Professional and Principled People

Professional Registration

Many professionals that work with children and young people, and other vulnerable people must have relevant qualifications, skills or experience and be registered with an agency or regulator. For example:

Teachers and early childhood teachers must be registered with the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT).
Psychologists must be registered with the Psychology Board of Australia and the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).
Nurses must be registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia and AHPRA.
Disability workers can choose to be registered with the Disability Worker Registration Board of Victoria.

This helps ensure that these professionals are qualified and suitable to provide care and support to children and young people, and other vulnerable people in our community.

Safety Quality & Care Legal Services can support individuals and organisations to make relevant enquiries to help ensure that they are employing or engaging qualified, suitable and registered people to provide their services, deliver their programs and activitites, and manage and operate their facilities.

We can also support individuals and organisations who become aware that a person that they have employed or engaged has had their professional registration refused, suspended or cancelled by a regulatory authority.

Professional Codes of Conduct

Many professionals that work with children and young people, and other vulnerable people must comply with professional codes of conduct.

These Codes of Conduct help set clear expectations regarding the behaviour, including how they can provide for the health, safety and wellbeing of children and young people, and other vulnerable people in our community.

These professional codes of conduct include the following:

VIT Code of Conduct

Teachers working in Victorian schools and education and care services must be registered with the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT). As part of this professional registration, they must also comply with the VIT Code of Conduct. This consists of the following principles:

Principle 1.1 – Teachers provide opportunities for all learners to learn.

This includes:

knowing their learners and how they learn
catering for individual abilities
maintaining a safe and challenging learning environment
demonstrating cultural sensitivity
communicating effectively.

Principle 1.2 – Teachers treat their learners with courtesy and dignity and promote participation and empowerment.

This includes:

modelling and engaging in respectful and impartial language and behaviour
protecting learners from intimidation, embarrassment, humiliation and harm
respecting a learner’s privacy
using appropriate behaviour management strategies and consequences.

Principle 1.3 – Teachers work within the limits of their professional expertise.

This includes:

ensuring that they have the physical, mental and emotional capacity to carry out their professional responsibilities.
knowing when to refer learners to other professionals and agencies for assistance.

Principle 1.4 – Teachers maintain objectivity in their relationships with learners

This means that teachers:

interact with learners without displaying bias or preference
keep their personal agendas separate from the learning environment
make decisions in learners’ best interests.

Principle 1.5 – Teachers are always in a professional relationship with their learners, whether at the education setting where they teach or not

This means that a teacher must not:

have a sexual relationship with a learner
engage in sexual misconduct
engage in inappropriate touching or grooming of a learner
engage in communication that does not have a professional context
accept or give gifts to learners
display favouritism towards a learner.

It also means that teachers should not:

socialise with learners outside a professional context
invite learners back to their home
have a sexualised relationship with a former learner within two years of the learner completing their senior secondary schooling or equivalent (and provided that the former learner is at least 18 years of age when the relationship commences).

Principle 1.6 – Teachers maintain a professional relationship with parents and carers

This includes:

being respectful and courteous to parents and carers
considering their perspectives
communicating and consulting with them
taking appropriate action to respond to their concerns.

Principle 1.7 – Teachers work in collaborative relationships with learners’ families and communities

Principle 1.8 – Collegiality is an integral part of the work of teachers

This includes:

treating each other with courtesy and respect
sharing expertise and knowledge
providing support for each other
sharing information to support the teaching, wellbeing and safety of learners.

Principle 2.1 – The personal conduct of a teacher has an impact on the professional standing of that teacher and on the profession as a whole

This means that teachers should:

be positive role models
respect and comply with the law
not exploit their position for personal or financial benefit
maintain confidentiality
avoid any demonstration of intolerance or prejudice.

Principle 3.1 – Teachers value their professionalism, and set and maintain high standards of competence

Principle 3.2 – Teachers are aware of and comply with the legal requirements that pertain to their profession

This means that teachers comply with:

their mandatory reporting and other reporting obligations
their duty of care obligations
laws preventing discrimination, harassment and vilification
privacy
occupational health and safety
teacher registration obligations.

It also means that teachers are aware of:

the child safe standards
the reportable conduct scheme
other legislation and policies that relate to child safety and wellbeing.

Source: State of Victoria, Victorian Institute of Teaching, The Victorian Teaching Profession’s Code of Conduct, June 2023

NDIS Code of Conduct

NDIS providers, key personnel of NDIS providers, and people employed or engaged by NDIS providers must comply with the NDIS Code of Conduct. This consists of the following principles:

Principle 1 – Act with respect for individual rights to freedoms of expression, self-determination and decision making in accordance with applicable laws and conventions.
Principle 2 – Respect the privacy of people with disability.
Principle 3– Provide supports and services in a safe and competent manner, with care and skill.
Principle 4 – Act with integrity, honesty and transparency.
Principle 5 – Promptly take steps to raise and act on concerns about matters that may impact the quality and safety of supports and services provided to people with disability.
Principle 6 – Take all reasonable steps to prevent and respond to all forms of violence, exploitation, neglect and abuse of, people with disability.
Principle 7 – Take all reasonable steps to prevent and respond to sexual misconduct.
Principle 8 – Do not represent or charge prices for the supply of goods that is higher for a NDIS participant than a non-participant of the NDIS.

Source: National Disability Insurance Scheme (Code of Conduct) Rules 2018 (Cth), as at 19 December 2023

General Health Practitioner Code of Conduct

The General Health Practitioner Code of Conduct applies to health practitioners in Victoria that are not required to be registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). These health practitioners include counsellors, naturopaths, homeopaths, dieticians, speech pathologists and massage therapists

A general health service provider must provide general health services in a safe and ethical manner. This includes:

maintaining the necessary competence in their field of practice.
not providing a health service that is outside their experience or training, or that they are not qualified to provide.
only prescribing and recommending treatments or appliances that serve the client’s needs.
recognising the limits of the treatment that they can provided and referring clients to other competent health service providers in appropriate circumstances.
recommending additional opinions and services to be sought, where appropriate.
assisting the client to find other appropriate health care services, if required and practicable.
encouraging the client to inform their treating medical practitioner of the treatments or care being provided.
understanding any possible adverse interactions between the therapies and treatments being provided or prescribed and other medications or treatments that the provider is or should be aware that the client is taking or receiving and advising the client of these interactions.
providing general health services that are culturally sensitive.

Prior to commencing treatment or service, a general health service provider must ensure that consent appropriate to that treatment or service has been obtained and complies with the laws in Victoria.

A general health service provider must accept the right of the provider’s clients to make informed choices in relation to the health services the client seeks or receives.

This means that the general health service provider must not attempt to dissuade a client from seeking or continuing medical treatment.

It also means that that they must communicate and co-operate with colleagues and other health service providers and agencies in the best interests of their clients.

A general health service provider who, in the course of providing treatment or care, forms the reasonable belief that another health service provider has placed or is placing clients at serious risk of harm must refer the matter to the Health Complaints Commissioner.

A general health service provider must take appropriate and timely measures to minimise harm to clients when an adverse event occurs in the course of providing treatment or care. This includes:

ensuring that appropriate first aid is available to deal with any adverse event.
obtaining appropriate emergency assistance in the event of any serious adverse event.
promptly disclosing the adverse event to the client.
taking remedial steps to reduce the risk of recurrence.
reporting the adverse event to the relevant authority, where appropriate.

A general health service provider must adopt standard precautions for the control of infection in the course of providing treatment or care.

A general health service provider who has been diagnosed with a medical condition that can be passed on to clients must practise in a manner that does not put clients at risk.

A general health service provider must not claim or represent that they are qualified, able or willing to cure cancer or other terminal illnesses. In addition, if they claim to be able to treat or alleviate the symptoms of cancer or other terminal illnesses, they must be able to substantiate those claims.

A general health service provider must not engage in any form of misinformation or misrepresentation in relation to the products or services the provider provides or the qualifications, training or professional affiliations that the provider holds. This includes:

not using qualifications to mislead or deceive clients or the public as to their competence in a field of practice or ability to provide treatment.
providing truthful information about their qualifications, training and professional affiliations.
not making claims in advertising or promotional materials about the efficacy of treatment or services that cannot be substantiated.

A general health service provider must not provide treatment or care to clients while under the influence of alcohol or unlawful substances.

In addition, a general health practitioner that is taking prescribed medication must obtain advice from the prescribing health practitioner or pharmacist on the impact of the medication on their ability to practise. The general health practitioner must refrain from treating or caring for clients in circumstances where their capacity is or may be impaired.

A general health service provider must not provide treatment or care to clients while suffering from a physical or mental impairment, disability, condition or disorder (including an addiction to alcohol or a drug) that places or is likely to place clients at risk of harm.

If a general health service provider has a mental or physical impairment that could place clients at risk, they must seek advice from a suitably qualified health practitioner to determine whether, and in what ways, the provider should modify the provider’s practice, including stopping practice if necessary.

A general health service provider must not financially exploit their clients.
This includes:

only providing services or treatment that are designed to maintain or improve the client’s health and wellbeing.
not accepting or offering financial inducements or gifts as part of client referral arrangements with other health service providers.
not asking clients to give, lend or bequeath money or gifts that will benefit the general health service provider directly or indirectly.

A general health service provider must not engage in behaviour of a sexual or close personal nature with a client.

This includes not engaging in a sexual or other inappropriate close personal, physical or emotional relationship with a client.

It also means ensuring that a reasonable period of time has elapsed since the conclusion of the therapeutic relationship before engaging in a sexual relationship with a client.

A general health service provider must comply with relevant privacy law including the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic), the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic), and the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

A general health service provider must maintain accurate, legible and up to date clinical records for each client consultation and ensure that these are held securely and not subject to unauthorised access.

They must take necessary steps to facilitate a client’s access to information contained in their health records if requested.

They must facilitate a transfer of the client’s health record in a timely manner when requested to do so by the client or the client’s legal representative.

A general health service provider should ensure that appropriate indemnity insurance arrangements are in place in relation to the provider’s practice.

A general health service provider must make their clients aware of the following information and documents, and make them available or accessible to their clients:

the General Health Practitioner Code of Conduct
the ability to make complaints to the Health Complaints Commissioner.

Source: Health Complaints Act 2016 (Vic)

Safety Quality & Care Legal Services can advise and support individuals and organisations that provide services, programs, facilities or activities to children and young people, and other vulnerable people to manage, investigate and respond to allegations that a person that they have employed or engaged has not complied with a professional code of conduct.

We can also support individuals and organisations who become aware that a person that they have employed or engaged:

is being investigated by the police or a regulatory authority
has been charged or been found guilty of a criminal offence
has been the subject of disciplinary or regulatory action
may otherwise be no longer suitable to provide services, programs, facilities and activities to children and young people, or other vulnerable people.

Other Codes of Conduct

In addition, individuals and organisations that provide services, programs, facilities and activities to children and young people, and other vulnerable people should develop, implement and enforce their own codes of conduct. These codes of conduct may apply to:

employees, contractors and volunteers
service users such as children and young people, and other vulnerable people
parents, carers and others involved in decision making for service users
members of the community.

These Codes of Conduct help set clear expectations about the behaviour of all people who may engage or interact with the individual or organisation. It can also provide a means for communicating unacceptable behaviour, and for taking action to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of children and young people, other vulnerable people, and the employees, contractors and volunteers that care for, and support them.

Safety Quality & Care Legal Services can support individuals and organisations to develop, implement and enforce their own codes of conduct.