The short version
If you hold an individual builder or swimming pool builder licence in NSW, you need 12 CPD points every year, earned in the 12 months before your renewal, on any of eight approved topics. Interactive learning from any provider with industry expertise earns 1 point per hour; assessed RTO or university learning earns 2. Up to 11 surplus points carry forward. Nothing is submitted: you keep the records for three renewal periods and produce them if audited. Miss the 12 and renewal is refused.
| Rule | What it says |
|---|---|
| Who | Individuals licensed as a builder or swimming pool builder under the Home Building Act 1989, including qualified supervisor certificate holders |
| How much | 12 points per year, in the 12 months before renewal |
| Rates | 1 point per hour (interactive, approved topic, any provider with industry expertise) · 2 points per hour (assessable outcome tied to a training package or degree, RTO or university) · up to 4 points a year for apprentices, trainees or a partner learning on the business’s behalf |
| Topics | Technical issues, Sustainability, Compliance, Communication, Dispute resolution, Contracts, Safety, Business management |
| Carry-forward | Up to 11 surplus points, for 12 months |
| Records | Self-recorded. Diary plus evidence, kept for three renewal periods. Audited by Building Commission NSW, regularly and at random |
| If unmet | Renewal or restoration refused. Exemption only for serious illness or misadventure |
Who has to do CPD in NSW
The requirement applies to individuals who hold a licence as a builder or a swimming pool builder under the Home Building Act 1989. That includes both the individual contractor licence and the qualified supervisor certificate. If you are the nominated supervisor on a company or partnership licence, the CPD obligation is yours personally: the company does not earn points, you do.
It does not apply to trade licences (plumbers, electricians and the like have their own regimes), and it does not apply to the company entity. One person, one requirement, regardless of how many pieces of paper you hold. A builder with both a contractor licence and a supervisor certificate needs 12 points, not 24.
How many points, and which twelve months
12 points a year. The year is not the calendar year and not the financial year. It is the 12 months immediately before your licence renewal date. If your licence renews on 14 September, the points that count are the ones earned between 15 September the previous year and 14 September this year.
The requirement is annual no matter how long your licence term is. A three-year licence needs 12 points in each of its three years, not 36 at the end; a five-year licence is not five years off. Because nothing is lodged annually on a long licence, this is where builders most often come unstuck: three years pass, renewal arrives, and the diary has one entry in it.
Put your renewal date somewhere you will see it. If you add it to your PointCPD profile the dashboard counts down to it and tells you which CPD year each completed course falls in, but a note on the wall works too.
How points are earned: the three routes
NSW recognises three ways of earning points, and the rate depends on the type of activity, not on how useful it was.
| Activity | Rate | Who can deliver it |
|---|---|---|
| Interactive learning on an approved topic with identifiable learning outcomes: a course, workshop, forum or conference, online or face to face | 1 point per hour | Any training provider with industry expertise |
| Learning with an assessable outcome linked to a National Training Package unit or a university qualification | 2 points per hour | A Registered Training Organisation or an Australian university |
| Employing an apprentice or trainee under a formal training arrangement (1 point per apprentice per year), or a partner or associate undertaking learning on the business’s behalf | 1 to 2 points | Capped at 4 points a year across this whole row |
Two worked examples. A two-hour interactive online course on waterproofing, with stated outcomes and an assessment, from a provider run by building practitioners: 2 points. A three-hour unit delivered by an RTO that is assessed against a unit of competency in a national training package: 6 points. Both count, both go in the diary; the second is simply worth more per hour because of the assessment and the accreditation behind it.
What does not earn points is passive consumption: reading a manufacturer’s brochure, watching a recorded webinar with no interaction, or scrolling a trade magazine. Lunch and travel time at a seminar do not count either. The word the regulator uses for the 1-point tier is interactive, and it means it.
The “approved provider” question
This is the most misunderstood part of the scheme, and several CPD websites get it wrong, so it is worth being precise.
The NSW Government page states that learning activities earning 1 point per hour can be delivered by any training provider, and that Building Commission NSW cannot and does not endorse any provider of training or CPD. There is no register of approved builder CPD providers in NSW. Nobody can be “Fair Trading recognised”, because Fair Trading does not recognise providers.
What the scheme approves is the activity, and it does so by description. For the 1-point tier the activity has to pass four tests:
- It is interactive: you do something, not just receive something.
- It is on one of the eight approved topics.
- It has identifiable learning outcomes: it says what you will be able to do at the end.
- It comes from a provider with industry expertise.
The 2-point tier is where accreditation genuinely matters: the provider must be an RTO or a university, and the learning must be assessed against a training package or a degree. A claim that a provider is an RTO is checkable on the national register, and an RTO number on a certificate is meaningful for 2-point activities. For 1-point activities it is irrelevant. If a certificate for a 1-point course tells you it needs an RTO number to count, the person who wrote that has confused the two tiers.
The practical consequence: when you choose CPD, judge the activity against the four tests, keep evidence that it met them, and ignore badges that the regulator has said it does not issue.
The eight approved topics
Every activity must relate to at least one of eight topic areas. There is no rule about spreading your 12 points across topics; twelve points of Technical issues is compliant. Choosing topics that match the work you actually do is a better idea than choosing the cheapest, but that is advice, not a rule. NSW’s own examples for each area:
- Technical issues — waterproofing, tiling, timber flooring, multi-storey construction, the masonry code
- Sustainability — BASIX, waste, green building, water management, accessible buildings
- Compliance — applying the BCA and NCC, the Home Building Act, compensation fund obligations
- Communication — customer service, mediation, negotiation
- Dispute resolution — avoiding and identifying misrepresentation
- Contracts — contract terms
- Safety — asbestos, hazardous materials, roof work
- Business management — project management, time management, computer skills
The topic area should appear on the record of attendance the provider gives you. If a certificate does not say which of the eight it falls under, write it in your diary yourself and keep the course outline that shows why.
Carry-forward: the 11-point rule
If you earn more than 12 points in a year, up to 11 surplus points carry forward into the next 12 months. Anything above that is lost. Three examples:
- Earn 20 points: 12 satisfy this year, 8 carry forward. Next year you need 4.
- Earn 23 points: 12 satisfy this year, 11 carry forward. Next year you need 1.
- Earn 30 points: 12 satisfy this year, 11 carry forward, 7 are forfeited.
Carried points last 12 months. They do not accumulate across several years, so there is no way to bank three years of CPD in one hit and coast. The rule is designed to let a big year cover a quiet one, not to replace the annual habit.
Records, diaries and audits
NSW CPD is self-recorded. You do not lodge points with Fair Trading, and there is no online portal to upload certificates to. Instead, you keep two things:
- A diary of what you did: the date, the activity, the provider, the topic area, the duration and the points.
- The evidence for each entry: the provider’s record of attendance or certificate, or an academic record.
You keep them for three licence renewal periods. On a three-year licence that is nine years of records. Building Commission NSW audits compliance both on a regular cycle and at random, and at audit you produce the diary and the evidence. That is the entire enforcement mechanism, which is why the quality of the certificate matters more than people expect.
A provider’s record of attendance is supposed to carry: the participant’s name and licence number, the course or event title and its CPD topic area, a course code, the date and location, the duration, the type of assessment, the trainer and their organisation, and the points earned. A certificate that has your name and a course title and nothing else is weak evidence. Every PointCPD certificate carries all of those fields plus a serial number that anyone can verify, and they stay in your account permanently, because an audit can arrive years after the course.
Renewal timing, long licences and expired licences
Licences are issued for 1, 3 or 5 years. The CPD year always runs to the renewal date, and the requirement is 12 points in each year of the term. Complete the points before you lodge the renewal; points earned after lodgement belong to the next year.
If your licence has already expired, the requirement does not go away. Restoration of an expired licence is also refused if the CPD is unmet, so the points still have to be earned. The time limits and conditions for restoring a lapsed licence are set by Fair Trading and depend on how long it has been expired; check your situation with them directly, then get the points done.
Exemptions
There is one ground: serious illness or misadventure. It is not automatic. You lodge a Request for Exemption form with your renewal and Fair Trading decides. Being busy, being on a remote site, or not having known about the requirement are not grounds.
Seven things builders get wrong
- “I need an approved provider.” Not for 1-point activities. The regulator does not approve providers; it describes activities. See above.
- “My certificate needs an RTO number.” Only for 2-point activities. For 1-point learning it proves nothing either way.
- “I have a five-year licence, so CPD is a five-year thing.” It is annual. Twelve points in each year of the term.
- “I hold two credentials, so I need 24 points.” Twelve. The requirement is per person.
- “I will do three years of points in one go.” You can, but only 11 carry forward, and only for a year. The rest is wasted.
- “I lodge my points with Fair Trading.” You lodge nothing. You keep records for three renewal periods and produce them at audit.
- “I will keep the certificates for a year.” Three renewal periods. On a three-year licence, nine years.
A twelve-point plan that does not eat a weekend
Twelve points at 1 point per hour is twelve hours of interactive learning a year: an hour a month. The builders who find CPD painful are usually the ones doing all twelve in the last fortnight before renewal, on whatever is cheapest, in one sitting. The rules do not stop that. They also do not reward it.
A more useful pattern:
- Pick the topic where your last expensive problem lived. For most residential builders that is waterproofing and technical detail or contracts and variations.
- Do one course early in the CPD year, so a renewal surprise never happens.
- Keep the diary as you go: date, course, topic, hours, points. Thirty seconds per entry.
- Aim a little over 12 so a quiet year is covered by carry-forward, but not far over, because 11 is the ceiling.
Where PointCPD fits
PointCPD courses are built to the 1-point-per-hour description: interactive scenario work, sequencing and site-photo exercises on one of the eight approved topics, with stated learning outcomes, an assessment with an 80% pass mark and unlimited attempts, developed and reviewed by practising building industry professionals. We are not an RTO and do not claim to be, and we do not claim any approval or recognition that the regulator has said it does not give. The full position, including what we will not say, is on the accreditation page.
Every course banks at least 2 points and works on a phone, with progress saved as you go. The certificate carries every field an audit asks for, is issued the moment you pass, and stays in your account for as long as you have one. Browse the courses by topic, or see how the 12-point packs are priced.
Questions builders ask
How many CPD points do NSW builders need?
12 CPD points in the 12 months before each licence renewal. The requirement is annual whether your licence runs for 1, 3 or 5 years. If the points are not there, renewal is refused.
Do I need an approved CPD provider in NSW?
Not for the 1-point-per-hour tier. The NSW Government page says those activities can be delivered by any training provider, and that Building Commission NSW does not endorse providers. What matters is the activity: interactive, on one of the eight approved topics, with identifiable learning outcomes, from a provider with industry expertise. The 2-point-per-hour tier is different: it needs an assessable outcome tied to a national training package or university qualification, delivered by an RTO or an Australian university.
Can I carry CPD points over to next year?
Yes. Up to 11 surplus points carry forward for 12 months. Anything above 11 is forfeited.
Do swimming pool builders need CPD in NSW?
Yes. Individuals licensed as swimming pool builders under the Home Building Act have the same 12-point annual requirement, the same carry-forward and the same eight topic areas as other builders.
Do I submit my CPD points to NSW Fair Trading?
No. NSW CPD is self-recorded. You keep a diary and the evidence, submit nothing at renewal, and produce the records if Building Commission NSW audits you. Records must be kept for three renewal periods.
I hold a contractor licence and a supervisor certificate. Do I need 24 points?
No. The requirement attaches to you as an individual, not to each credential. Twelve points covers both.
What happens if I do not complete my CPD?
The Commissioner can refuse to renew, or to restore, your licence. Without a current licence you cannot contract for residential building work over the licensing threshold in NSW. The only exemption is for serious illness or misadventure, requested on a form at renewal.
Does online CPD count for NSW builders?
Yes. The NSW rules say interactive learning can be online or face to face. What it cannot be is passive: reading a PDF or watching a recording with no interaction, outcomes or provider expertise behind it does not meet the description. PointCPD courses are built to the 1-point-per-hour description; the basis is set out on the accreditation page and you can check it against the NSW Government page yourself.
More in the full FAQ, which covers certificates, packs, teams and what is inside a course.
Sources: NSW Government, Continuing professional development for builders and swimming pool builders; Home Building Act 1989 (NSW).