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).

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.

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.

Example:

John is an adjudicator.

During the CPD year, John completes the following:

• 5 hours of general education by attending 2 x 1-hour training seminars and 3 x 1 hour training workshops. One of the training seminars was focused on the principles of contract law, and one of the training workshops was focused on reading payment schedules
• 1 hour of reflecting on practice with his adjudicator colleague Samantha where they discussed judicial ethics
• 4 hours of course work in his postgraduate course at the University of Sydney.

Under this example, John has completed a total of 10 hours of CPD activities, with each hour being equivalent to 1 CPD point. John has also ensured that he completed at least 1 CPD point in each of the compulsory topics by:

• attending a training seminar for 1 hour on the principles of contract law (legal principles and concepts)
• attending a training workshop for 1 hour discussing how to read payment schedules (practice and procedure)
• completing 1 hour of reflection on practice with colleague Samantha (another adjudicator) where they discussed conflicts of interest (ethics).

If, for example, John hadn't completed an hour of reflection discussing ethics with Samantha, John would need to complete another CPD point which was focused on ethics (even if he had already completed 10 CPD points in the CPD year).

In this example, John would have completed 11 CPD points. As this exceeds the 10 CPD point requirement for the CPD year, John could carry over 1 CPD point for a non-compulsory topic into the following CPD year.

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.

For example:

Training seminars accumulate 1 CPD point per hour.

If John attends a training seminar for 2 hours and 30 minutes, John can claim 2.5 CPD points.

If John attends a training seminar for 2 hours and 15 minutes, John can claim 2 CPD points because he must round down the time.

If John attends a training seminar for 2 hours and 45 minutes, John can claim 3 CPD points by rounding up the time.

3.5 Types of CPD activities

CPD points may be earned using any combination of the CPD activities listed below.

Adjudicators are not entitled to ‘double dip’ by claiming more than 1 CPD point for the completion of 1 CPD activity.

For example:

John completes a postgraduate subject LAWS70239: Payment Matters in Construction Projects within his postgraduate Master of Construction Law course. The subject was delivered through lectures and tutorials at the University of Melbourne.

John has earned 5 CPD points for satisfactory completion of the subject as a formal tertiary study activity.

John cannot also claim additional CPD points for ‘attending a lecture’ within the general education CPD activity because he has already claimed this component as part of his formal tertiary CPD activity.

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.

Surplus points from previous CPD year