CPD compliance

From 1 October 2026, the revised Professional Standard (PS) 1: Continuing Professional Development comes into effect. The standard is now an hours-based system and aligned with the Membership Year. Members are required to complete 25 hours of CPD, including two hours of professionalism and two hours of the Council-specified topic, each membership year. For 2026/27 the Council-specified topic is Generative AI (GenAI). The revised PS 1, the Explanatory Memorandum and Guidance to Support Members’ Compliance with PS 1 can be accessed below.

• PS 1 Continuing Professional Development
• PS 1 Continuing Professional Development Explanatory Memorandum
• Guidance to Support Members' Compliance with Professional Standard 1

Professionalism Training 

Professionalism Training is intended to enhance Members' understanding of an actuary's professional and ethical obligations.  

Members can find resources for meeting this requirement on the Professionalism and ethics page. 

2026/27 Council-specified topic – GenAI 

GenAI is becoming embedded in modelling, reporting and decision-making. In that environment, actuaries are well placed to supply the scrutiny, professional judgement and accountability that cannot be delegated to a model. The Council-specified topic for the CPD year commencing 1 October 2026 addresses this directly: it requires Members to undertake CPD in GenAI, building practical and current capability across the profession so that actuaries can advise on its use with confidence, both within their organisations and in the public interest. 

Members can find resources for meeting this requirement on the GenAI Resources page. 

Recording and claiming your CPD 

Members are required to maintain a personal record of their CPD activities. This record can be any system that is efficient for the member (e.g. a handwritten note or an Excel spreadsheet). Members may also claim their CPD through the CPD Dashboard in the member portal. 

Guidance on claiming CPD in the Dashboard during the transition to hours and the membership year is available in the member portal . 

CPD compliance audits

As part of its regulatory functions, the Institute is obliged to carry out an annual CPD compliance audit. This mandatory process serves to maintain the high professional, ethical and technical standards of our members that the public expects. It also serves to ensure that our members can continue to enjoy the reputation from which all members benefit.

Members will be chosen to participate in an audit and will receive notice in writing either by email or a hard-copy letter to their address registered with the Institute. The notice will specify the period being audited and a closing date for submission of full CPD records. Upon receipt, the records are acknowledged and reviewed. 

Members will be contacted should more information be required and, once the process is complete, are advised of the outcome of the audit.

Failure to comply with the CPD requirements set out in PS 1 is, or may be, prima facie Misconduct and may lead to penalties under the Institute’s Disciplinary Scheme. Like most professions, we require our members to declare their compliance with CPD as part of their annual membership renewal.

A member determined by Council not to have reasonable grounds for their non-compliance may also be:

• issued a warning letter regarding their non-compliance;
• required to undertake further CPD to remedy the shortfall;
• required to provide evidence that further CPD activities have been undertaken for a specified period; 
• included in the next CPD audit; and/or
• referred, for repeated breaches, to the Institute’s Disciplinary Scheme.

Annual renewal declaration

All members are required to confirm their compliance with (or exemption from) PS 1 as part of the annual membership renewal process.

Meeting the CPD requirements for multiple associations

Overseas members must comply with the CPD requirements of both the Actuaries Institute and any local associations they belong to, unless there is a Council exemption. Living overseas does not exempt you from the Institute's requirements. 

New Zealand Society of Actuaries (NZSA) 

Institute Members who reside and practise in New Zealand, and who are subject to the CPD requirements of the New Zealand Society of Actuaries (NZSA), may be deemed to have complied with PS 1, provided they also complete the required Professionalism Training and any Council-specified topic hours. Full conditions are set out in the NZSA CPD Recognition Policy . 

Exemption from CPD

Fellows, Accredited Members and Associates of the Institute are required to undertake CPD to comply with PS 1 each Membership Year. The following Members are automatically exempt and do not need to apply:

• Associates who enrolled in at least one Fellowship subject in the Membership Year; or  
• Retired Members or those on parental leave, and not providing Services as at the end of the Membership Year; or  
• Members who joined or return from parental leave after 30 June in a Membership Year; or
• Members covered by Council policy.

A Member seeking exemption on other grounds (e.g. long-term illness or disability) must apply in writing to [email protected] , setting out the relevant circumstances and providing supporting documentation. Applications should be made as soon as practicable; retrospective applications will only be considered in exceptional circumstances.

CPD compliance for members prior to 1 October 2026 (Professional Standard 1, January 2020) 

CPD completed prior to 1 October 2026 is subject to Professional Standard 1: Continuing Professional Development (January 2020) , unless an exemption was granted by Council. 

Members were required to complete 100 points of CPD per calendar year, or 200 points in aggregate over two years with at least 50 points completed in each year. 

Quick links

Code of Conduct
Professional Standards and Guidance
CPD Compliance
Disciplinary Scheme
How we regulate our members
Members’ Sounding Board
Actuarial Capabilities Framework
Professionalism and ethics