School

Psychology
Service Induction
Getting it Right – Code of
Ethics

Ann Thomason and

Brooke Peden

January 2024
Acknowledgement of Country
Welcome and check in
Outcomes

Within the context of school communities, understanding …..

1. Working within a system

2. Defensible decision making

3. Informed consent

4. Client confidentiality
Working Within a System

Psychology SPS
DoE Policies
Board of PsyBA DoE Code of Professional
Legislation Code of Ethics and
Australia Competencies Conduct Practice
Procedures
(PsyBA) Guidelines
Access Documents and Develop your Professional
Toolkit – Legislation and Psychology Board of Australia
Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (WA) Act 2010

https://www.ahpra.gov.au/About-AHPRA/What-We-
Do/Legislation.aspx

National Psychology Board of Australia guidelines and policies

https://www.psychologyboard.gov.au/Standards-and-
Guidelines/Codes-Guidelines-Policies.aspx

Australian Psychological Society – Code of Ethics

https://psychology.org.au/about-us/what-we-do/ethics-and-practice-
standards/aps-code-of-ethics
Access Documents and Develop your Professional
Toolkit – Psychology Board of Australia Competencies

Psychology Board of Australia Competencies

https://www.psychologyboard.gov.au/Registration/Provisional/5-1-
Internship-Program.aspx
Access Documents and Develop your Professional
Toolkit – Our Employer, Department of Education (DoE)
DoE Code of Conduct and Standards

https://ikon.education.wa.edu.au/-/our-code-of-conduct-and-
standards/

DoE Policies and Procedures (e.g., Child Protection Procedures,

Behaviour Policy, Health Policy)
https://ikon.education.wa.edu.au/-/access-the-child-protection-in-
department-of-education-sites-policy/

https://ikon.education.wa.edu.au/-/access-support-for-the-student-
behaviour-in-public-schools-policy-and-procedures

https://ikon.education.wa.edu.au/-/access-the-student-health-care-in-
public-schools-policy-and-procedures/
Access Documents and Develop your Professional
Toolkit – Our Employer, Department of Education (DoE)
School Psychologist Competency Framework

https://ikon.education.wa.edu.au/-/access-the-competency-
framework-for-school-psychologists/

School Psychologist Scope of Practice

https://ikon.education.wa.edu.au/-/negotiate-school-psychology-
services-in-your-school?section=ihstyyig

Professional Practice Guidelines for School Psychologists (e.g., Get

informed consent to provide services or release information; Provide
direct psychology services to school staff and parents)
https://ikon.education.wa.edu.au/-/access-the-professional-practice-
guidelines-for-school-psychologists/
School Psychologist Competency Framework -
What dimension of the Competency Framework
would be helpful here?

Dimension 5 – Ethics, professional learning and leadership

Access Documents and Develop your Professional
Toolkit – Australian Psychological Society

The framework for effective delivery of school psychology

services: a practice guide for psychologists and school
leaders.

https://psychology.org.au/APS/media/Resource-
Finder/Framework-delivery-school-psych-services-practice-
guide.pdf
Defensible Decision Making
Australian Psychological Society; In Psych December 2013

Know APS code of Ethics

Develop your ethical 'antenna'

Engage in ongoing training to develop ethical reflection skills

Foster a culture of ethical sensitivity

Use a model to assist in making ethical decisions

Setting the scene….Ethical Principles

• Respect for the rights

APS and dignity of people
Code of and peoples
• Propriety
Ethics: • Integrity
 The complexity of ethical issues in schools….

Recall an ethical dilemma from your school psychology

placement or workplace.

Share with your partner which

ethical principle was impacted?

Definitions….

APS Code of Ethics:

Client means a party or parties to a

psychological service involving teaching,
supervision, research and professional practice
in psychology.
Clients may be individuals, couples, dyads,
families, groups of people, organisations,
communities, facilitators, sponsors or those
commissioning or paying for the professional
activity.
Definitions….

Associated party means any person or

organisation other than clients with whom
psychologists interact with in the course of
rendering a psychological service. This includes,
but is not limited to:

(a) clients’ relatives, friends, employees,

employers, carers and guardians;

(b) other professionals or experts;

(c) representatives from communities or

organisations.
Definitions….

APS Code of Ethics:

Psychological service means any service

provided by a psychologist to a client including
but not limited to professional activities,
psychological activities, professional practice,
teaching, supervision, research practice,
professional services and psychological
procedures.
Informed Consent – Ethical Standard A.3

As a psychologist, we need to determine

who our client/s are to then ensure
informed consent occurs.

We consider our scope of practice.

Ikon – Get Informed consent to provide

services or release information.

Informed consent can be written or

verbal, and forms are available.
Ethical Guidelines for working with young people,
APS 2018

In Australia, young people are considered capable of giving informed

consent when they ‘achieve a sufficient understanding and
intelligence to enable him or her to understand what is fully
proposed’

1. Complexity

2. Consultation

3. Documentation
Client confidentiality – Standard A.5

Organisational and/or legal

requirements

Limits to confidentiality

Sharing of information to
improve educational
outcomes for students
Client confidentiality – Standard A.5

Psychologists disclose confidential

Psychologists safeguard the
confidentiality of information
obtained during their provision of
psychological services.
information obtained with the
consent of client, where there is a
legal obligation, if there is a risk of an
immediate and specified risk of harm
to a person/s and/or when consulting
collegues or in supervision or
professional training.

Psychologists inform clients at the

outside of the professional
relationships and a regularly
thereafter as reasonably necessary of
the limits to confidentiality.
Schools & confidentiality

Staff room Front Office In the community

Group Task – Applying Ethical Guidelines to Case
Scenarios

Who is the client/s?

Confidentiality

Informed consent

What questions came up for you is

this scenario?

Where might you find information

about this?
Outcomes revisited…..

Within the context of school communities, understanding …..

1. Working within a system

2. Defensible decision making

3. Informed consent

4. Client confidentiality
Questions?
Thank you