Last updated: 21/09/2026. Version 4.0, which replaces version 2.0 of the 13th of September 2026.
1. Purpose
This policy sets the continuing professional development obligation that attaches to QPIA accreditation. PIPA membership on its own carries no CPD obligation. It states how many points a member must hold, what earns them, what evidence supports them, how they are recorded, and what happens when they are not held.
The obligation exists because a QPIA is presented to the public as a property investment adviser who keeps current with the market, the law and the standards of the profession. The CPD record is the evidence that this is so.
2. Application
The CPD requirement applies to a member who holds all three of the following:
- Graduation from the QPIA Accreditation Program.
- A current QPIA accreditation membership, being the annual accreditation fee applied for after graduation.
- A current financial PIPA membership, which QPIA accreditation requires in any case.
It applies whether the member holds an individual membership or a seat under a corporate membership. The requirement begins in the financial year after the QPIA accreditation membership begins.
2.1 The optional record
Any financial PIPA member may keep a CPD record in MY PIPA whether or not the requirement applies to them. For a member who does not hold QPIA accreditation the record is a tool and not a requirement of membership, and MY PIPA says so on the record itself. No target, shortfall or reminder is shown to that member.
A member working towards accreditation is encouraged to use the record, because a complete record is required before an application for accreditation is assessed.
3. The requirement
A member must hold at least 25 CPD points in each financial year.
The CPD year runs from the 1st of July to the 30th of June and is written in the form FY2026-27. Points are attributed to the year in which the activity took place, not the year in which the member entered it.
A member who accrues more than 25 points in a year does not carry the surplus forward. Each year stands on its own.
4. Activities and points
The following matrix determines what an activity is worth. It is the single source used by the member record, the renewal declaration and the assessor screen, so the three cannot disagree.
| Activity | Points | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Documented reading of industry publications, articles or journals | 0.5 | per hour |
| Team meetings with formal learning objectives | 1 | per hour |
| Presenting at a seminar or workshop, minimum 30 minutes | 2 | per presentation |
| Delivering an industry paper or published industry article | 5 | per item |
| Attending an industry seminar | 5 | per day |
| Attending an industry conference, including MFAA, REBAA and similar | 5 | per day |
| PIPA approved structured training with assessment | 5 | per activity |
| Certificate level course completion | 10 | per course |
| Diploma level course completion | 15 | per course |
| Degree level course completion | 20 | per course |
| QLD real estate licence CPD certificate | 12 | per certificate |
| NSW Class 1 and 2 real estate licence CPD certificate, 12 hours | 15 | per certificate |
| NSW Class 2 only real estate licence CPD certificate, 7 hours | 10 | per certificate |
| VIC real estate CPD certificate | 5 | per certificate |
| WA real estate CPD certificate | 5 | per certificate |
| ACT real estate CPD certificate | 10 | per certificate |
| TAS real estate CPD certificate | 10 | per certificate |
Points are calculated by the system from the activity type and the hours or days entered. A member cannot enter a point value directly.
State real estate licence CPD is listed for Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia, the Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania. South Australia, the Northern Territory and New Zealand carry no line because they are not applicable to this matrix.
4.1 Limits within the matrix
Documented reading and team meetings are the two activities a member controls entirely. Each is capped so that a year’s record cannot be built from them alone. In each CPD year, from the 1st of July to the 30th of June:
- no more than 5 points may be claimed for documented reading;
- no more than 5 points may be claimed for team meetings; and
- at least 15 of the 25 points must come from activities delivered by a party other than the member’s own business.
4.2 Activities that do not earn points
Time spent on the ordinary conduct of business does not earn points. This includes client meetings, property inspections, marketing, sales training that is specific to a product, internal administration, and attendance at an event where no learning objective is recorded.
5. Evidence
Every activity must be capable of verification. A member records one of the following against each activity:
- a document, being a certificate of attendance, a ticket, an agenda, a receipt, a transcript or a published copy of the member’s own article, or
- a verification contact, being the name and the email address or telephone number of a person who can confirm the member attended.
Where neither is available, the activity should carry a note explaining what was undertaken and when. PIPA may decline an activity that carries no evidence and no verification contact.
Evidence is held against the activity in the member record and is retained for five years from the close of the financial year in which the activity took place.
6. Recording
Members record CPD in MY PIPA, in the CPD record, through the year. There is no annual upload and no separate form.
Each activity carries:
- the date the activity took place, which determines the financial year it counts in
- a description of the activity
- the activity type from the matrix, and the hours, days or count
- the provider or event
- the address of the event, where one exists
- supporting evidence or a verification contact
- any notes the member wishes to add
An activity may be recorded at any time after it has taken place, including after the financial year has closed, provided the year has not already been assessed for a renewal.
7. Declarations
Three declarations apply, and they are separate from one another.
At each activity. When a member submits an activity, the member declares that the activity is true and complete, that it was undertaken on the date shown, and that any evidence attached is genuine. The date of the submission is recorded separately from the date of the activity.
At the close of a year. When a member holds the required points for a year, the member may confirm that the year’s record is true and complete.
At renewal. The QPIA renewal declaration takes a confirmation about professional development. From the 1st of July 2027 that confirmation is read against the member’s CPD record rather than taken on its own.
A declaration known to be false at the time it is made may be referred to the PIPA committee for disciplinary review under the Code of Conduct.
8. Transition
The obligation moves to the member record in three steps.
| Period | What the member does | What the renewal asks |
|---|---|---|
| To 30/06/2026 | Completes CPD and keeps their own records | A confirmation that CPD was completed |
| 01/07/2026 to 30/06/2027 | Records every activity in MY PIPA as it is completed | A confirmation for FY2025-26 and an undertaking to record FY2026-27 |
| From 01/07/2027 | Continues recording in MY PIPA | The record itself, which must hold 25 points for FY2026-27 |
From the 1st of July 2027 a QPIA renewal cannot be lodged until the member’s CPD record holds the required points for the year being assessed. The member is shown the points held and the shortfall, and the renewal reopens as soon as the record is complete.
9. Shortfall
Where a member reaches the 30th of June without the required points, the following applies.
The member is notified of the shortfall and has 30 days to record activities already completed within the year. Where the shortfall remains after 30 days, the accreditation is recorded as pending CPD and the member is removed from the Find a QPIA adviser directory until the position is corrected.
A member who does not correct the position within 90 days is referred to the committee, which may suspend or withdraw the accreditation.
10. Exemptions
The committee may reduce or waive the requirement for a member who has been absent from practice for a substantial part of the year through parental leave, extended illness, carer responsibilities or service in a defence reserve. A member seeking an exemption applies in writing before the 30th of June, and the committee records its decision on the member’s file.
An exemption reduces the requirement for the year in which it is granted. It does not carry forward.
11. Audit
PIPA audits a random sample of CPD records each year, of not fewer than five per cent of accredited members, and may audit any record where a claim appears inconsistent with the evidence held.
A member selected for audit provides the evidence behind each activity within 14 days. Activities that cannot be supported are removed from the record, and the member is given 30 days to make up any shortfall that results.
12. Governance of the matrix
The points matrix at section 4 is reviewed annually by the education committee and approved by the board. A change takes effect from the start of the financial year following its approval, and activities already recorded keep the points they earned when they were recorded.
13. Related documents
- Recording CPD in MY PIPA, the member guide
- PIPA Code of Conduct
- QPIA Accreditation Rules
- PIPA Privacy Policy
14. Version history
| Version | Date | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2.0 | 13/09/2026 | Issued with the move of CPD recording into MY PIPA |
| 4.0 | 21/09/2026 | The requirement stated as belonging to QPIA accreditation alone, with the three conditions that attract it. The optional record for other financial members added at section 2.1. Victorian, Western Australian, Australian Capital Territory and Tasmanian real estate CPD certificates added to the matrix, effective from 21/09/2026 by decision of Richard Crabb, PIPA Board, and to be noted at the next board meeting under section 12 |