4. Report problems. Legal and ethical
5. Legal and ethical responsibilities
It is important that you, as an AHA, comply with all legal and ethical responsibilities associated with your role and discuss any difficulties you have with your supervising AHP.
There may be times when you are unsure or unclear about your responsibility. At these times, it is always best to seek clarification from your supervisor.
In addition, you may come across instances where you have difficulties perhaps with processes or procedures, consumers or colleagues. You must seek assistance from your supervisor to help you determine the correct path to rectify the issue. Your supervisor is there to help you.
The Australian legal system provides a framework in which all sections of the health and community sectors are expected to comply with a common set of rules called legislation, which is made up of a range of detailed requirements that provide descriptions of what must be adhered to and any penalties that are applied if the law is not followed.
As an AHA, you have legal obligations relating to your facility, your colleagues, your activities, patient/clients/residents, service users and their family/friends. You need to know the laws that are relevant to your work role.
Law regulates many aspects of our daily lives, even if we are not always aware of this. In society, laws develop over time to manage events in communities and resolve disputes when they arise. In addition to the courts, Australia has three levels of lawmaking:
- Federal Parliament (the Commonwealth)
- State/Territory Parliament
- Local Parliament (Councils).
Select the term to learn more about how laws are made and supported.
Acts
Laws made by parliament are ‘statutes’, ‘acts’ or ‘legislation’. Laws set the rules you follow. Some examples are the Aged Care Act and Disability Discrimination Act.
Regulations
Regulations support laws. They outline specific requirements and explain how to follow the law. An example is the Occupational health and safety regulations.
Codes of practice
Codes of practice guide you to meet your responsibilities under duty of care. An example is the National code of conduct for health care workers (active in Victoria since 1 February 2017).
Guidance material
Guidance material provides advice on complying with acts and regulations. You can find guidance material on websites like WorkSafe Vic and My Aged Care.
Alert
An Act says what you must do. A Regulation describes how to do it. And an example of a Code of Practice is the National Code of Conduct for Health Care Workers (active in Victoria since 1 February 2017).
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