AIRAH is the leading provider of education and training to the Australian HVAC&R industry.

For AIRAH members:	Throughout your working life, undertaking continuing professional development (CPD) is an important way to expand your knowledge, maintain up-to-date technical skills and progress your HVAC&R career.
For APER applicants:	To ensure engineers on the AIRAH Professional Engineer Register (APER) are of the highest standard of contemporary practice, we require evidence of relevant CPD.

About | Key features | Activities | Recording CPD | Career break extension | Contact

 

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AIRAH recognises the importance of members not only developing their technical HVAC&R building services industry knowledge, but also advancing their skills in other critical knowledge areas. AIRAH’s Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics recommends all AIRAH members undertake CPD.

CPD activities are categorised as:

CPD activities can comprise a mix of formal learning activities such as:

CPD opportunities also includes informal learning activities such as reading relevant books, journals and technical manuals.

For more information on recognised CPD activities, please refer to the Activities section on this page.

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About ARPEng:

APER is the professional accreditation designed for engineers operating in the HVAC&R building services industry. To ensure engineers holding this status are of the highest standard of contemporary practice, we require evidence of relevant CPD. This is a vital pillar of an APER accreditation and our CPD requirements were established to meet the expectations of government, profession, industry, and public. For further information about the APER program, please click here.

Status	Requirement	Description
CPD for AIRAH members	Recommended	AIRAH recommends all members participate in CPD, but there is no official obligation to either participate or formalise your relevant activities. CPD activities are designed to extend or update your knowledge and skills. It ensures you continually build the knowledge and skills you need to succeed in the competitive business environment It assists you in achieving your development and career goals It aids you in your ability to excel in your role, providing increased value to your organisation and your clients It provides transferable skills for increased employability It helps to build your reputation as a business leader.
CPD for AIRAH Professional Engineer Register (APER) applicants	Mandatory	The APER program requires participants to undertake continuous professional development (CPD) to become an APER and to maintain their status. The CPD requirements and categories of APER meet the expectations of government, the profession, industry and public. To meet APER program requirements, applicants must provide a record of 150 hours of completed CPD over the last three years and a minimum of 50 hours each year. At least 70% of CPD hours must relate to technical matters relevant to the discipline of engineering in which you are being assessed. AIRAH will conduct audits of CPD hours of APER members. Should you be audited, you must be able to show proof of your claimed CPD activities.

 

Continuous	Operates through the practitioner’s working life.
Focused	Necessary for the execution of specialised technical duties and related to maintaining the quality and relevancy of expert services.
Broad-based	Development of knowledge, skills and personal qualities.
Structured	Systematic maintenance, improvement and broadening of the person’s skill base.

 

AIRAH recognises seven major types of CPD activities.

Importantly, there are conditions attached to each category for maintaining APER status, and at least 70 per cent of CPD hours must relate to technical matters relevant to the discipline of engineering in which you are being assessed. You must also demonstrate that your CPD comes from a cross section of the categories/activities listed below.

 

Formal post-graduate education (at a higher learning institution), aligned to your current role and responsibilities or related to the HVAC&R building services industry. This may include individual units of post-graduate study that involve some form of assessment, such as lectures, tutorials, lab work and research.

APER: There is no limit to the hours claimable within a three-year period, but you must demonstrate additional CPD activities in other categories.

Formal training programs offered by RTOs and other education providers. Online courses and private study can be used to claim CPD if they are aligned to your current role and responsibilities or are related to the mechanical engineer - HVAC&R building services discipline.

APER: there is no limit to the hours claimable within a three-year period, but you must demonstrate additional CPD activities in other categories.

 

 

Attendance or participation at conferences, site visits and technical meetings. These must be linked to your work, profession, current role and responsibilities, or they must be related to the mechanical engineer – HVAC&R building services discipline.

ARPEng: limited to 60 hours of CPD claimable within a three-year period.

 

Active participation on an AIRAH or an allied organisation committee (Board, Associate Director, National Reference Group, Special Technical Group, Division, Conference). You must be able to demonstrate how the leadership position or your involvement in professional activities enhances your knowledge and support of the industry. Activities such as mentoring are also included.

ARPEng: limited to 150 hours of CPD claimable within a three-year period.

 

 

Presentation at an AIRAH or allied organisation conference, forum or event. These engagements should fall outside your normal employment but be aligned to your current role and responsibilities; or be related to the mechanical engineer – HVAC&R building services discipline. Please note that repeat presentations of the same content should not be included.

ARPEng: limited to 75 hours of CPD claimable within a three-year period.

Technical material published by AIRAH or an allied organisation in a print or electronic medium, including contributions to technical manuals, publications, technical blogs and conferences. If the published paper or works is co-authored, you can claim a pro-rata split of the time spent on writing the paper.

ARPEng: limited to 150 hours of CPD claimable within a three-year period.

 

 

Activities claimed must contribute to expanding your existing knowledge and skills. They can include extending your knowledge of legislation, regulations, codes, standards and specifications through work or private study. Sources may include reading technical or industry publications; digital information sources; online technical forums; technical manuals; and learning to use industry-specific computer software. You will need to cite sources (title of publication, date published, author, etc.) and provide sufficient evidence to support how these activities enhanced your knowledge.

ARPEng: limited to 90 hours of CPD claimable with a three-year period.

If you believe you are undertaking other types of CPD not covered by the above categories, please make a written submission to the AIRAH office for consideration via email.

 

AIRAH has an online CPD diary that allows members to record all their learning and development activities.

AIRAH activities requiring registration and that qualify for CPD are automatically recorded in your diary. Activities that are less formal in nature (such as STG and Committee participation) must be manually added.

The diary also allows members to record learning and development activities undertaken outside of AIRAH. It provides the opportunity to maintain a complete record of all learning and development activity throughout your career. You should provide the type of learning, learning provider, number of hours and date of activity.

The diary can be accessed by signing in to your AIRAH member account.

A CPD record template for APER applicants is also available to download.

 

An engineer on the APER may apply to have a career break extension recognised.

A member is recognised as having a career break if they have a period of leave from the workforce of at least six months, but less than five years, for a reasonable cause such as:

1. Serious illness
2. Family care
3. Parental leave
4. Travel
5. Elite sport/cultural involvement
6. Unemployment (involuntary).

Please note that permanent part-time work, volunteering, study, and retirement are not included under reasonable cause.

You must apply for the career break extension in advance.

To file an application for the APER career break extension, please email [email protected]

 

For more information about AIRAH CPD, please call the national office on 03 8623 3000 or email [email protected]