This unit describes the skills and knowledge required to identify and work within the legal and ethical frameworks that apply to an individual job role.
This unit applies to community services and health workers who play a proactive role in identifying and meeting their legal and ethical responsibilities.
The skills in this unit must be applied in accordance with Commonwealth and State/Territory legislation, Australian/New Zealand standards and industry codes of practice.
Unit Sector
None stated.
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Element Elements describe the essential outcomes. |
Performance Criteria Performance criteria describe the performance needed to demonstrate achievement of the element. |
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1. Identify and respond to legal requirements |
1.1 Identify, access and interpret sources of information about the legal requirements that apply to the work role 1.2 Identify the scope and nature of own legal rights and responsibilities 1.3 Adhere to legal requirements in work practice according to workplace policies and procedures and scope of role 1.4 Recognise potential or actual breaches and report according to organisation procedures |
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2. Identify and meet ethical responsibilities |
2.1 Identify, access and interpret sources of information about the ethical responsibilities that apply to the work role 2.2 Identify the scope and nature of own ethical responsibilities 2.3 Meet ethical responsibilities according to workplace policies and protocols, and scope of role 2.4 Recognise potential ethical issues and dilemmas, and discuss with an appropriate person 2.5 Recognise own personal values and attitudes and take into account to ensure non-judgemental practice 2.6 Use effective problem solving techniques when exposed to competing value systems 2.7 Recognise unethical conduct and report to an appropriate person 2.8 Recognise potential and actual conflicts of interest and take appropriate action |
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3. Contribute to workplace improvements |
3.1 Identify situations where work practices could be improved to meet legal and ethical responsibilities 3.2 Pro-actively share feedback with colleagues and supervisors 3.3 Identify and take opportunities to contribute to the review and development of policies and protocols |
This section describes language, literacy, numeracy and employment skills incorporated in the performance criteria that are required for competent performance.
Foundation skills essential to performance are explicit in the performance criteria of this unit of competency.
Performance Evidence
The candidate must show evidence of the ability to complete tasks outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit, manage tasks and manage contingencies in the context of the job role. There must be evidence that the candidate has:
Knowledge Evidence
The candidate must be able to demonstrate essential knowledge required to effectively do the task outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit, manage the task and manage contingencies in the context of the work role. This includes knowledge of:
Assessment Conditions
Skills must have been demonstrated in the workplace or in a simulated environment that reflects workplace conditions. The following conditions must be met for this unit:
Assessors must satisfy the Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) 2015/AQTF mandatory competency requirements for assessors.
Links
Companion volumes from the CS&HISC website - http://www.cshisc.com.au
1.1. Identify, access and interpret sources of information about the legal requirements that apply to the work role
1.2. Identify the scope and nature of own legal rights and responsibilities
1.3. Adhere to legal requirements in work practice according to workplace policies and procedures and scope of role
1.4. Recognise potential or actual breaches and report according to organisation procedures
By the end of this chapter the learner should be able to:
Your job role is will contain a number of legal responsibilities and obligations – these will differ depending on your location and the nature of your work.
Examples may include:
This information can be accessed in full though government websites such as:
The specific legal issues that you face in the workplace will be many and varied, depending on your particular industry.
However, there are some issues that apply to almost every workplace; they include:
Your organisation's stance on these areas, and the policies and protocols which will prevent legal action concerning them should be outlined in the company policies and procedures. Staff should be appropriately trained and regular reviews of their knowledge on the subject should be made a requirement. If any new legislation is introduced, this should be explained and taught to all of the relevant employees.
You will need to be aware of the relevant legislation in your work sector and be well-versed in the areas that affect your role specifically. Information and full copies of this legislation can be found on the government websites listed previously.
The legislation requirements can differ between states and territories and you should check the specific laws in your location. You also need to be familiar with who has jurisdiction for all of the specific laws that apply and the regulatory bodies.
In Australia, each State and Territory is self-governing and has separate jurisdictions, complete with their own court system and parliaments. This means that laws are not binding between States and Territories (though they may influence rulings as such). It has originated from and is based upon British law.
The legal system is designed to be non-discriminatory and is underlined by principles such as procedural fairness, judicial precedent and the separation of powers.
The basis of it comes from the system of common law – this is that current, pending decisions in court cases are based upon the results and decisions of previous cases. This ensures a progressive nature of the legal system.
When the Australian Constitution was created in 1901, it created a federal system of government that distributed powers between the federal government and states.
There are two types of powers:
On all matters not assigned to federal government, states and territories have independent legislative power on these. However, federal laws will always prevail over state laws in areas of ambiguity/inconsistency – they also apply across the whole of Australia.
In total, there are nine legal systems in Australia – one federal system and eight state and territory systems. Most people in daily life are affected by the criminal laws of state and territory legislation.
Each federal and state system has three branches of government – legislative (to make the laws, in parliaments), executive (to administer laws) and judicial (to interpret and apply laws).
Sources of law
The High Court of Australia
Federal Court of Australia
Family Court of Australia
Federal Magistrates Court of Australia
Australian state and territory courts
Note: All defendants are considered innocent until proven guilty beyond all reasonable doubt.
Also, the death penalty does not exist in Australia.
Legal aid
The government provides financial legal aid to those who cannot afford representation (subject to a means test), as this is an important element in ensuring justice is fair.
The federal Attorney-General’s Department administers the funding for legal aid in federal law matters, whereas state and territory governments fund it for cases being tried under state and territory law.
Criminal laws
These laws are designed to protect society and, if you break them, police can take immediate action.
Categories and examples of when criminal laws apply include:
Civil laws
These laws solve problems and disputes between two or more parties – the courts and legal personnel resolves these issues.
Categories and examples of when criminal laws apply include:
By the end of this chapter the learner should be able to:
It is important that you have a thorough understanding of the key statutory and regulatory requirements relevant to you work role.
These may include:
Your knowledge of these should be sufficient according to your job role and so that you can perform it without being liable to action against you and so that clients receive the appropriate level of service that they are legally entitled to.
By the end of this chapter the learner should be able to:
Your level of support must meet the duty of care requirements. This may apply to:
This means that you must ensure that clients are receiving adequate care in these departments, as well as others. This includes tasks that you complete yourself, tasks completed by colleagues and tasks completed by the clients.
For example, proper nutrition:
Whatever care you provide to the client, you must always ensure that you meet the requirements of the duty of care; this is a moral obligation and may be a legal requirement.
Duty of care comes under the ruling of tort law – i.e. a civil wrong, as opposed to a breach of contract. It requires an individual to provide a standard of reasonable care while carrying out any activity that could potentially harm others. Breaching duty of care means that you, as an individual, are liable to legal action from the claimant.
Duty of care has been developed through common law i.e. it exists based on past related court rulings – therefore, there is no exact legal definition of things like duty of care and negligence.
Negligence is when damage/harm occurs to another person as a result of someone else not exercising reasonable care. Duty of care requires that an acceptable standard of care is exercised, where it is reasonably practicable, to ensure the health and safety of yourself and others.
Duty of care also means that everyone has a responsibility to ensure a safe and healthy working environment.
This can include the following people:
Duty of care is written legally into the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 – it is a moral duty to anticipate possible hazards and causes of injury and do everything reasonably practicable to prevent/remove/minimise these causes.
This means that duty of care cannot be delegated – all adults in the workplace are responsible for health and safety.
Courts will determine breaches of duty of care based on the following criteria:
For negligence to be successful, the following must be proven:
Negligence laws
In order to restrict the number of negligence claims, there are laws, in Queensland related to professional liability for damages related to negligence:
The following principles apply to negligence:
Maintaining competence
As an employer/worker, it is your responsibility to maintain competence in your given field and retain a skill level that can be described as reasonably competent.
This can be reviewed and monitored through:
Privacy is applicable to many aspects of a client’s life and care. Examples of how privacy should be maintained and promoted include:
Providing clients with as much privacy as possible will have a significant impact on their happiness and self-worth, and make life much more agreeable and attractive; having the privacy and opportunity to do things also encourages and provides levels of independence that clients may not necessarily expect.
Confidentiality is required by law in certain respects; the privacy of patient and client records is the most important aspect of confidentiality. Failure to maintain privacy of customer records is punishable by law and organisations can be sued by the patient.
Confidentiality covers:
Confidentiality laws apply to discussing clients’ conditions and treatment with other people; you need to be aware of the legislation around this and apply it to your discussions. Generally, clients must give their permission for you to contact others about their personal details and you can only discuss their conditions with identified close family members, such as spouses.
Some information must be stored appropriately in line with confidentiality laws and organisational procedures, such as:
In line with duty of care and confidentiality, you should always look to obtain the agreement of clients before providing them with any services.
This should be obtained by written or verbal consent, if the client is in a reasonable state to give informed consent. In cases where the client is unconscious or unable to give consent for another reason, they may have an assigned advocate who has the power to make these decisions on their behalf.
Clients may include but are not limited to:
By law (e.g. Aged Care Act 1997, Child Protection Act 1999, Disability Services Act 2006 etc.) clients have a right to be involved in decision making related to their own case. Failing to obtain consent can result in a violation of a variety of civil laws.
Involving clients in decision-making can be done by:
The client should not be forced to make a decision they are not comfortable with – this can constitute harassment.
Instead, you should exercise the following strategies:
By the end of this chapter the learner should be able to:
If you recognise a breach of legal requirements in someone’s role, you should seek to report the incident to the appropriate person.
Potential/actual breaches may include:
When you notice a potential or actual breach for any of the above (or any others relevant to your work role), you should report them to the appropriate person within your organisation and (if applicable) governing body.
Encourage the use of anonymous hotlines/reporting, to remove the obstacle of colleagues being reluctant to report on each other for fear of retribution.
However, this is not always practical and/or possible – especially when professional ethics and legal requirements have been broken.
An investigation into the breach will need to be carried out, with written details provided to a licensing/governing body. It is a good idea to have a standard form for employees to report on such breaches. Any evidence must be collected and submitted, to see if the report is valid – the accused must also be notified and given the chance to respond with evidence to support their statement.
In some cases, a hearing with the licensing/governing body might be required to resolve the issue and justify the need for further action.
2.1. Identify, access and interpret sources of information about the ethical responsibilities that apply to the work role
2.2. Identify the scope and nature of own ethical responsibilities
2.3. Meet ethical responsibilities according to workplace policies and protocols, and scope of role
2.4. Recognise potential ethical issues and dilemmas, and discuss with an appropriate person
2.5. Recognise own personal values and attitudes and take into account to ensure non-judgemental practice
2.6. Use effective problem solving techniques when exposed to competing value systems
2.7. Recognise unethical conduct and report to an appropriate person
2.8. Recognise potential and actual conflicts of interest and take appropriate action
By the end of this chapter the learner should be able to:
Ethical organisations should have a professional set of policies and procedures – it is the responsibility of management to develop these. This allows workers to operate under these, rather than based on their personal opinion of what is right and wrong.
Professional fields will usually have a governing body that creates a code of conduct/ethics and members of that profession will often have to pay penalties/face sanctions if they fail to abide by these.
Clarifying what ethical conduct is shows a commitment to moral standards of behaviour. Your particular workplace may have their own set of ethical guidelines, to identify specific issues within its industry e.g. aged care, disability services. All ethical codes should be based on appropriate behaviour towards the client, with protection of their rights and respect for their beliefs.
A professional code of ethics details the expected behaviour of workers (in the workplace). It provides consistency and credibility in professional practice; it also ensures that the clients' rights are protected.
It gives workers a framework to base their behaviour and decisions on, and what is best for clients. It outlines their responsibilities to clients, their families, colleagues and the community, and to the profession.
Accepting the code of ethics ensures that the safety, well-being and client rights are actively considered in everyday practice at work. It is voluntary but most services require at least adherence to a professional code for that industry.
Community attitudes – these are general views on certain subjects and how people should be treated. In the last 20 years or so, attitudes have shifted and legislation has followed in due course.
Human rights – these are basic entitlements of human beings – freedom, choice, privacy, dignity, social justice, participation and non-discrimination. The United Nations has published a Universal Declaration of Human Rights on this matter.
Duty of care – people have a right to service free from abuse and neglect, performed with care, caution and attention. Their personal information should remain confidential.
Self-determination – people can make their own decisions (as long as they don't harm others)
Acceptance – acknowledging everyone has a right to exist, be valued and understood. They deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.
Confidentiality – personal information should be protected, whether it is given verbally or in writing, or learned through observation. It may be shared only in professional circumstances, where it is necessary to make informed decisions.
By the end of these chapters the learner should be able to:
Part of your ethical responsibility is to ensure the protection of client rights – many of these are legally required.
Rights may include:
These rights are detailed in:
When working with sensitive and private information, it is important that you treated it as provided in confidence. This helps build trust and also protects you from legal troubles.
Your organisation should have policies and procedures regarding how you treat client information and this should be followed to the letter, with no exceptions (unless stated in the policies and procedures).
Privacy legislation exists at both a state and federal level within the following Acts:
The following guidelines serve as a good basis for maintaining client confidentiality:
There are cases where confidentiality can be broken:
Issues of confidentiality should never be taken lightly – you should discuss them with your supervisor. Senior staff should always be involved for complex, competing decisions e.g. confidentiality vs. safety.
Sharing information within a team
Even if the client asks that you not share their information with others on your team, it is necessary to do this to ensure service quality is coordinated and of the highest quality. You should inform of this, explaining that all of the team need to have access to appropriate information to ensure the best outcomes for them. Reassure them that their confidentiality will be maintained outside of a professional context.
The only situation where it may be appropriate to withhold client information from colleagues is when there is a conflict of interest. However, if information isn't shared, it makes team-based care reviews impossible and appropriate decisions are harder to make.
There is a legal obligation to obtain client consent – that is, that they agree to services you intend to provide for them.
As outlined in section 1.6, the following applies:
By law (e.g. Aged Care Act 1997, Child Protection Act 1999, Disability Services Act 2006 etc.) clients have a right to be involved in decision making related to their own case. Failing to obtain consent can result in a violation of a variety of civil laws.
Involving clients in decision-making can be done by:
The client should not be forced to make a decision they are not comfortable with – this can constitute harassment.
Instead, you should exercise the following strategies:
There is a legal requirement to receive adequate care, in relation to the concepts of duty of care and negligence.
Duty of care in law
Duty of care comes under the ruling of tort law i.e. a civil wrong as opposed to a breach of contract. It requires an individual to provide a standard of reasonable care while carrying out any activity that could potentially harm others. Breaching duty of care means that you, as an individual, are liable to legal action from the claimant.
Duty of care has been developed through common law i.e. it exists based on past related court rulings – therefore, there is no exact legal definition of things like duty of care and negligence.
Negligence is when damage/harm occurs to another person as a result of someone else not exercising reasonable care. Duty of care requires that an acceptable standard of care is exercised, where it is reasonably practicable, to ensure the health and safety of yourself and others.
Duty of cafe also means that everyone has a responsibility to ensure a safe and healthy working environment.
This can include the following people:
Duty of care is written legally into the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 – it is a moral duty to anticipate possible hazards and causes of injury and do everything reasonably practicable to prevent/remove/minimise these causes.
This means that duty of care cannot be delegated – all adults in the workplace are responsible for health and safety.
Courts will determine breaches of duty of care based on the following criteria:
For negligence to be successful, the following must be proven:
Negligence laws
In order to restrict the number of negligence claims, there are laws, in Queensland related to professional liability for damages related to negligence:
The following principles apply to negligence:
Maintaining competence
As an employer/worker, it is your responsibility to maintain competence in your given field and retain a skill level that can be described as reasonably competent.
This can be reviewed and monitored through:
Clients are entitled to complain if they are dissatisfied with a service or any aspect of it – they must be made aware of this and process for lodging a complaint; this should be standard practice in your organisation.
Most organisations have a client grievance policy or procedure which will outline the accepted way to handle complaints and how to support the client throughout the process.
The complaints process
In complaints management, it is usually a three step process:
Outcomes of complaints
Depending on the nature of the complaint and the opinions of those involved, there are several outcomes of complaints:
How to handle complaints
When dealing with complaints, there are some general tips to help minimise hostility and the likelihood of action against yourself/the organisation:
Regardless of your own personal values, you should offer all services equally to clients, regardless of their personal values, beliefs, attitudes and culture. This is not to say that you cannot have your own opinions – it is moreover a question of being empathic, non-judgemental and unbiased about the views and preferences of others. In fact, understanding your own views and morals and what drives them will better prepare you to understand those of others.
Values
Values are things that people view as important in life. They are part of an individual's belief system and develop from our upbringing, becoming part of our morals and conscience.
To a large degree, our surroundings determine our values – family, friends, culture, religion and education. We unconsciously absorb their input and, during adolescence, we begin to explore their values and develop our own – these can be altered through personal experience. As everyone's life differs, our values are unique.
Attitudes
An attitude is a belief – it is what we think is the proper way of acting or thinking about a particular subject. Their strength can vary – strong ones are values, whereas less important ones are defined as opinions.
Stereotypes
A stereotype is when you group people together based on a similarity or characteristic – it is a simplified image. They are the image that comes into your mind when you think of certain groups, e.g. Muslim, politician, student, disabled etc. You homogenise individuals based on your prior views of their 'group' of people.
As you will end up working with a variety of clients from a range of different ages, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations and religions – all of them will have different values and beliefs.
Diverse values
Views around the above will affect the decisions we make on a daily basis and our priorities. This can be things like which jobs you complete first, how to respond to client needs and the priorities when you have a conflict of interest/priority.
Your values may differ to your colleagues or those in the policies and procedures of your organisation – these can create competing and conflicting interests.
Stereotypes are often false and based on inaccurate observations.
For example, many people see older/disabled people as:
These can, if believed by you or others, negatively affect the lives of the people concerned. These negative images can lead people to disassociate themselves from these people and treat them differently – however, this contradicts their right to be treated equally, with respect and with dignity. This breaches your duty of care towards them.
In order to avoid the pitfalls of stereotypes, explore your own beliefs and practice the following:
Discrimination based on age, gender, physical attributes, race, personal values, beliefs, attitudes and culture is illegal in Australia. If it is found you have done so, you are liable to being sued. You should familiarise yourself with all anti-discrimination legislation, including the Age Discrimination Act 2004.
Try and develop cultural sensitivity – this means understanding the beliefs of other cultures, but does not mean accepting them as your own.
You can be culturally sensitive by:
When communicating with clients, bear the following in mind:
Personal information should be protected and only disclosed professionally. Medical records are an example of confidential information. It is part of duty of care and applies to all clients, regardless of their status. Therefore, it includes clients with mental illnesses, physical or mental disabilities, drug/alcohol problems and those who are difficult to deal with.
The only situation where this private information can be disclosed is when there is a serious threat or risk of injury to the client or others.
Other than that, the client may choose to disclose their information – but it is their choice only.
You should find out your organisations policies and procedures regarding confidentiality and disclosure.
You can find this information out form people such as:
Remember that ignorance of the law is not a defence in breaching it – you need to find out the exact guidelines for how to store confidential information. As they are progressive, it is important to keep up to date with requirements. This can be done through reading industry-released circulars.
Information should be kept for seven years from when it is inputted (and 15 in a medical setting, or at the point when people turn 18).
Storage of said information should follow organisation guidelines and be kept securely and backed up.
Any exceptions to confidentiality should be explained to the client at the start of your contract with them.
Types of confidential information include:
Ways to ensure confidential information is kept safe include:
Clients will need to give permission (normally in writing) for their information to be released to others; if they are unable to do this through disability or death, advocates can grant permission.
Clients also have a right to view their records – this information should be supplied only by authorised personnel in that field. If access is denied the client should be informed why and given details of when the decision can be reviewed. Any comments they make should be attached to their notes in an addendum.
There should be policies in place to deal with workers who breach confidentiality – these are detailed in section 3.5.
Staff must be versed in all confidentiality legislation, organisational policies and which information should be treated as confidential. They need to know the policies and procedures for every possible situation, so regular training is essential.
Note: information cannot be disclosed to those not directly involved in the client's case.
By the end of this chapter the learner should be able to:
It is important that you can recognise potential ethical issues and dilemmas and respond appropriately.
Ethical issues and dilemmas may include:
These examples are not exhaustive and may occur in a variety of situations. For example, imagine you have a patient that needs a life-saving blood transfusion. However, they are a Jehovah’s Witness, and their religion prohibits this. Therefore, they will not give you the consent to perform this operation. Do you respect their wishes and leave them, or perform the operation anyway, as per your duty of care?
As you can see, ethical issues can quickly become very complicated and require a lot of discussion to resolve.
You must therefore find the appropriate person to discuss these issues with.
Depending on the situation and the nature of the ethical issue/dilemma, these may be:
By the end of this chapter the learner should be able to:
Simply knowing what values and attitudes you possess is an important step in understanding those of others, resolving conflicts and adhering to your organisation's policies and procedures.
By exploring these, you will see how they shape your attitudes and opinions – therefore, you will be able to understand why others think the way they do, as opposed to seeing their different views as 'wrong' or 'illogical'.
Completing a self-evaluation of your values and attitudes is a useful learning tool and can help you explore your feelings towards topics you may not have even considered in the past.
By the end of this chapter the learner should be able to:
In the work environment, you may be faced with ethical dilemmas – you may be torn between the needs and desires of clients and your own personal beliefs/values.
When there is a conflict of values, you are faced with the decision over which one is the most important; remember, the client's health and safety should always be your number one concern. Personal values are, of course, important and should not be ignored, but your professional responsibility should always take precedence.
Be aware that, in an ethical dilemma, others may have a different opinion/perspective to you – therefore, it can be hard to make the 'right' decision.
In order to make ethical decisions, you need to bear the following in mind:
How to make ethical decisions
Seek to consult with those at least one or two levels higher up than your position, to get an objective opinion on the situation. Steer clear of people with agendas and biased views/vested interests.
Even after you have made your decision on the ethical situation, it is still natural to feel anxious about it. This is because the issues are never cut and dry/right or wrong and the lines between ethics and legal responsibilities are complex and sometimes blurry.
To help yourself in the area of ethical decision-making, you should keep abreast of all the latest developments in legislation and your field. You should also share dilemmas with colleagues and supervisors. This process should be ongoing and you should always strive to provide the maximum amount of professional and ethical assistance.
By the end of this chapter the learner should be able to:
If you are able to recognise or suspect any unethical conduct in the workplace, you should report it to the appropriate person.
This report may be, and include:
This is any situation where someone is behaving with disregard for professional ethics and putting clients at risk.
Examples include:
Organisations will have a code of ethics to help you identify unethical situations and these should be reviewed regularly.
Who exactly you report these unethical occurrences to will depend on your organisation's policies and procedures. Your first action, however, should be to confront the worker themselves and engage them in constructive discussion.
If this is unsuccessful in resolving the situation, you will need to report the situation to a higher authority. This report should contain:
By the end of this chapter the learner should be able to:
This is any situation where you have the ability to make a decision that could potentially benefit the client, but could also impact on yourself. It is a situation where there is potential to take advantage of a client or be influenced by your interests and personal opinions. Any situation where your influences impact on the ability to perform your job to a professional standard/objectively is a conflict of interest. Even if you do not act under the influence of these things, if they have the potential to impact on your work, a conflict of interest still exists – this can lead to doubt over your ability to perform your job effectively.
Therefore, it is important to refrain from situations where your personal life affects your professional conduct. This is part of your duty of care (as an individual and organisation).
The aspects that can cause conflicts of interest include:
If you believe there is a conflict of interest (for yourself or others, you should inform management/your supervisor as soon as possible – you may need to request that you be reassigned to another case or granted permission to seek additional work to compensate for the loss of it caused by conflict of interest.
Another key way of avoiding conflicts of interest is to not accept any money/gifts from clients or others – as this may affect your ability to make objective decisions and create a vested interest.
Examples of conflict of interest:
Conflicts of interest usually affect decisions involving individuals – where it is a larger group or community that will be affected by the decision, it is unusual for such conflicts of interest to exist.
The best method of management is avoidance in the first instance. Having clear policies and procedures and a code of conduct in the workplace will make the issues clear to all workers.
Subjects to include are:
3.1. Identify situations where work practices could be improved to meet legal and ethical responsibilities
3.2. Pro-actively share feedback with colleagues and supervisors
3.3. Identify and take opportunities to contribute to the review and development of policies and protocols
By the end of these chapters the learner should be able to:
If you spot particular legal and ethical issues that are recurring in your workplace, you should endeavour to improve work practices to remove or mitigate these issues.
The exact nature of work practices that could be removed will depend on your workplace environment.
You should encourage moral courage in the workplace – this is the ability to speak out or act against standards procedures, due to their own moral reasoning.
For instance, imagine you have an elder frail patient who is ready for medical discharge from a hospital, after having fallen down their stairs at home. However, you recognise them as frail and without an external support system to look after themselves. Technically, you can send them home, but you recognise the fact that a similar incident could happen again. They have no support system and money to afford home help, so speak to your supervisor and see if you can arrange for some funded home help, and look into the possibility of arranging the fitting of a stair lift in their home.
An obvious action would be to look at your organisation’s/industry’s Code of Ethics and see if it needs to be reformed. A good place to start would be looking at past ethical and legal issues that have caused problems in the past and seeing if the Code of Ethics addresses these – if not, see if you can adapt it to cover these things.
As previously identified in this unit, your legal responsibilities include those outlined in:
Your ethical responsibilities may include:
You can hold meetings with staff to discuss legal and ethical responsibilities and to come up with ideas on how to make work practices more conducive to them.
You can make specific policies and standards procedures to minimise the chance of breaches of legal and ethical issues arising. Training staff to deal with them is also an important part of the process.
One of your greatest resources in progressing is your experience. When you have dealt with an ethical issue, share your experience and lessons learned with colleagues and supervisors.
Ask yourself the following questions:
When you have answered these questions, share your answers with colleagues and supervisors. This should be done on an ongoing basis and can be verbal or written in its format.
You may recognise a colleague in a situation similar to one you’ve dealt with in the past – this is a perfect time to share your experiences, as it may help them deal with theirs. They should do the same for you – sharing of feedback should be greatly encouraged in the workplace, as an ongoing basis and during team meetings.
At the end of your Learner Workbook, you will find the Summative Assessments.
This includes:
This holistically assesses your understanding and application of the skills, knowledge and performance requirements for this unit. Once this is completed, you will have finished this unit and be ready to move onto the next one – well done!
These suggested references are for further reading and do not necessarily represent the contents of this unit.
Websites
Australian Government Department of Health:http://www.health.gov.au/
Australian Government Office of the Australian Information Commissioner:http://www.oaic.gov.au/
Australian Law Reform Commission: http://www.alrc.gov.au/
Civics and Citizenship Education:http://www.civicsandcitizenship.edu.au/cce/
Department of Commerce (WA):http://www.commerce.wa.gov.au/
Department of Foreign Affairs and trade:http://www.dfat.gov.au/pages/default.aspx
Safe work Australia:http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/SWA
All references accessed on and correct as of 11/08/15, unless other otherwise stated.
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