Recency of practice (RoP) requirements
Recency of practice requirements vary depending on years since degree completion, Provisional or Full certification and years since completing the Return to practice (Re-entry) program.
To find out more click here.
Return to Practice (Re-entry) Members
After successful completion of the Return to Practice (Re-entry) program, members have four years to accrue a minimum of 200 speech pathology practice hours. By five years post program completion members must have met the minimum 1000 practice hour requirement to be eligible for CPSP status.
What is Continuing Professional Development?
The Association describes CPD as a lifelong learning process and a means by which speech pathologists maintain, improve, and enhance their skills and knowledge and develop the professional attributes required throughout their careers.
CPD is an integral component in the provision of safe, effective, culturally responsive, and evidence-based services for the benefit of service users and communities.
CPD occurs when undertaking activities relevant to the role or context of the speech pathologist that strengthen current knowledge or provide new or enhanced learning.
What is a CPD hour of learning?
An ‘hour of learning’ is an hour of CPD in which a speech pathologist refreshes their existing skills or knowledge or gains new skills or knowledge that will benefit their practice. This may not necessarily align with the time spent participating in a CPD event. For example, you attend a 2.5-hour workshop and find that 30 minutes of the workshop covered familiar material during which time your current skills or knowledge were not enhanced, and you did not learn anything new. You claim 2 hours of learning. If the entire 2.5-hour workshop resulted in new or enhanced learning and you write a reflection afterwards that takes 30 minutes, you can claim 3 hours of learning.
What is professional support?
Professional support is a broad term that refers to the support provided to practitioners to assist them to develop the quality of their work, productivity, and safety and confidence to practice. This may include supervision and mentoring, but also a range of other partnerships designed to support the development of speech pathology and professional skills, abilities, and knowledge (Winstanley & White, 2003). Types of professional support partnerships could include supervision, mentoring, peer supervision, peer support, communities of practice and coaching.
Professional support can be provided by an experienced speech pathologist or another professional with expertise in the clinical or professional area in which support is needed.
A professional support partnership would include discussion and agreement about the role of participants, relevant terms, expectations and learning goals. This would be documented and shared between participants. Speech pathologists are encouraged to maintain a record of meetings, including goals, and a reflection on outcomes.
What is cultural learning?
Video presentation by the Association's Senior Advisor, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Strategy and Practice on cultural learning and certification.
Cultural learning refers to learning that aims to support culturally responsive and safe practice when working alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and communities
To find out more and view the video click here
Recording Continuing Professional Development
Speech pathologists are required to keep their CPD records and evidence of CPD activities for 2 years in case of selection for a certification audit.
Certification Audits
Speech Pathology Australia conducts audits to offer assurance to employers, the public and other stakeholders that Certified Practising speech pathologists are meeting the specified requirements. As a member of the National Alliance of Self-Regulating Health Professions (NASRHP), Speech Pathology Australia is required to audit 5% of Certified Practising members per year and must audit both CPD and RoP requirements.
The focus of the audits is to confirm that speech pathologists have met the minimum requirements for certification.
Selection for audit is random. Members will be notified by email and SMS if they have been selected.
Certified Practising speech pathologists can fail a Certification audit if they:
- do not submit required documents by the due date.
- have not met the CPD requirements and/or
- have not met the RoP requirements.
Speech pathologists have 14 days to appeal the decision.
If a speech pathologist fails an audit, they cease to be eligible for CPSP status and the associated entitlements, until another audit confirms that the certification requirements have been met.