Ethics and professionalism CPD for health practitioners in Australia [email protected]
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Online course · Australia

Ethics for Health Practitioners: Applying the Shared Code of Conduct

A Practical Ethical Decision Framework for Every Registered Profession

  • About 2 hours
  • 15 scenario questions
  • Reflective account
  • Certificate of completion
  • Online, self-paced

About this course

Every registered profession in Australia works under a code of conduct, and most of those codes are now the same shared Code. This course shows practitioners from any profession how to move from the Code's broad values to a decision they can defend in a real situation.

The course opens with why ethics is every practitioner's business, which code applies to which profession and how Boards use the code when assessing conduct. It then introduces a seven-step decision framework, ways to test your options, common traps and how to record ethical reasoning.

Respecting people is covered through partnership and shared decisions, honesty in hard conversations, confidentiality and its limits, and cultural safety and non-discrimination. Integrity lessons cover conflicts of interest, personal beliefs and conscientious objection, and employer targets and business practices.

The final sections deal with working respectfully with colleagues, raising concerns, fairness and vexatious notifications, stewardship of resources, digital health, telehealth and AI, moral distress and building ethical habits. A reflective account completes the course.

What you will learn

  • Explain how ethics, the law and your profession's code each answer a different question
  • Know which code applies to you and how Boards rely on it when they assess conduct
  • Work through a problem with seven practical steps and test your options before acting
  • Check your reasoning for self-interest and other common traps
  • Bring partnership, honesty, confidentiality and cultural safety into everyday decisions
  • Handle conflicts of interest, conscientious objection and pressure from employers or targets
  • Raise concerns about colleagues proportionately and treat colleagues with respect
  • Think through telehealth and AI decisions and find support when moral distress builds

Who this course is for

  • Practitioners registered in any of the fifteen National Board professions
  • Allied health practitioners working under the shared Code
  • Students, graduates and supervisors discussing ethics
  • Practitioners asked to reflect on a decision that went wrong
  • Team leaders building an ethical culture in a clinic or service

How the course works

  1. Enrol online and the course appears under My Courses in your Probity Courses account, ready to open on a computer, tablet or phone.

  2. Work through 6 sections and 21 short lessons in order, at your own pace. Your place is saved in the browser you use, so you can stop and come back.

  3. Use the key points, scenarios and reflection prompts in each section, and write your own notes as you go; they stay with your course pack.

  4. Finish with a 15-question final assessment. You need 12 correct answers (80%) to pass, and you can retake it after a short pause if needed.

  5. Write your reflective account, submit the short feedback form and your completion is recorded. Download a certificate of completion stating the estimated learning time (about 2 hours); record the time you actually spend.

Course content

7 sections · About 2 hours · 15-question final assessment

1Ethics, Law and the Codes of Conduct3 lessons
  • Why Ethics Is Every Practitioner's Business
  • Which Code Applies to You
  • How Boards Use the Code
2A Practical Ethical Decision Framework5 lessons
  • Seven Steps for Ethical Decisions
  • Testing Your Options
  • The Framework in Action
  • Common Ethical Traps
  • Recording Ethical Reasoning
3Respecting People: Partnership, Honesty and Cultural Safety4 lessons
  • Partnership and Shared Decision-Making
  • Honesty, Information and Hard Conversations
  • Confidentiality and Its Ethical Limits
  • Cultural Safety and Non-Discrimination
4Integrity: Conflicts of Interest, Beliefs and Business Pressures3 lessons
  • Conflicts of Interest
  • Personal Beliefs and Conscientious Objection
  • Employers, Targets and Business Practices
5Colleagues, the System and Speaking Up3 lessons
  • Working Respectfully with Colleagues
  • Raising Concerns About Colleagues
  • Fairness, Vexatious Notifications and Stewardship
6Ethics in a Changing Practice Environment3 lessons
  • Digital Health, Telehealth and Artificial Intelligence
  • Moral Distress and Ethical Support
  • Building Ethical Habits
7Conclusion, Final Assessment and Reflection4 lessons
  • Conclusion and key points
  • References and quick-reference guide
  • Final assessment (15 questions, 80% pass mark)
  • Your reflective account

Assessment and certificate

  • Certificate of completion stating the estimated learning time (about 2 hours); record the time you actually spend.
  • A written reflective account you can keep with your CPD records.

Questions about this course

Does everyone use the same code of conduct?

No. Twelve National Boards share one Code, in force since June 2022, including the Dental, Pharmacy, Physiotherapy and Paramedicine Boards. Doctors, nurses and midwives, and psychologists have their own codes, and the course shows how the same ethical method works under each.

Is this course for a specific profession?

No. It is written for all registered practitioners and uses examples from many professions. If you want a profession-specific course, Probity Courses also offers ethics courses for individual professions.

How is it different from the Professionalism for Health Practitioners course?

This course teaches ethical reasoning. The professionalism course covers conduct standards, accountability, registration obligations and how regulators judge conduct.

Will it help me write about an ethical issue for a Board?

It gives you a structured way to analyse and record your reasoning, which is useful when reflecting on a decision. Get legal or defence organisation advice before writing to a regulator.

Can I count this course towards my CPD?

That is your call under your Board's CPD standard: you choose activities that match your scope and the learning needs in your plan. If this course fits, file the certificate of completion, record the time you actually spend and note one change you will make in practice.

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