AASW Code of Ethics Australia: topic 8 exercise

AASW Code of Ethics

The Australian Association of Social Workers developed a code of ethics designed to guide workers in the ethical responsibilities of their profession and protect both social workers and their clients from ethical violations. This is important because social work is a complex and often confusing field and workers are often faced with making decisions that are not black-and-white.

The following passage is from the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) (2010) and clearly describes and defines the motivations and objectives of their code of ethics:

"In carrying out their professional tasks and duties, social workers strive to acct in ways that give equal priority to respect for human dignity and worth and the pursuit of social justice. This commitment is demonstrated through service to humanity, integrity and competence, which characterise professional social work practice. Social work principals are derived from the values; together, they underpin ethical social work practice."

The code of ethics then further defines the terms used in this passage, including human dignity and worth, social justice, service to humanity, integrity, and competence.

The Code of Ethics was first released in 1999 and updated in 2010. It is a 56-page document that is organized in chapters in the following manner: Chapter 1 Context of Social Work; Chapter 2 Context of the Code of Ethics; Chapter 3 Social Work Values; Chapter 4 Ethical Practice and Decision Making; Chapter 5 Ethical Practice: Responsibilities; a Glossary of Terms and a Reference List; and three appendices - Human Rights documents, Ethics Complaints Management Process flowchart, and relevant national guidelines on ethical research (Australian Association of Social Workers, 2010).