If you’ve noticed that more practices are requesting Formal CPD sessions - you’re not alone. Across Australia, CPD has become the preferred way architects and designers engage with product brands.
Formal CPD has moved beyond professional development. It reflects deeper changes and, in some cases, has become the primary way practices filter engagement, manage risk, and how practices manage time.
For suppliers, understanding why this shift has happened is critical to staying relevant and requested.
What Is CPD in Architecture?
Definition: Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in the A&D sector is structured learning (often certified) that delivers clear learning outcomes, documents attendance, and helps practitioners maintain registration and competency.
Why it matters: It links knowledge to accountability, giving practices a defensible record of the information that informs design choices.
Continuing Professional Development is not merely a regulatory requirement; it is a commitment to the evolution of the built environment and the safety of the communities we serve.
National Standard of Competency for Architects (NSCA)
Has CPD Become a Risk-Management Tool?
The architectural profession is operating in a far more accountable environment than it was even a few years ago. Regulatory scrutiny has increased, standards have tightened, documentation expectations have risen, and decisions are being interrogated long after projects are delivered.
Formal CPD provides structured learning outcomes, documented attendance, and a clear line between information received and decisions made.
This is why CPD has become embedded in practice policy. It’s not about preference - it’s about professional protection.
Short answer: It creates defensible knowledge via structured learning outcomes, attendance records, and explicit links to practice decisions.
Key takeaways
- CPD supports auditable decision trails.
- Certified sessions standardise learning across teams.
- It’s become part of practice policy, not a preference.
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Photo: GCP Technologies delivering their CPD at the Cox studio
CPD Is No Longer About Time Efficiency — Or Intentional Filtering?
It’s true that practices are time-poor. But that’s only part of the story.
What’s really changed is intent.
CPD is now how practices actively control access. It’s the mechanism used to decide:
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Which brands are worth engaging with
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Which conversations justify team-wide time investment
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Which suppliers are taken seriously enough to be heard
In other words, CPD isn’t just what fits into the diary — it’s what earns a place in it.
If a brand can’t deliver structured, credible CPD, many practices won’t progress the conversation at all.
Short answer: Both—but filtering is the real shift. CPD is how practices decide who gets access to their team’s time.
Why Are Architects Frustrated with Some CPD?
Here’s the part that often goes unspoken: architects are increasingly frustrated with poor-quality CPD.
Specifiers regularly cite CPD sessions that are:
- Thinly disguised product pitches
- Overly generic and technically light
- Disconnected from real project constraints
- Lacking clear learning outcomes
This matters because CPD has become more selective, not less.
The rise in demand hasn’t lowered standards, it has raised them. Practices are far more discerning about who they invite in, and low-quality CPD does more harm than good.
Acknowledging this reality is important. CPD only works when it’s built with intent, structure, and credible technical substance.
Short answer: Too many sessions are thin pitches- light on technical depth, disconnected from real constraints, and unclear on outcomes.
How Does CPD Shape Decisions Before Procurement?
CPD doesn’t just help suppliers “get in earlier.” That framing undersells its real impact.
What CPD actually does is influence how design problems are framed at concept and design development stage. It shapes the language, constraints, and performance expectations teams carry forward.
By the time procurement begins, many decisions are already locked in:
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Performance benchmarks are set
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Compliance pathways are chosen
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Acceptable solution types are narrowed
CPD influences the thinking that leads to those decisions - often months before suppliers think they’re being compared.
This is where CPD has its greatest commercial impact, and why it’s become so valuable to practices.
Short answer: CPD influences how problems are framed at concept and design development, long before comparisons are made.
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Photo: Cox team in CPD session
CPD Is Now a Structural Part of Practice Operations
Many firms have formalised how they engage with suppliers. CPD is prioritised, non-certified sessions are limited, and learning hours are tracked across teams.
Once these systems are in place, CPD becomes the default — not because it’s fashionable, but because it aligns with how practices now operate.
At The Arc Agency, around 80–90% of presentation requests are CPD-led. That level of consistency points to a permanent shift, not a temporary spike.
We have known Arc Agency for many years now and have found their CPD presentations to be extremely informative and helpful ... an eye-opener to the new and innovative developments within the industry, and the improvements in materials and product technology.
Cottee Parker Architects
What Should Suppliers and Brands Do Now?
This isn’t about layering CPD onto a marketing plan. It’s about recognising that CPD has become the baseline requirement for meaningful consideration.
Short answer: Treat CPD as the price of entry for serious engagement.
Key takeaways
- Brands without CPD are easier to defer.
- Brands with weak CPD are easier to dismiss.
- Brands with strong, well‑structured CPD earn trust, recall, and specification.
Action checklist
- Build certified CPD anchored to real project constraints.
- State learning outcomes and assessment clearly.
- Include codes/standards references and case evidence.
- Provide downloadable resources (checklists, details, pathways).
- Measure and iterate using feedback and knowledge checks.
Image: CPD is now a structural part of practice operations.
Final Thought
Demand for CPD is high because architects are being more deliberate about who they listen to and why.
For suppliers, CPD isn’t just an educational channel anymore. It’s how credibility is tested, access is granted, and influence is earned in a more accountable industry.
Ready to Explore CPD for Your Brand?
If you have a CPD ready to go, don’t let it sit on the shelf. Showcase your expertise to our exclusive network of architects and designers—get started here.
If CPD is now the filter practices use to decide who gets time, it’s worth being clear about where your brand sits.
We can help you understand whether Formal CPD is the right move, what level of structure is required, and how it fits within a broader specification engagement strategy.
Book a discovery call with Leland Gurney.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I become a CPD provider?
Our guide, Becoming a Formal CPD Provider in 2026, explains what’s required to deliver compliant CPD for architects in Australia. It covers how Formal CPD works, what qualifies as CPD under current standards, how learning outcomes and assessment are structured, and how presentations are mapped to the National Standard of Competency for Architects. It also outlines the different pathways available, including creating compliant CPD content and optional accreditation considerations. Download the guide here.
Why do architects prefer CPD over informal presentations?
Because CPD provides structured learning, documented compliance, and clearer professional value, making it easier to justify internally.
Is CPD mandatory for architects?
Most architects are required to complete CPD annually to maintain registration, although exact requirements vary by professional body and state.
Does CPD help brands get specified?
Yes. CPD allows brands to educate design teams early, build technical credibility, and influence how problems are defined at concept and design development stage. By shaping performance expectations and acceptable solution pathways upfront, CPD narrows the range of viable options long before procurement begins, when many specification decisions are already effectively set.
Are informal presentations still relevant?
They are, but many practices now prioritise CPD due to internal policies, risk considerations, and time constraints. As a result, CPD is increasingly the preferred and, in some cases, the only approved format.
How can suppliers respond to higher CPD demand?
By developing certified CPD content that focuses on learning outcomes, compliance, and real-world application—not just product features.
Can CPD hurt a brand if done poorly?
Yes. Poorly structured or overtly promotional CPD can damage credibility and reduce future engagement. Practices remember who wastes their time.
