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Profession-specific course

Professionalism and Professional Standards for Doctors in Australia

Good Medical Practice, CPD and Conduct Expectations for Medical Practitioners

  • 2 CPD hoursEstimated learning time
  • 15-question assessmentPass mark 80%
  • Online, self-pacedStart any time
  • CertificateFor your CPD records

Written for

About this course

Most doctors who face a professional standards concern are not careless or dishonest. They have drifted outside their scope without noticing, signed a report written to someone else's brief, waited too long to tell the Board about a change, or let CPD become a list of conferences that never touched their real practice. Each of those problems is avoidable once you know exactly what the Medical Board expects.

This course explains the framework that defines medical professionalism in Australia: the National Law, Good medical practice, the registration standards and the Professional Performance Framework. It then makes them practical, with scope-of-practice tests, a 50-hour CPD plan built around performance review and outcome measurement, recency rules for breaks and returns, honest certificates and reports, conflict-of-interest management, the seven-day notification events and the role of doctors' own health.

It is written for Australian practice across hospitals, general practice, private specialist rooms, rural and remote services and non-clinical roles, and it notes where complaint pathways differ in New South Wales and Queensland.

Who this course is for

  • Specialists, GPs and doctors in training registered with the Medical Board of Australia
  • International medical graduates on limited, provisional or specialist pathways
  • Doctors returning to practice after parental leave, illness or time overseas
  • Doctors changing or extending scope, or moving into private or solo practice
  • Medical administrators, educators and supervisors responsible for others' conduct
  • Doctors who want a structured, reflective professionalism activity for their CPD plan

What you’ll learn

  • Describe and defend your scope

    State precisely what you are trained, credentialed and insured to do, and plan extensions to scope the way peers would expect.

  • Build CPD that changes practice

    Write a professional development plan that meets the 50-hour structure and uses audit and feedback to improve care.

  • Meet your reporting duties

    Recognise seven-day notifiable events and the mandatory notification thresholds, and respond to concerns professionally.

  • Protect trust in your documents

    Write certificates, reports and CVs that are accurate, within your expertise and defensible years later.

Learning objectives

  • Explain how the National Law, the Medical Board, Ahpra and co-regulatory bodies define and enforce professional standards for doctors.
  • Apply Good medical practice to everyday clinical and non-clinical roles.
  • Describe your scope of practice precisely and plan extensions or changes of scope safely.
  • Build a professional development plan that meets the 50-hour CPD standard with meaningful performance review and outcome measurement.
  • Apply the recency of practice standard to part-time work, breaks and returns to practice.
  • Write certificates, reports and CVs that are honest and within your expertise, and manage conflicts of interest.
  • Identify events that must be notified to the Board within seven days and outline the mandatory notification thresholds.
  • Treat your own health and colleagues' wellbeing as part of professional responsibility.

Scenarios covered

Practice situations you reason through, step by step, in the course.

  • The weekend clinic offer

    Deciding whether a new commercial role in an unfamiliar therapy area is within your scope, training and insurance.

  • Suspended privileges

    What to tell the Board, when, and why waiting for a review outcome is a mistake.

  • The backdated certificate

    Holding a boundary on document honesty with words that keep the patient relationship intact.

  • CPD that misses the point

    Rebuilding a conference-heavy CPD record into a plan with genuine audit and peer review.

  • Returning after two years

    Applying the recency standard and planning a safe return to emergency procedures.

  • A colleague who smells of alcohol

    Balancing support with the legal threshold for a mandatory notification.

Course contents

6 sections, 23 lessons, then the final assessment.

  1. Section 1: The Framework That Defines Medical Professionalism4 lessons
    • 1.1 The National Law and the Role of the Medical Board
    • 1.2 Good Medical Practice as the Professional Standard
    • 1.3 The Registration Standards Every Doctor Must Meet
    • 1.4 The Professional Performance Framework
  2. Section 2: Scope of Practice and the Limits of Competence4 lessons
    • 2.1 Defining Your Scope of Practice
    • 2.2 Extending or Changing Scope Safely
    • 2.3 Working at the Edge of Scope: Emergencies, Rural Practice and Gaps in Service
    • 2.4 Supervision: Responsibilities on Both Sides
  3. Section 3: CPD, Recency and Maintaining Professional Performance4 lessons
    • 3.1 The CPD Registration Standard for Doctors
    • 3.2 Writing a Professional Development Plan That Means Something
    • 3.3 Recency of Practice, Breaks and Returning to Work
    • 3.4 Performance Over a Career: Feedback, Transitions and Knowing When to Change
  4. Section 4: Conduct Expectations in Everyday Professional Life4 lessons
    • 4.1 Respectful Culture and Accountability Within Teams
    • 4.2 Honesty in Certificates, Reports, Referrals and CVs
    • 4.3 Conflicts of Interest and Commercial Dealings
    • 4.4 Public Comment, Online Conduct and Treating Those Close to You
  5. Section 5: Records, Reporting Obligations and Accountability4 lessons
    • 5.1 Medical Records as Professional Evidence
    • 5.2 What You Must Tell the Board, and When
    • 5.3 Responding to Concerns, Complaints and Investigations
    • 5.4 Participating in Clinical Governance
  6. Section 6: Doctors' Health and Sustaining Professionalism3 lessons
    • 6.1 Your Own Health as a Professional Responsibility
    • 6.2 When a Colleague's Health or Performance Is a Concern
    • 6.3 A Personal Professionalism Self-Audit
  7. Final assessment and written reflection15 questions

Assessment and certificate

  1. Work through the course

    Study each section at your own pace, including the case illustrations and apply-it questions.

  2. Pass the assessment

    15 scenario-based questions. You need 12 correct (80%) to pass.

  3. Write your reflection

    A short written reflection on how the learning applies to your own practice.

  4. Download your certificate

    Shows your name, the course, the date and 2 CPD hours. Anyone can check it on our verification page.

What you keep for your CPD records

  • A certificate of completion recording approximately 2 CPD hours of learning
  • A written reflective account on scope, CPD and professional conduct for your CPD record
  • A personal professionalism self-audit you can repeat each year
  • Quick-reference tables on registration standards, seven-day notices and CPD categories

How certificates and CPD records workVerify a certificate

Primary sources

The course is built on these official documents. Check them for the current version.

Questions about this course

Does Ahpra or the Medical Board accredit this course?

No. This course is not accredited by Ahpra, not approved by the Medical Board and not endorsed by any specialist college or CPD home. Ahpra and the National Boards do not run an accreditation scheme for individual CPD courses. It is independent education. Record the time you actually spend against your professional development plan, and check with your CPD home how it categorises the activity.

How many CPD hours does this course provide?

It is designed for approximately 2 hours of learning, including the reflective account and assessment. Record the time you genuinely spend, which may be more or less than the estimate.

Which CPD category does this fit?

Most of the course is an educational activity. The self-audit and reflective account can support performance review if you use them with a peer or as part of a broader review of your practice. Your CPD home decides how activities are categorised.

What are the Medical Board's CPD requirements?

Doctors must belong to a CPD home (CPD homes are assessed and recognised by the Australian Medical Council), write an annual professional development plan and complete at least 50 hours a year, including at least 12.5 hours of educational activities and at least 25 hours of reviewing performance and measuring outcomes, with at least five hours in each.

Does this course cover ethics as well?

It focuses on conduct, standards, scope, CPD, records and accountability. Ethical reasoning and dilemmas are covered in a separate ethics course for doctors, so the two can be completed together without repetition.

Can I use this course to meet a Board condition or undertaking?

Not on its own. If you have a condition, undertaking or caution, confirm with Ahpra or the Board, and with your lawyer or medical defence organisation, whether a particular course is acceptable before you enrol.

Is the course relevant to international medical graduates?

Yes. It explains Good medical practice, the registration standards, supervision responsibilities and reporting duties that apply to every registered doctor in Australia.

What happens if I am audited on CPD or recency?

Ahpra audits a selection of practitioners against the registration standards each year. The course explains what evidence to keep: CPD records from your CPD home, your professional development plan and evaluation, insurance certificates and a log of practice hours if you work part-time or intermittently. Your certificate and reflective account from this course can form part of that record.

Does the course apply in New South Wales and Queensland?

Yes. Good medical practice and the registration standards apply nationally. The course explains that complaints are handled through co-regulatory arrangements in New South Wales, with the Health Care Complaints Commission and the Medical Council of NSW, and in Queensland through the Office of the Health Ombudsman.

How long do I have access?

The course is self-paced. You can pause and return, complete the reflection when convenient and download your certificate once you pass the assessment.