Where can accountants get CPD points online

Managing a busy accounting practice and keeping up with mandatory professional development is a challenge most practitioners know well. The good news is that online learning has made it significantly easier to meet compliance obligations without stepping away from client work for extended periods. At TEN The Education Network, we have spent years helping Australian accounting professionals build practical, efficient CPD strategies, and the shift to flexible online delivery has only strengthened what is possible. This guide walks through the key questions around CPD for accountants, from understanding exactly what is required to finding the right mix of learning formats to meet those requirements throughout the year.

How many CPD hours do accountants need?

Every Australian accounting professional has mandatory CPD obligations, but the specifics depend on which professional body they belong to. The common thread across the major bodies is a requirement of 120 hours over a three-year triennium, with at least 20 hours completed each year. 

Where things differ is in the detail. CPA Australia requires that those 120 hours include a minimum of 10 verifiable ethics hours over the triennium, and unstructured activities such as relevant reading, audio programs, or video content can count toward up to 10 hours per year. CA ANZ requires 90 of the 120 hours to be verifiable, and from the triennium that began on 1 July 2024, a minimum of six verifiable ethics hours must be completed across the three years. The Institute of Public Accountants structures its requirements differently again, with hours spread across defined competency areas, each requiring at least 15 verified and five unverified hours.

Knowing which rules apply to your designation matters when you are selecting online formats. In some frameworks, a recorded webinar is treated differently from a live session, and that distinction shapes how a smart annual CPD plan is built.

CPD for accountants: Subscription vs standalone learning

One of the most common questions practitioners ask is whether a firm-wide subscription or individual standalone sessions better serve their needs. The answer, for most accounting practices, is that both are used strategically.

A firm-wide subscription to an online CPD platform provides practice managers with a reliable, cost-effective way to ensure the entire team meets their annual compliance obligations. Rather than sourcing and managing individual sessions for each practitioner, a subscription provides access to a broad library of accredited content spanning taxation, auditing, ethics, superannuation, and more. This baseline coverage is particularly valuable for practices with multiple staff at different career stages and with different obligations.

Standalone sessions serve a different purpose. When a regulatory development requires immediate attention, or when a matter demands specialist knowledge outside a firm's usual practice areas, a targeted masterclass or webinar delivers focused expertise efficiently. The flexibility to source a single session on a specific topic without committing to a broader curriculum is what makes standalone learning a genuine complement to subscription access rather than a duplication of it.

At TEN The Education Network, both options are available. Our Accountants Webinar Select subscription gives practitioners access to live and recorded webinars and a substantial library of supporting papers, while individual programs, masterclasses, and specialist series can be accessed on a standalone basis for targeted upskilling.

Best accounting CPD courses in Australia

Quality courses combine technical rigour with practical application content that translates directly into better client outcomes, not just compliance hours. For Australian accounting professionals, the most valuable programs tend to cluster around a few key subject areas.

Taxation remains the core area of ongoing professional development for most practitioners. With regular legislative change, ATO guidance updates, and evolving case law, keeping current in tax requires consistent engagement throughout the year rather than a single annual update. Ethics training is equally important, particularly given that all three major professional bodies now have explicit ethics hour requirements built into their triennial frameworks.

Beyond the compliance essentials, the accounting programs drawing the most engagement in 2026 are those addressing areas where client advisory work is expanding. Superannuation and SMSFs, corporate advisory, financial planning intersections, and GST and indirect taxes are all areas where practitioners are seeking deeper, more current knowledge to support sophisticated client needs.

Our accounting CPD program covers all of these areas through live webinars, recorded sessions, podcast subscriptions, and dedicated webinar series, giving practitioners the flexibility to engage with content in whatever format fits their schedule and learning preferences.

Understanding CPD Points for Law Professionals: A guide for dual-qualified accountants

While uncommon, some accounting professionals also hold a legal practising certificate, particularly those working in estate planning, business structuring, and succession advisory. For these dual-qualified practitioners, CPD obligations do not halve. They double. Both sets of requirements must be met independently, within their respective annual cycles and across their respective mandatory categories.

For legal professionals, obligations sit at 10 units per year across four mandatory subject areas: ethics and professional responsibility, practice management and business skills, professional skills, and substantive law. The CPD year runs 1 April to 31 March, separate from accounting body triennial cycles. Dual-qualified practitioners need to track both frameworks simultaneously and ensure their learning activities satisfy the right accreditation requirements for each.

Those who also hold accounting qualifications will find that estate planning is the area where both disciplines most naturally converge, and where well-chosen CPD content can serve both obligations at once, provided the program meets the accreditation standards of both bodies.

CPD for lawyers: Navigating cross-disciplinary practice 

For lawyers and the accountants who work alongside them, our cross-disciplinary content, spanning commercial law, estate planning, insolvency, and employment law, provides a practical resource for staying current in both professional frameworks simultaneously.

Legal CPD programs covering taxation law, corporate transactions, and regulatory compliance are particularly relevant to accounting professionals whose client work regularly engages with legal frameworks. At TEN The Education Network, this intersection is well supported with content designed to serve both legal and accounting practitioners working in shared practice areas.

Accounting professionals looking to streamline their CPD obligations while deepening their technical expertise will find our flexible online platform a practical and comprehensive solution. Visit TEN The Education Network to explore subscription options and individual programs across all key accounting and legal subject areas.