AHPRA CPD Requirements for Dentists: DBA Standards Guide (2026)

Dentists in Australia need 60 hours of CPD per three-year registration period. That is the Dental Board of Australia (DBA) minimum. At least 40 of those hours must be in scientific activities. The remaining 20 can be non-scientific. You also need to do at least one peer review activity per triennium. Miss the mark and you risk conditions on your registration, or worse.

That is the short version. The rest of this guide covers exactly what counts, what does not, and how to stay ahead of an audit.

How many CPD hours do dentists need?

The DBA sets CPD requirements for all dental practitioners, not just dentists. Hours vary by division.

| Practitioner type | CPD hours per triennium | Scientific hours (minimum) | Non-scientific hours (maximum) | |---|---|---|---| | Dentist | 60 | 40 | 20 | | Dental hygienist | 60 | 40 | 20 | | Dental therapist | 60 | 40 | 20 | | Oral health therapist | 60 | 40 | 20 | | Dental prosthetist | 60 | 40 | 20 | | Specialist dentist | 60 | 40 | 20 |

Yes, the numbers are the same across all divisions. The DBA applies a uniform standard. Where things differ is in the content of those hours and how they relate to your scope of practice.

A few things worth noting:

The triennium runs from the date of your registration, not the calendar year. Check your AHPRA registration details for your specific cycle dates.
You cannot carry over surplus hours from one triennium to the next. Sixty hours in year one does not buy you two years off.
Part-year registrants have pro-rata requirements. If you register partway through a triennium, your hours are reduced proportionally.

The DBA expects you to spread your learning across the triennium. Cramming 60 hours into the final month before renewal is not a good look if you get audited, and the Board has flagged this pattern in past communiques.

DBA scientific vs non-scientific activities

This is where most practitioners trip up. Not all CPD is created equal, and the DBA draws a firm line between scientific and non-scientific activities.

Scientific activities (minimum 40 hours)

Scientific CPD must directly relate to your clinical practice. The DBA defines these as activities that maintain, develop, or increase clinical knowledge and skills. Examples include:

Clinical courses and workshops. Hands-on training in new techniques, materials, or procedures. Think composite layering workshops, implant placement courses, or endodontic masterclasses.
Peer-reviewed journal reading. Reading articles in peer-reviewed dental journals counts, but you need to document what you read and how it applies to your practice.
University-based postgraduate study. Formal postgraduate coursework or research in a dental discipline.
Structured online learning. Accredited e-learning modules covering clinical topics. Not all online courses qualify. Check the provider holds appropriate accreditation.
Scientific conferences and symposia. Attendance at conferences with peer-reviewed scientific content. The entire conference does not necessarily count. Only the scientific sessions do.
Case presentations. Presenting clinical cases to peers in a structured format with evidence-based discussion.
Clinical audits. Systematic review of your own clinical outcomes against established benchmarks.

The key test: does the activity improve your ability to deliver clinical care? If the answer is yes, it likely qualifies as scientific CPD.

Non-scientific activities (maximum 20 hours)

Non-scientific CPD covers the business and professional side of practice. These activities are legitimate CPD but capped at 20 hours per triennium. Examples include:

Practice management training. Staff management, financial planning, workflow optimisation.
Regulatory and compliance training. Understanding AHPRA obligations, advertising guidelines, and mandatory reporting.
Communication skills. Patient communication, consent processes, managing difficult conversations.
Leadership and mentoring. Formal mentoring programs, leadership development courses.
CPR and first aid refreshers. Required for practice but classified as non-scientific by the DBA.
Infection control training. This one catches people off guard. Basic infection control compliance training is non-scientific, though advanced infection control with a clinical evidence base may qualify as scientific. Check the specific course classification.

The 40/20 split is a minimum/maximum. You can do 60 hours of scientific CPD and zero non-scientific. You cannot do 30 scientific and 30 non-scientific.

CPD for dental specialists

Specialists have the same 60-hour requirement as general dentists. The DBA does not impose additional hours for specialist registration. However, the Board expects your CPD to be relevant to your area of specialty practice.

If you are a registered specialist in orthodontics, periodontics, endodontics, oral surgery, or any other recognised specialty, your CPD should reflect the scope and complexity of your work. A periodontist spending 40 hours on general restorative courses may raise questions during an audit. The Board wants to see that your CPD maintains competence in your specialty area.

What this means in practice

At least half your scientific CPD should relate to your specialty. This is not a formal rule, but it is the standard auditors tend to apply when reviewing specialist portfolios.
Cross-disciplinary learning still counts. A prosthodontist attending an implant surgery workshop is clearly relevant. An orthodontist completing a sleep medicine course has a defensible link. Use common sense.
Teaching and examining counts. If you teach at a university or examine for the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons, that time counts as CPD. Document it properly.
Research and publication. Conducting or publishing research in your specialty area is excellent CPD. One published paper can account for significant hours, depending on your contribution.

Specialists should also be aware that some specialty colleges and societies have their own CPD frameworks that may exceed DBA minimums. Membership of these bodies often comes with additional expectations. Check your specialty college requirements alongside the DBA standard.

Infection control CPD for dental practices

Infection control is not optional CPD for dental practitioners. It is a regulatory requirement under multiple frameworks, and the DBA expects evidence of current infection control competence.

The regulatory landscape

Dental practices operate under several overlapping infection control obligations:

AS/NZS 4815:2006 covers office-based healthcare facilities, including dental practices.
State and territory health department requirements vary by jurisdiction but universally mandate infection control training.
AHPRA registration standards require practitioners to maintain competence in infection prevention and control.
The DBA's Guidelines on Infection Control set specific expectations for dental settings.

What you need to cover

At minimum, your infection control CPD should address:

Instrument reprocessing. Cleaning, disinfection, and sterilisation of dental instruments. This includes understanding the difference between critical, semi-critical, and non-critical items.
Hand hygiene. The five moments of hand hygiene applied to dental practice. Yes, you have heard it before. The Board still expects evidence you are current.
Personal protective equipment. Correct use of gloves, masks, eyewear, and gowns. Updated guidance on aerosol-generating procedures is particularly relevant post-COVID.
Surface disinfection and waste management. Clinical area decontamination between patients and appropriate waste segregation.
Outbreak management. What to do when things go wrong. Needlestick injury protocols, exposure management, and reporting obligations.

Frequency

The DBA recommends infection control training at least once per triennium, though best practice is annual refresher training. Many state health departments require annual updates. If you are a practice owner, you are responsible for ensuring all staff, not just registered practitioners, maintain current infection control training.

Our CPD courses include accredited infection control modules designed specifically for dental practice settings. For a broader look at national standards, see our guide to infection control standards in Australia.

Peer review and case discussions

The DBA requires at least one peer review activity per triennium. This is a separate requirement from your 60 hours, though the time spent counts toward your CPD total.

What qualifies as peer review?

Peer review, in the DBA's framework, means a structured process where practitioners review each other's clinical work. It is not a casual chat with a colleague about a tricky case over lunch. The Board expects:

A structured format. There should be a clear process for presenting cases, providing feedback, and documenting outcomes.
Participation by peers. At least one other registered dental practitioner must be involved. Ideally, you want a group of three or more.
Clinical focus. The review must involve actual clinical cases, not theoretical discussion.
Documentation. You need records of what was discussed, who participated, and what you took away from the session.

Practical ways to meet this requirement

Join or start a peer review group. Many dental associations and local networks run peer review circles. If none exist in your area, start one. Four to six practitioners meeting quarterly is enough. Rotate who presents cases. Use a standard template for case presentations and keep minutes.

Hospital morbidity and mortality meetings. If you work in a hospital setting, M&M meetings typically qualify as peer review. Document your attendance and the cases discussed.

Specialist referral reviews. Structured case discussions between a referring dentist and specialist about shared patients can qualify, provided they follow a formal process rather than ad hoc phone conversations.

Online peer review platforms. Several platforms now facilitate structured online peer review. These can work well for rural and remote practitioners who lack local peer networks.

Making peer review actually useful

Peer review done well is one of the most valuable CPD activities you can do. It forces you to examine your own clinical decisions, exposes you to different approaches, and builds professional networks. Done poorly, it is a box-ticking exercise.

Tips for getting value from the process:

Present cases that challenged you, not just your best work. You learn more from the difficult ones.
Invite practitioners from different practice settings. A mix of private practice, public, and specialist perspectives enriches discussion.
Use a structured case presentation format. Include the clinical problem, your differential diagnosis, treatment plan, outcome, and what you would do differently.
Follow up on feedback. If a peer suggests an alternative approach, look into it. That follow-up reading counts as additional CPD.

CPD for dental hygienists and therapists

Dental hygienists, dental therapists, and oral health therapists have the same 60-hour triennium requirement as dentists. The 40/20 scientific/non-scientific split applies equally. The difference lies in what constitutes relevant CPD for your scope of practice.

Scope-relevant CPD

The DBA expects your CPD to relate to the work you actually do. For hygienists, this means periodontal assessment and treatment, preventive care, oral health promotion, and related clinical skills. For therapists, it includes restorative care, paediatric dentistry, and other activities within your scope.

Activities that fall within your scope of practice:

Periodontal instrumentation updates. New techniques, instruments, and evidence for non-surgical periodontal therapy.
Preventive dentistry. Fluoride application, fissure sealants, dietary counselling, and caries risk assessment.
Oral health promotion. Community health programs, public health frameworks, and health literacy approaches.
Radiographic interpretation. Maintaining competence in dental radiography, including new imaging technologies.
Local anaesthesia updates. Techniques, pharmacology, and emergency management related to local anaesthesia administration.
Paediatric dentistry. Behaviour management, pulp therapy, and trauma management for dental therapists and oral health therapists.

Expanding your scope

Some CPD activities may relate to areas outside your current scope but within the broader dental therapy or hygiene frameworks. This is fine and can be valuable for career development. Just ensure your core competencies are covered first.

Working under supervision

If you work under the supervision of a dentist, discuss your CPD plan with your supervising practitioner. Aligning your professional development with practice needs benefits everyone. Some practices build CPD into their professional development budgets. If yours does not, raise it.

For accredited CPD options tailored to dental hygienists and therapists, explore our course catalogue.

Audit preparation

AHPRA audits a random sample of practitioners each year. If you are selected, you need to provide evidence of your CPD compliance within 28 days. Being unprepared is stressful and avoidable.

What auditors look for

Total hours met. Did you complete 60 hours in the triennium?
Scientific/non-scientific split. Did you achieve at least 40 scientific hours?
Peer review. Did you complete at least one structured peer review activity?
Relevance to practice. Does your CPD relate to your scope and area of practice?
Spread across the triennium. While not a formal requirement, auditors note patterns. All hours in the final quarter is a red flag.
Documentation quality. Can you substantiate each claimed activity with appropriate evidence?

Documentation you should keep

For every CPD activity, maintain:

Certificates of completion for formal courses and workshops.
Conference attendance records including the program showing which sessions you attended.
Reading logs for journal articles, including the article citation and a brief note on clinical relevance.
Peer review records including dates, participants, cases discussed, and learning outcomes.
Reflection notes. A sentence or two on what you learned and how it applies to your practice. Auditors value evidence of reflective practice.

Record-keeping systems

Spreadsheets work. Dedicated CPD tracking platforms work better. The key is consistency. Log activities as you complete them, not at the end of the triennium when you are trying to remember what you did 30 months ago.

Our compliance tracking platform automates CPD logging and generates audit-ready reports. It tracks your hours against DBA requirements in real time, flags gaps before they become problems, and stores your evidence in one place. Worth considering if record-keeping is not your strength.

For a comparison of CPD requirements across all health professions, see our CPD hours by profession guide.

What happens if you fail an audit

If your CPD is non-compliant, the Board may:

Request additional information or a compliance plan.
Impose conditions on your registration requiring you to complete specific CPD within a set timeframe.
In serious or repeated cases, take disciplinary action.

First-time minor shortfalls usually result in a compliance plan rather than disciplinary action. But it is not a pleasant process, and it is entirely avoidable.

Frequently asked questions

Can I count CPD from overseas conferences?

Yes. The DBA does not restrict CPD to Australian providers. International conferences, courses, and workshops count, provided the content is relevant to your Australian practice and you can document your participation. Convert hours if the overseas provider uses a different credit system.

Does CPR training count toward my 60 hours?

It counts as non-scientific CPD, capped within the 20-hour non-scientific allowance. Most CPR refreshers are four to eight hours, so the impact on your overall plan is modest. Note that CPR certification is a separate mandatory requirement for many practice settings regardless of CPD.

I am on parental leave. Do I still need to complete CPD?

If you maintain your registration during leave, CPD requirements still apply. However, if your triennium spans a period of non-practising registration, the Board may pro-rata your requirements. Contact AHPRA directly to confirm your obligations. Switching to non-practising registration during extended leave removes the CPD requirement for that period but restricts you from practising.

Can I count teaching or lecturing as CPD?

Yes. Teaching dental students, lecturing at universities, or presenting at professional development events counts as scientific CPD. The preparation time and delivery time both count. Document the topic, duration, audience, and setting.

What if my employer does not provide CPD time or funding?

CPD is your individual responsibility under AHPRA registration, regardless of employer support. That said, many employers do provide CPD allowances and study leave. Check your employment contract or enterprise agreement. If support is lacking, raise it through appropriate channels. Online CPD options have made self-funded learning more accessible and affordable than it used to be. Browse our CPD courses for flexible options.

How do I know if an online course meets DBA standards?

The DBA does not pre-approve individual CPD activities. The responsibility sits with you to ensure your chosen activities are relevant, of appropriate quality, and properly documented. Look for courses from accredited providers, check whether the content is evidence-based and peer-reviewed, and confirm that a certificate of completion is provided. If an online course seems too good to be true (watch a 10-minute video, get 10 CPD hours), it probably is.

Ready to get your CPD tracking sorted? Check out our plans and pricing to find the right fit for your practice.

Sources

Dental Board of Australia. "Registration Standards: Continuing Professional Development." DBA, 2023. https://www.dentalboard.gov.au/registration-standards/cpd.aspx
Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency. "CPD Registration Standard." AHPRA, 2023. https://www.ahpra.gov.au/Registration/Registration-Standards.aspx
Australian Dental Association. "Policy Statement 6.9 - Advertising in Dentistry." ADA, 2025. https://ada.org.au/policy-statement-6-9-advertising-in-dentistry
Dental Board of Australia. "Guidelines on Infection Control." DBA. https://www.dentalboard.gov.au/Codes-Guidelines/Policies-Codes-Guidelines.aspx