Next CPD Blog12/11/2025
The HPCSA reviews and amends their CPD requirements and processes on a regular basis. A few changes have been made since the beginning of 2025. I realise that the changes are worrying as practitioners are worried about non-compliance, so I thought to take a few minutes just to go through the major changes made in the latest updated HPCSA Guidelines.
Compliance, audits and timelines:
The practice of random sampling of practitioners from the HPCSA database, to verify compliance to CPD requirements, was discontinued. All practitioners are expected to be compliant at all times.
There is no timeline for compliance, as it is a continuous programme and practitioners are expected to be compliant at all times. This implies that you need to update your points as they expire (you can see details of your active points and expiry dates on your online HPCSA profile). Points are usually active / valid from the date of completion (when it is uploaded) to the same date in the following year.
All evidence of CPD compliance is valid for 12 months and compliance is determined on a 12 month basis. If you are non-compliant, the HPCSA expects the practitioner to immediately rectify the situation.
So what does the 12 month basis imply in practice?
You need 30 points per year which should include a minimum of 25 clinical points and a minimum of 5 ethics points. Points now have a 1 year “shelf-life” which implies that, should you do more than the required 30 points (including a minimum of 25 clinical points and a minimum of 5 ethics points) in any given year, you can no longer use the points over and above the required 30 towards the 30 required for the next year.
It is important to note the change in wording in the guidelines around required points. The guidelines now not only specify a minimum of 5 ethics points, but they now also specify a minimum of 25 clinical points. To adhere to this, our “10 Article Packages” will from 2026 be changed to “10 + 1 Bonus Article Packages”. This way you can still do all your required points for the year with one package.
Submission of points and issuing of certificates:
CPD providers are still required to submit CPD points on practitioners’ behalf.
Providers are requested to submit points on a regular basis and we, at NextCPD, submit points at the end of each month. This implies that your points will be uploaded at the end of the month in which you complete a specific package or course.
The HPCSA is currently implementing a new online points submission system that providers will use to upload points. This was to streamline the process and improve the points submission turnaround time.
With the use of the new system, we will no longer be able to assist in uploading points of package that are not yet completed.
Providers will submit points via the online system. Once submitted, the HPCSA will approve the uploads on their side. Once approved the HPCSA will inform both the provider and practitioner of the successful upload.
Mandatory issuance of CPD certificates is still obsolete and the HPCSA requested providers to no longer issue certificates as it creates confusion / attempt to load points more than once. At NextCPD we do issue a ‘proof of completion’ without accreditation numbers for your record.
I hope this somewhat clarifies the major changes. You are welcome to contact me if you need further clarification and, where I am unable to assist, we will try our utmost to get your query clarified by the HPCSA.