GOC proposes CPD reforms aimed at strengthening fitness to practise assurance

The General Optical Council (GOC) has opened a wide‑ranging consultation on reforms to its Continuing Professional Development (CPD) scheme, signalling a shift towards a system designed to provide stronger, more direct assurance of registrants’ ongoing fitness to practise.

The regulator is proposing to move away from the current minimum points‑based model and introduce a more outcomes‑focused approach, giving optometrists and dispensing opticians greater autonomy over how they maintain and demonstrate competence. The GOC argues that a more flexible structure would better reflect individual scopes of practice while still underpinning public protection.

A central theme of the consultation is the regulator’s intention to place greater responsibility on registrants and optical businesses for ensuring that learning is sufficient to maintain safe practice. The GOC says businesses are well positioned to identify development needs and support staff, and it is therefore proposing amendments to the Standards for Optical Businesses to formalise this role.

The consultation also sets out plans to end the GOC’s approval and audit of CPD providers. The regulator notes that it is currently the only healthcare regulator to oversee providers in this way and that registrant satisfaction with CPD provision is already high. Removing these requirements, it says, would reduce regulatory burden without compromising public protection.

Because some elements of the CPD framework are set in legislation, including minimum points requirements, the GOC anticipates a phased approach to reform. Proposed changes for the 2028–30 cycle include:

• Adjusting points allocations to reduce the volume of CPD needed to meet the total requirement
• Using the points system to incentivise post‑registration qualifications
• Reviewing CPD domains to ensure they reflect core areas of competence
• Removing barriers to self‑directed learning, including minimum provider‑led session requirements and reflective statements
• Reducing the number of events requiring prior approval
• Phasing out CPD provider audits and withdrawing the Standards for CPD Providers

Longer‑term proposals, dependent on legislative change, would represent a more fundamental shift. These include abolishing the points system entirely and introducing an annual declaration at renewal that registrants have undertaken sufficient learning to maintain competence and kept appropriate records. The GOC would audit a sample of records, with inadequate CPD potentially leading to removal from the register, subject to remediation and appeal.

Steve Brooker, Director of Regulatory Strategy, said the reforms continue the GOC’s move towards a more proportionate and flexible system introduced in 2022. He emphasised that the aim is to support registrants’ professional development while ensuring the regulator can continue to rely on CPD as a key mechanism for assuring fitness to practise.

The consultation runs until 19 April 2026, with online events for registrants and CPD providers to be announced during the consultation period.

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