NSW does not collect CPD points. There is no portal, no annual return and nothing attached to a renewal. Instead the scheme is self-recorded and audited: you keep a diary and the evidence, and Building Commission NSW checks a proportion of licence holders, some on a regular cycle and some at random. The audit is the only enforcement mechanism, which makes the quality of your records the whole game.
The short version
Keep two things for every activity: a diary entry and the provider’s record of attendance. Keep them for three renewal periods. At audit you produce both. A certificate with your name and a course title and nothing else is weak evidence; the NSW page lists ten fields it should carry.
Who audits, and how
Building Commission NSW, the regulator that now sits behind NSW Fair Trading’s building functions, conducts both regular and random audits of CPD compliance. You are notified and asked to produce your records for the period under review. There is no published percentage, and the fact that you have never been audited is not evidence that you will not be.
What you are asked to produce
- Your diary: a dated list of every CPD activity, with the provider, the topic area, the duration and the points claimed, and the carry-forward calculation at each year end.
- The evidence for each entry: the provider’s record of attendance or certificate, or an academic record for RTO and university learning.
The two are checked against each other and against the requirement: 12 points in the 12 months before each renewal in the period, on approved topics, at the correct rate for the type of activity.
What a record of attendance must carry
The NSW page sets out what a provider’s record should include. It is the checklist to hold every certificate against:
| Field | Why it matters at audit |
|---|---|
| Participant name and licence number | Ties the activity to you, not to a colleague or the company |
| Course or event title | Identifies the activity |
| CPD topic area | Shows it was one of the eight approved topics |
| Course code | Lets the provider identify exactly what was delivered |
| Date, time and location | Places it inside the right CPD year |
| Duration | The basis for the points at 1 or 2 per hour |
| Assessment type | Distinguishes assessed learning (2-point tier) from interactive learning (1-point tier) |
| Trainer name and organisation | The provider with industry expertise, or the RTO or university |
| Points earned | What you are claiming, stated by the provider |
A certificate missing the duration, the topic or the assessment type leaves you to prove those things some other way. Keep the course outline and any confirmation email alongside it.
How long to keep everything
Three licence renewal periods. On a one-year licence that is three years of records; on a three-year licence, nine; on a five-year licence, fifteen. Paper in a filing cabinet works, but a folder in cloud storage named by CPD year is easier to produce on request and survives a shed fire.
A diary that survives an audit
The scheme says diary; it does not prescribe a format. This is the minimum that lets an auditor reconstruct your year without asking you a question:
| Date | Activity | Provider | Topic | Hours | Rate | Points | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 Feb 2026 | Waterproofing wet areas to AS 3740 | PointCPD | Technical issues | 2 | 1/hr | 2 | Certificate PC-2026-0417 |
| 2 May 2026 | MBA regional CPD seminar | Master Builders NSW | Compliance | 6 | 1/hr | 6 | Attendance record, PDF |
| 1 Jul 2026 | Apprentice (J. Smith), training contract | — | — | — | 1/yr | 1 | Training contract |
| Year to 14 Nov 2026 | 9 + 3 carried = 12 | Carry-forward note, 2025 | |||||
One line per activity, one line per year end with the carry-forward arithmetic. Thirty seconds after each course.
Weak evidence and strong evidence
- Weak: a screenshot of a completion screen; a certificate with no duration or topic; an invoice; a note that you “did some CPD online in March”.
- Strong: a record of attendance with all the fields above, from a provider who can re-issue it years later, matched to a diary line written at the time, with the course outline showing the learning outcomes.
If you cannot produce the records, the points cannot be counted, and the requirement is unmet for that year. The consequence the scheme names is refusal of renewal or restoration. Do not wait for an audit to discover a gap; reconcile the diary against the certificates at each renewal.
How PointCPD records are built for this
Every PointCPD certificate carries the participant name and licence number, the course title and topic, a course code, the date, the duration, the assessment type, the provider, the points, and a serial number that anyone can check on the verification page. Certificates stay in your account permanently and can be re-downloaded from My CPD at any time, which matters when the audit arrives in year eight. The complete NSW CPD guide covers the rules the records are proving.
Questions builders ask
How long do I have to keep CPD records in NSW?
Three licence renewal periods. On a one-year licence that is three years of records; on a three-year licence it is nine.
What if a provider has closed and I cannot get a replacement certificate?
This is why the diary matters as much as the certificate. A contemporaneous diary entry with the date, provider, topic, hours and points, plus whatever you kept at the time (a confirmation email, a course outline, a receipt), is far better evidence than nothing. Choose providers whose certificates you can re-download years later.
Is a PointCPD certificate enough on its own?
It carries every field the NSW page lists for a record of attendance, plus a serial number anyone can verify, and it stays in your account permanently. Keep your diary as well: the regulator expects both.
Sources: NSW Government, Continuing professional development for builders and swimming pool builders.