We will regularly carry out random audit of Advanced Members to ensure that they are meeting the requirements advanced membership.

Anyone who has been an Advanced Member for more than a year is eligible for audit. If you are selected, we will send you an audit notice by email, giving you up to six weeks to return all the relevant information. 

You can continue to practise while preparing your submission and while we are assessing your information.

Preparing your submission

If you're selected for audit, you must provide your past year's records relating to CPD:

• You must submit records of the CPD you've undertaken during the year, using the CPD template. Please remember to respect client confidentiality and remove anything that may contain a client’s personal details.
• Please ensure that your CPD includes at least 5 different CPD activities of up to 30 hours a year, of which at least half should be addiction related. This can include psychosocial interventions relevant to the addictions field including motivational interviewing and cognitive behavioural therapy approaches, as well as knowledge-based activities.
• You must submit your records on the CPD Audit template. Here is an example of 4 months of recorded CPD.

It's important that the information you provide is honest and accurate. If you give false or misleading information, you may be referred to the Complaints and disciplinary procedures

Can I ask for an extension?

As an advanced member, you have a professional responsibility to manage your CPD throughout the year and you should have ongoing records. We may give additional time in exceptional cases, where circumstances beyond the normal difficulties of life have significantly interfered with your ability to submit information. If you want to request additional time, please contact us at [email protected] as soon as possible.

If you don't provide your information by the deadline, your name will be removed from the Practitioner Directory. You will then have 14 days to respond. We will reinstate your Practitioner Directory information as soon as we receive your audit submission. 

If you still fail to respond, we will write to you again giving you a further seven days. If you do not respond, and we cannot contact you, you will be removed from membership.  

Submitting audit information

Please submit your information electronically to [email protected].

Assessment

We'll assess your information against the Conduct of Code and Ethics, and the AP CPD guidance. The assessment process takes around six weeks. If we have to ask you for further information or clarification, the process may take longer

We'll contact you with the outcome of your audit, which could be:

• your information meets AP Advanced Membership standards
• your information does not meet AP Advanced Membership standards

If you do not meet any or all of the standards, we'll explain the reasons why and ask you to resubmit your information.

You will have two further attempts to meet the Advanced Membership Standards. If you still fail meet any of the standards after your third submission, you will be removed from AP membership.

What happens to my information?

The information you provide will be kept confidential and will only be seen by AP staff responsible for the audit. We will hold your personal information only for as long as is necessary for the audit and any follow-up process. We will delete electronic copies and destroy any hard copies once the audit has been completed.

We will not pass your personal information onto any third parties.

Appeals process

You can only appeal against a decision to remove you from the AP Advanced Membership on the grounds that: 

1. the audit procedure has not been followed correctly
   or
2. your audit information has not been fairly and properly assessed against the Conduct of Code and Ethics, and the AP CPD guidance

You must make your appeal in writing within one calendar month of receiving our decision letter to [email protected]