Speak Out Feb 2020 DIGITAL EDITION. pdf

Certified Practising Member Audits: What’s involved?

SPEECH PATHOLOGY AUSTRALIA CONDUCTS AUDITS OF CERTIFIED PRACTISING MEMBERS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. THE FOCUS OF THE AUDITS IS TO CONFIRM THAT MEMBERS HAVE MET THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR ELIGIBILITY FOR CERTIFIED PRACTISING MEMBERSHIP.

The audits are an important way for Speech Pathology Australia to provide assurance that Certified Practising members are meeting the specified requirements. As a member of NASRHP (National Alliance of Self-Regulating Health Professions), Speech Pathology Australia is required to audit both continuing professional development (CPD) requirements and recency of practice. Certified Practising Member audits involve two components: 1. Continuing professional development, and 2. Recency of practice Audits occur throughout the year with random selection of members from the membership database. Audit notifications are sent to members by email. The notification will specify what documentation the member needs to submit and will provide a deadline, usually one month from the date of the notification. Frequently asked questions Can an extension be granted? Extensions may be granted if members are unable to participate in an audit due to leave, illness or other extenuating circumstances. Can members be audited more than once? Yes. Selection is random, so it is possible for members to be selected more than once for an audit. What are the recency of practice requirements? • Certified Practising members who completed their speech pathology course five years ago or less at the time of their last membership declaration need to provide evidence of a minimum of 200 practice hours since course completion. 200 hours roughly equates to working full-time for six weeks or working one day a week for a little over six months.

roughly equates to working three days a week for 12 months or one day a week for three years. • Members with Provisional CPSP status don’t need to provide practice hour evidence for a CPM audit. What are acceptable forms of evidence for the recency of practice audit? Acceptable forms of evidence include: a letter from an employer, a statement of service from an HR department, a Statutory Declaration signed by an authorised witness or a summary of practice hours from practice software. I work in private practice; how can I provide evidence of my practice hours? Private practitioners may be able to generate a report summarising practice hours for the specified period (with confidential information redacted) from their practice software. Otherwise, a statutory declaration may be the easiest way to provide evidence. I am currently CPSP but was Provisional in the previous membership year and have been selected for a CPM audit. What are the requirements? Audits of members who transitioned from Provisional to full CPSP status at their last membership renewal will include checks to determine if they have fulfilled all the requirements for eligibility for full CPSP status. What happens if a member fails the audit? If a member fails a CPD audit (e.g., due to insufficient CPD points, or if documents have not been submitted), their membership status becomes Non-Certified. The member will be ineligible to use the title Certified Practising Speech Pathologist and post nominals CPSP. Non-Certified speech pathologists are ineligible to provide services to clients funded under the Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP), Medicare and private health insurance funds. To provide services to NDIS participants as a registered NDIS provider, or as an employee of an NDIS registered organisation, speech pathologists need to be Certified Practising members of Speech Pathology Australia. This is a requirement

• Certified Practising members who completed their SP course more than five years ago from the time of their last membership declaration need to provide evidence of a minimum of 1000 practice hours during the five-year period prior to the membership declaration. 1000 hours

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February 2020 www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au

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