Ongoing Professional Development (OPD)

One of the defining features of any accreditation scheme is the requirement for accredited personnel to take part in regular professional development activities. This activity ensures that those who are accredited continue to develop their knowledge and skills and remain abreast of scientific and technological advances in their sector.

OPD activities are recorded using an online form and evidence of completion can be uploaded for each activity. All OPD returns are checked, and 10% of forms are randomly audited each year. Meeting your OPD requirements is easiest if you log each activity as it happens and not store up information and enter it all at the end of the period.

You can link to the OPD form here.

The OPD guidelines help people to assess how many hours are claimable against an activity and what documents can be used for evidence.

OPD Rules #

Soil Science Australia requires accredited people to undertake and document a variety of professional development activities related to soil science and provide evidence of claimable hours across each two-year period. Periods cover calendar years and diaries are due at the end of the second year.

There are three rules for accruing hours.

Rule 1. Activities in each two-year period must be across at least two of the three categories:

1. Learning
2. Practice
3. Service

Rule 2. There is a maximum of 20 hours in each two-year period for each type of activity e.g. research, training, reading etc except for those with CPSS-CSAM, in which case the maximum is 50.

Rule 3. There is no provision for carrying hours over between OPD periods.

Rule 4. Evidence must show that you participated in, or completed, the activity. That is, your name must be connected to the activity in the documentation. Uploaded evidence may be documents (doc, jpeg or pdf) or links.

OPD guidelines #

CPSS program OPD guidelines

RSP program OPD guidelines

OPD requirements by accreditation #