Last year one in 10 GPs relied on it, but there’ll be no leniency this time around…

GPs who were hoping for some extra time to complete their CPD requirements are out of luck, the Medical Board has confirmed.

Last year 12% of GPs were unable to finish their CPD within the calendar year, and were taking advantage of the grace period that allowed them to count activities undertaken right up until the end of March, a February Healthed survey of 2451 respondents showed.

That figure was even higher for rural and regional GPs—with 15% and 14% of them needing the grace period, respectively, compared with 9% of metropolitan GPs.

Older GPs were also disproportionately impacted by the increased requirements with 18% of those aged 75 or older failing to meet the original allotted timeframe, and using the grace period instead.

However, that won’t be an option for this year, the RACGP has warned.

“The Medical Board of Australia has been clear there will not be any grace period – you must complete all 2024 CPD requirements this year,” the RACGP’s acting head of CPD Maria Fraser told members in an email on Thursday. “You will however be able to finalise recording your completed 2024 CPD up until 28 February 2025.”

She further clarified that if you watch a webinar or attend a workshop before December 31, you have until the end of February to log it. But if you watch or attend a CPD activity in January, it will have to count toward your 2025 CPD.
 
“The RACGP recognises that this change may be significant for members who have used a grace period at the end of each CPD reporting cycle, to ensure you met the previous period’s CPD requirements,” she added.

So far this year 14% of GPs have completed their CPD — but the vast majority (69%) have yet to do their professional development plan, which was intended to be done at the start of the year to guide learning goals, according to another Healthed survey earlier this month which polled more than 1900 GPs.

If you’re curious how much progress your colleagues have made on their CPD this year, check out the survey results here.