Continuing Professional Development Guidelines for Adjudicators
CPD Guidelines for Adjudicators outline mandatory annual training to ensure adjudicators maintain up-to-date skills and industry knowledge.
Continuing Professional Development Guidelines for Adjudicators
These are the Guidelines issued by the Secretary (Commissioner for Fair Trading) under clause 19(4) of the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Regulation 2020.
The guidelines have legal effect from 1 September 2020. In accordance with clause 19(3) of the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Regulation 2020, the requirement to have completed CPD specified by these guidelines commences on 1 September 2021.
Approved by Rose Webb, Deputy Secretary, Better Regulation and Commissioner for Fair Trading.
11 August 2020
1. Glossary of terms
Words and expressions used in these guidelines have the same meaning as they have in the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 (the Act) and Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Regulation 2020 (the Regulation).
| Adjudicator | the person appointed in accordance with the Act to determine adjudication applications |
| Authorised Nominating Authority (ANA) | a person authorised by the Minister under section 28 of the Act to nominate persons to determine adjudication applications |
| Required continuing professional development (CPD) | the CPD required to be completed each year by an adjudicator as specified in this document |
| CPD period | an adjudicator’s CPD period of 12 months |
| CPD Guidelines | this document |
| CPD year | from 1 September in one year to August 31 in the following year |
| Secretary | the Commissioner for Fair Trading, Department of Customer Service |
2. Introduction
Section 18(2)(b) of the Act enables the regulations to prescribe circumstances in which a person is ineligible to be an adjudicator.
Using this head of power, clause 19(2) and 19(4) of the Regulation provide that a person is ineligible unless they have completed the CPD requirements specified by the Secretary’s guidelines.
These guidelines set out the CPD required to be completed by adjudicators and how to comply with the requirement by undertaking certain training and educational activities. It also provides a template at Section 4 to assist adjudicators with recording their CPD activities.
Parties to adjudication should have confidence that an adjudicator will not only be competent but also be able to apply a diligent and independent mind to the issues in dispute and articulate the reasons for arriving at a decision in a clear and comprehensive manner.
The CPD requirements outlined in these guidelines aim to provide adjudicators with ongoing skills, knowledge and competencies to conduct the adjudication process and resolve disputes.
Mandatory CPD will also ensure that adjudicators continually update their knowledge and skills in line with current industry practice.
To support the new CPD requirements, adjudicators will be responsible for maintaining and providing a copy of their record of CPD activities to an ANA at a time determined by an ANA.
3. Compliance with CPD requirements
3.1 CPD points
An adjudicator must accumulate 10 CPD points in each CPD year.
Within those 10 CPD points, an adjudicator must obtain 1 point for each of the compulsory topics below (a total of 3 CPD points) each year.
- Legal principles and concepts (for example, principles of contract law, principles of construction law, construction contracts, construction projects or reading of the Act and the Regulation)
- Practice and procedure (for example, practical aspects of adjudication, adjudication procedure, reading payment schedules or decision making and complaint handling practices)
- Ethics (for example, impartiality, confidentiality or conflicts of interest).
3.2 Attaining your CPD points
There are a variety of activities an adjudicator can participate in to obtain CPD points.
These include attending seminars, workshops, lectures, or conferences, participating in self-directed learning, reflecting on practice through discussion with another adjudicator or undertaking formal tertiary studies.
Section 3.5 sets out the full list of CPD activities an adjudicator can participate in and the CPD point(s) that will be accumulated from completing each CPD activity. Further information on point entitlement is provided at section 3.4.
Adjudicators should exercise judgement in selecting the most appropriate CPD activities that would extend their technical knowledge, competence and skills in relation to a topic.
The following example (with reference to the table at section 3.5) demonstrates how an adjudicator can accumulate 10 CPD points, including 3 CPD points covering the compulsory topics.
3.3 Surplus points
A surplus point refers to a CPD point earned in a CPD year in which the adjudicator exceeded the 10 CPD points required for that CPD year.
Adjudicators can carry forward to the next CPD year a maximum of 5 surplus CPD points that were not used towards the 10 point total in the CPD year in which they were earned.
CPD points obtained in any of the three compulsory topics listed in paragraph 3.1 cannot be used as surplus points.
For example, if an adjudicator earned 15 points in the 2021 CPD year, 5 of the 15 points could be carried over to 2022 (except for any CPD points on compulsory topics). In the 2022 CPD year, an adjudicator would only be required to obtain 5 more CPD points (including the three compulsory points), rather than 10, in order to meet the 10 CPD points requirement.
3.4 Point entitlement
Generally, 1 hour of learning is equal to 1 CPD points, depending on the activity.
The smallest fraction of a CPD point that can be obtained in a session is 0.5 CPD points. In order to obtain 0.5 CPD points, an activity must be at least 30 minutes. An adjudicator cannot gain any CPD points if an activity runs for 29 minutes or less.
An adjudicator may round up to 1 CPD point if the CPD activity is between 30 and 59 minutes.
| CPD activity | CPD format | CPD points | Points per CPD year |
|---|---|---|---|
| General education | Attendance either in person or online at a:
| 1 CPD point per hour | Unlimited points per CPD year |
| Formal tertiary studies | Satisfactory completion of subject within an undergraduate or postgraduate course relevant to an adjudicator’s practice at a recognised tertiary institution | 3 CPD points per satisfactory completion of a subject | Unlimited points per CPD year |
| Reflecting on practice | Discussion and evaluation of adjudicated cases with a professional supervisor, coach or peer mentor who is also an adjudicator. | 1 CPD point per hour | Maximum 4 CPD points per CPD year |
| Providing professional development | Preparation and/or presentation of written or oral material to be used in a CPD activity or in other forms of education provided to other adjudicators | 1 CDP point per hour for the preparation or presentation of material and 1 CPD point per hour for the presentation of material | Maximum 6 CPD points per CPD year |
| Credit for related professional CPD | Recognition of CPD hours accumulated to maintain an existing professional accreditation, licence, registration or similar if an adjudicator is employed in another profession that requires CPD (e.g. as an architect, certifier or solicitor) which directly relate to an adjudicator’s function under the Act. | 1 CPD point per hour | Unlimited points per CPD year |
| Self-directed learning | Individual study relevant to an adjudicator’s function including: ▪ reading books, professional journals and articles ▪ listening to or viewing relevant pre-recorded content ▪ writing articles or papers ▪ conducting research | 1 CPD point per hour | Maximum 5 CPD points per CPD year |
| Attendance as a professional committee member of a professional association | Attendance at a professional committee meeting or committee event involving adjudicators within the building and construction sector | 0.5 CPD points per hour | Maximum 3 CPD points per CPD year |
3.6 Recording the completion of CPD
An ANA may request evidence from a prospective or existing adjudicator to demonstrate how they have satisfied their CPD requirements for each CPD year.
An adjudicator must keep a written record of the activities they undertake in order to obtain CPD points. It is recommended adjudicators use the template below to maintain a record of the CPD activities they have completed each CPD year.
In addition to the template, adjudicators may keep other supporting documentation as evidence of their completed CPD, such as certificates, meeting minutes, presentations prepared by the adjudicator and seminar notes.
CPD activities record template
3.7 Non-compliance
In accordance with clause 19(2)(a) of the Regulation, if a person fails to complete the required CPD, the person will not be eligible to be an adjudicator. In this case, an ANA will not be able to refer an adjudication application to the person.
4. CPD activities record template
Below is an example of how to fill in the CPD activities record template.
Keep a copy for your records.
| CPD category | CPD format | Dates and location | Topic code | Supporting | Duration | CPD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Reflecting on practice | Participating in a structured peer-based reflection on a recent adjudication about decision making and writing with adjudicator colleague John Smith | 2 Sept 2020 via Skype | B | Meeting agenda for discussion with John Smith | 1hr | 1 |
| General education | Training seminar held by Adjudicate Today on ‘Managing Conflicts of Interest in Adjudications’, delivered by Mary Davies | 1 Nov 2020 at Adjudicate Today Sydney office | C | Record of attendance | 1hr | 1 |
Surplus points from previous CPD year
| CPD category | CPD format | Dates and location | Topic code Legal principles Practice and procedure: B Ethics: C | Supporting documents kept | Duration of CPD activity | CPD points earned |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total CPD points |