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Insights, Standards

What peer review of a CPD course actually involves

"Peer reviewed" appears on a lot of course pages. It rarely comes with an explanation. Here is what we look for when a provider says it.

CPD Council editorial. Published 5 October 2026. 6 minute read.

Someone else, with the right background

The reviewer is not the author, and is qualified in the subject. A wound care module is reviewed by a nurse who works with wounds. A module on assessment validation is reviewed by someone who has run validation in an RTO.

An editor who fixes commas is useful, but that is proofreading.

Three questions the reviewer answers

Is it right?Facts, figures, legislation and guidelines are checked against the source, not against memory.
Is it current?Rules change. The reviewer confirms the content reflects what applies today and notes anything likely to change soon.
Does it teach what it says it teaches?If the outcome says "apply", the activity has to give the learner something to apply, and the questions at the end have to test it.

A record that survives the reviewer leaving

We ask to see who reviewed the activity, when, what they asked to be changed, and when they signed it off. A provider that cannot produce this for a sample of activities does not meet standard CS 4, however good the content looks.

Why it comes before publishing

A review after launch means some learners have already been taught the uncorrected version, and have a certificate for it. The order matters: write, review, fix, sign off, then publish.

What review costs a provider

Time, mostly. A one-hour activity usually takes a reviewer between one and two hours to check properly, because they open the references. Providers that plan for this publish less often and withdraw less often.

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