If your renewal is close and the 12 points are not there, the situation is fixable, but only in one direction: earn the points before you lodge. This guide covers what the regulator does if you do not, the one exemption that exists, and the fastest way to close the gap without cutting corners that will not survive an audit.
The short version
Without 12 points in the 12 months before renewal, the Commissioner can refuse to renew the licence, and the same applies to restoring an expired one. The only exemption is serious illness or misadventure, claimed on a form at renewal. The fix is arithmetic: the gap in points is the gap in hours of interactive learning. Do them, get the records, then lodge.
What the regulator actually does
The NSW Government page is specific: failure to meet the CPD requirement means the Commissioner can refuse an application to renew or restore the licence. That is the consequence. It is not a warning letter and it is not a small fine; it is the licence.
What follows from that is the real cost. A residential builder without a current licence cannot lawfully contract for work above the licensing threshold in NSW, and contracting unlicensed has its own penalties under the Home Building Act. Jobs in progress, insurance, and your standing with clients all depend on the licence being current. Twelve hours of learning is cheap by comparison.
The exemption, and why it probably does not apply
There is one ground: serious illness or misadventure. You lodge a Request for Exemption form with your renewal and Fair Trading decides. It exists for the builder who was in hospital for four months, not for the one who was busy. If you genuinely qualify, gather the evidence (medical, insurance, whatever documents the event) and lodge the form with the renewal. If you do not, do not rely on it.
Closing the gap: the fastest compliant route
- Count what you actually have. Go through the last 12 months for anything that qualifies: courses, association seminars, supplier workshops that were genuinely interactive, an apprentice on the books (1 point each, capped at 4 a year with other business-based points). Add any carry-forward from last year, up to 11. Builders routinely find two or three points they had forgotten.
- Work out the gap in hours. Interactive learning earns 1 point per hour. A gap of 7 points is seven hours.
- Choose activities you can finish and evidence before lodgement. Online interactive courses fit because the certificate issues the moment you pass. Check each against the four tests: interactive, approved topic, stated outcomes, provider with industry expertise. A slideshow with a quiz is not interactive learning, whatever it calls itself.
- Do them, and file the certificates as you go. Each record of attendance needs your name and licence number, the course, its topic, the date, the duration, the assessment type, the provider and the points. Write the diary line at the same time.
- Then lodge. Points earned after you lodge belong to the next CPD year, not this one.
If the licence has already expired
The requirement does not lapse with the licence. Restoration is also refused if the CPD is unmet, so the points still have to be earned before the restoration application can succeed. The time limits and conditions for restoring a lapsed licence depend on how long it has been expired and are set by Fair Trading; confirm your position with them directly, then earn the points.
Shortcuts that fail at audit: claiming passive reading or a recorded webinar as interactive learning; counting a course finished after lodgement; claiming 2 points an hour for a course that was not assessed by an RTO or university against a training package; relying on a certificate with no duration or topic on it. Points that cannot be evidenced are points you do not have.
A worked example
Renewal on 20 October. Diary shows one association seminar (4 points) and nothing else; last year was exactly 12, so no carry-forward. Gap of 8 points, eight hours. Four PointCPD courses at 2 points each, done across two evenings, certificates filed, diary written, then lodge in the first week of October with a fortnight to spare.
Not letting it happen twice
Twelve points is an hour a month. The builders who never face this page do one course early in the CPD year and keep the diary as they go. The renewal checklist is the routine; the complete NSW CPD guide is the rules; and adding your renewal date to your PointCPD dashboard means the countdown is running whether you are thinking about it or not.
Questions builders ask
Is there a fine for not doing CPD in NSW?
The consequence the NSW Government page names is refusal of the licence renewal or restoration. It does not describe a separate fine for the CPD shortfall itself. The financial exposure is indirect: without a current licence you cannot lawfully contract for residential building work above the licensing threshold, and unlicensed contracting carries its own penalties under the Home Building Act.
Can I get an extension to finish my CPD?
The scheme provides one exemption ground, serious illness or misadventure, requested on a form at renewal. There is no general extension. In practice the answer is to complete the points before you lodge.
Can I do all 12 points in one week?
Nothing in the rules prevents it, as long as every activity falls inside the 12 months before your renewal date and meets the activity description. Whether a year of learning in a week is useful is another matter, but it is compliant.
Sources: NSW Government, Continuing professional development for builders and swimming pool builders; Home Building Act 1989 (NSW).