A guide to Specialist High-Level Requirements 2026

Specialist High-Level Requirements are additional CPD requirements for Consultants to maintain their Specialist Registration with AHPRA.  These additional requirements are stipulated by the Medical Board of Australia.

Each CPD Home is responsible for ensuring members meet these MBA requirements, but CPD Homes may vary in how they do so - in short, the requirements may be slightly different between CPD Homes / colleges.

Of note, there can also be some differences between the Medical Board Requirements (to maintain Specialist Registration with AHPRA) and Specialist College Requirements (to maintain Fellowship with a College).  Therefore, if you are a Fellow with a Specialty College, please refer to their websites to ensure you are meeting their requirements in addition to Medical Board requirements.

Specialists are required to demonstrate that they are compliant with the requirement, by uploading evidence they have completed it. For criteria that can be done over multiple years, Osler will require you to demonstrate you have been compliant over this time period (for example, if you need to do an activity every three years, you need to demonstrate you have completed it in the past 3 years).

Osler have created a Best of the Web Tile with links to the Medical Board requirements and some recommendations that may assist you with fulfilling these requirements. Each individual must review their own circumstances, learning needs and requirements for the 2026 CPD Year and whether activities undertaken meet the Medical Board conditions to maintain Specialist registration.

Of note, the 2026 Requirements are changing for some practitioners and many specialties are entering a new triennial cycle for requirements with the colleges.

If you have any concerns about meeting your High-Level Requirements please contact Osler for advice.

2026 Specialist High Level Requirements

Anaesthesia

A specialist anaesthetist must:

• complete at least one emergency response activity per year

• complete at least one of the following activities per year to directly evaluate and reflect on their own clinical practice:

  • structured patient survey

  • multi-source feedback

  • peer review

  • clinical audit

Emergency medicine

A specialist emergency medicine physician (including all fields of specialty practice) must:

• complete three core procedural skills per year:

  • 1x core airway procedural skill

  • 1x core breathing procedural skill

  • 1x core circulation procedural skill

• complete one activity per year to reflect on and develop leadership skills that will contribute to

  • workplace improvement

  • system-wide improvement and/or

  • effective interdisciplinary teamwork

General practice

A specialist general practitioner must:

• complete a CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) course every three years

Intensive care medicine

A specialist intensive care medicine physician must:

• complete an airway management of critically ill patients’ activity ONCE every 3 years that:

• is of a minimum 3 hours duration and involves an in-person practical workshop, preparatory and post activity components that specifically consider:

  • airways assessment

  • approaches to difficult airway and airway emergencies

  • teamwork and leadership in an airway crisis

  • familiarity with equipment

  • CICO algorithms (can’t intubate, can’t oxygenate)

  • management of tracheostomy emergencies

  • simulation activities that should include performing intubation on appropriate mannequins to expose participants to difficult airway scenarios and include team-based responses.

Obstetrics and Gynaecology

A specialist obstetrician and gynaecologist must:

• complete an in-person Basic Life Support (BLS) program every two years

Pain medicine

A specialist pain medicine physician must:

• complete at least one emergency response activity per year

• complete AT LEAST ONE of the following activities per year to directly evaluate and reflect on their own clinical practice:

  • structured patient survey

  • multi-source feedback

  • peer review

  • clinical audit

Psychiatry

A specialist psychiatrist must:

• complete a minimum of 10 hours of formal peer review per year

Radiology

A specialist radiologist must:

• complete anaphylaxis training as part of basic or advanced life support training once every three years

Sport and exercise medicine

A specialist sport and exercise physician must:

• complete WADA/Sport Integrity Australia anti-doping education every three years and

• complete ANY ONE of the following courses in every three-year period:

  • management of Sports Trauma course (MOST)

  • basic cardiac life support course (BCLS)

  • advanced cardiac life support course (ACLS)

  • AFL Emergency Care Course

  • immediate care in rugby course (level 2 or 3 course)

Surgery (except OMS)

A specialist surgeon (including all fields of specialty practice except OMS) must:

• participate in the Australia and New Zealand Audit of Surgical Mortality (ANZASM) by completing all surgical case forms sent to the surgeon by ANZASM