Continuing professional development for builders and swimming pool builders

Individuals licensed as a builder or swimming pool builder under the Home Building Act 1989 are required to complete Continuing Professional Development (CPD) each year as a condition of licence renewal.

Organisations planning to offer CPD activities should also read the following information. Building Commission NSW cannot and does not endorse any provider of training and/or CPD.

The features of the current CPD program are explained below. 

CPD requirements for licence or certificate holders

To renew your building or swimming pool building licence or certificate as an individual, you must complete 12 points of CPD activity each year to renew your licence or certificate.

The points structure and requirements of the CPD program are set out in the Commissioners guidelines for builders continuing professional development.

Eligible CPD activities

It’s up to you to choose the learning that suits you and your business. The cost of learning will depend on the activities you choose and any money spent on CPD could be tax deductible if it’s a work related expense.

Keeping up to date with CPD topics

Any CPD activity completed by builders and pool builders must be relevant to one of the 8 CPD topic areas listed below, with possible subjects under each topic. This is not an exhaustive list; they are just examples of what you might like to learn about.

Technical issues

• Ceramic tiling code
• Pebble creting
• Waterproofing
• Strip timber flooring
• Sealing of timber doors
• Aspects of multi-storey construction
• Masonry code

Sustainability

• BASIX
• Waste management
• Green building
• Water management
• Accessible buildings

Compliance

• Applying the building code of Australia
• The Home Building Act
• Home Building Compensation Fund obligations

Communication

• Customer service
• Mediation and negotiation
• Quality of advice
• Concepts of fairness and reasonableness

Dispute resolution

• Avoiding misrepresentation
• True and false representations

Contracts

• Contract terms

Safety

• Asbestos removal
• Other hazardous materials
• Working on roofs

Business management

• Computer skills
• Project management & supervision
• Running a business
• Time management

Accessing CPD courses remotely

The CPD requirements are very flexible and allow a wide range of learning activities besides face-to-face training courses, to count towards CPD points.

Some registered training providers offer regional CPD courses and various industry bodies, and training providers provide training via flexible delivery (correspondence/online content).

For example, on-the-job learning, attending conferences and seminars, watching training videos and online learning can all count as CPD. The special needs of the industry, access for people in regional areas and for people with disability were taken into consideration when the Guidelines were developed.

Checking if a training provider is legitimate/ accredited

The Australian Government Your Career website is Australia’s vocational education and training database. It provides a search and browse function that allows users to find specific Training Packages, Qualifications, Courses, Units of Competency and Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) that provide training in one or many states.

CPD record keeping for builders and pool builders

You must keep a diary record of how you met your CPD obligations, including documentary proof of your participation wherever possible. To assist you keep track of your CPD activities, Fair Trading has developed a CPD diary.

If you participated in any face-to-face CPD activity the person or organisation providing the learning must give you a Record of Attendance containing:

1. Your name, contact details and NSW Fair Trading licence or certificate number
2. Title of the course/event/activity/training and the CPD topic area covered
3. Course code (if any)
4. Date, time and place of the course/event/activity/training
5. Duration of the course/event/activity/training
6. Type of assessment (if applicable)
7. Name of the trainer and organisation
8. CPD points earned.

If you watch a training video you can still prove you have been spending time on a CPD activity by making a diary entry. You should record of the name of the video, the subject matter, the length and the date you watched it.

Retaining CPD records

It’s your responsibility to keep records of your CPD. You are not required to send these records to Building Commission NSW, but you should retain them for 3 licence renewal periods in case you are audited by Building Commission NSW.

If you participated in formal learning for 2 points per hour, you should receive a Qualification, or Statement of Attainment/Achievement/Attendance specifying what has been assessed. 

If you attend a course or event and don’t receive evidence that you attended, you should ask the training provider or organiser to provide this information. If they are unwilling or unable to provide sufficient evidence and they promoted the activity as a CPD activity, contact Building Commission NSW.

Declaring CPD points for licence renewals

Every time you renew your licence as a builder or swimming pool builder you must declare if you have achieved the required number of CPD points to retain your licence.

As renewals are issued at least 6 weeks prior to expiry of the licence or certificate, you must make sure you make every effort to comply. If you make an application to renew or restore your licence and you have not complied with the CPD points requirement, your application will be refused.

Contractor licence holders whose renewal or restoration application is refused are entitled to a partial refund of the fee paid (minus a fixed processing component).

Certificate holders whose renewal or restoration application is refused are not entitled to a refund.

If your application is refused you will no longer hold your licence or certificate.

Auditing of CPD declarations

Building Commission NSW audits CPD declarations by the following methods:

• requesting that you supply your supporting documents, receipts, academic transcripts etc
• cross checking this information with training providers.

We conduct audits on both a regular and random basis.

Seeking exemptions from CPD requirements

In extenuating circumstances the Secretary may exempt a licensee or certificate holder from completing part or all of the requirements for continuing professional development. Circumstances for granting an exemption are limited to serious illness or misadventure.

To be considered for an exemption you are required to complete a CPD Request for Exemption form.

You must provide this form, and all relevant supporting evidence in respect to the exemption request, at the time of making your renewal or restoration application in person at Service NSW or a Government Access Centre. If you fail to provide this information and declare that you have not met your CPD obligations, your application will be refused.

Any exemption granted is in respect of the term of the licence or certificate up until the licence expiry date.

Any future renewal will still require compliance with CPD. At the time of the next renewal, should extenuating circumstances still exist and you still seek an exemption, a new request must be made with your renewal.

CPD delivery for training providers

Learning activities that earn 1 point per hour can be delivered by any training provider. This learning earns 1 point per hour. Training providers must comply with the Guidelines if they market or represent CPD points.

Broad learning areas and compulsory topics for CPD activities

While training providers will make a commercial decision about the CPD activities they wish to conduct, they should understand the requirements set out in the Guidelines.

The Guidelines contain the broad learning areas that activities must fall within to be eligible as CPD. Training providers should also be aware that from time to time the Secretary can pick subjects as compulsory topics. These learning areas and topics will be reviewed each year.

The broad learning areas and compulsory topics are developed by an Industry Consultative Reference Group and recommended to the Secretary.

If compulsory topics have been specified for CPD, they have priority over broad learning areas.

Where there are no compulsory topics, the licence or certificate holder can choose from the list of broad learning areas.

Best practice advertising for CPD activities

Best practice information that should be included in advertising and marketing:

1. Name of the CPD activity
2. The broad learning area the activity relates to
3. Indicate the participant that the activity is relevant for (builder or swimming pool builder)
4. Indicate the learning category and whether any assessment is involved
5. Indicate the number of CPD points the participant would be entitled to claim.

Documentation for training participants to show they have completed a CPD activity with a training provider

You should provide participants with a record of attendance. It should contain:

1. The participant's name, contact details and their licence or certificate number
2. Title of the course/event/activity/training which also identifies the broad learning area covered
3. Course code (if any)
4. Date, time and place of the course/event/activity/training
5. Duration of the course/event/activity/training
6. Type of assessment (if applicable)
7. Name of the trainer and training provider organisation
8. Points earned.

Participants should keep a diary of their CPD activities.

Complying with nominal hour requirements for distance education

As a training provider you should have some mechanism in place that allows you to estimate the length of time it would take a learner to read and comprehend material and complete any set assignments required.

Accordingly, a training provider would probably need to trial or test online learning products or validate the assessment process and base their timeframes on the outcome of the trial or testing.

Although all participants learn at a different rate, timeframes should be based on the number of hours required by the average participant to be able to learn and/or achieve competency in the topic or unit.

Large organisations that provide regular training programs for staff

Training programs can be included in CPD, as long as they fall within the relevant topic areas. This will usually earn 1 point per hour. If the training is delivered by a Registered Training Organisation and forms part of a qualification from a national Training Package, and includes assessment, it will earn 2 CPD points per hour.

CPD contacts

If you need help finding CPD activities, contact an industry association or an organisation that delivers builder training. Go to the building industry links and contacts page to find a list of industry associations.

Or go to the Your Career website to find registered training organisations.