the Pharmacy Board of Australia’s CPD standard remains unchanged, so pharmacists will continue to accrue credits using the same ‘Group 1, Group 2, Group 3’ categories as they have when completing activities accredited against the current APC standards.
Can I still use the PSA CPD Planning Tool?
The PSA CPD Planning Tool will continue to be available to members to help identify professional development needs and create an annual CPD plan.
There will be no changes to the tool, and PSA-led activities will continue to be recorded automatically.
How far along is PSA in finalising the CPD standards?
Public consultation has closed for the PSA Standards for CPD for pharmacists.
The end of this consultation process marked the next step in finalising the new CPD standards, which PSA will use to assess the quality and applicability of education for pharmacists before accreditation.
We are currently incorporating feedback into the draft document ahead of seeking endorsement by the PSA Board next month.
What’s the feedback on PSA’s draft standards document so far?
During the consultation process, respondents have revealed that they value the concise and clear structure of the document, as well as the inclusion of guidance information. Stakeholders also expressed strong support for the standards’ focus on independence and practical applicability to pharmacy practice.
Where can I access more information?
Further details on PSA’s accredited CPD scheme will be available in January 2026, after publication of the new CPD standards in December.
Enquiries about the new standards and accreditation process can be directed to psaeducation@psa.org.au
