Code of Conduct Breaches:

Professionals are usually required to adhere to a Code of Conduct that governs the ethical and technical conduct of those within their industry. A Code of Conduct may be prepared and implemented by the professional organisation that oversees the conduct of its members (for example the NSW Architects Code of Professional Conduct) or alternatively, may be codified in legislation (for example the Property Stock and Business Agents Regulation 2014 for real estate agents and the Legal Profession Uniform laws for legal professionals).

A Code of Conduct or its legislative equivalent, will prescribe the expectations of its professionals including:

• Core principles of the profession such as acting with integrity, demonstrating professionalism, and maintaining current knowledge of the skills required of the profession;
• Ethical conduct including acceptable relationships with clients or patients and avoiding conflicts of interests;
• Primary duties to its clients or patients such as fiduciary obligations;
• Legal obligations such as confidentiality, privacy and record keeping and other statutory obligations that are profession specific.

If a professional is in breach of the Code of Conduct or their legislative guidelines, they may be subject to investigation to determine the severity of the breach, the implications of the breach and whether any sanctions should be imposed against the professional. The investigation and decision-making process may be conducted by the relevant professional organisation or a regulatory authority such as the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (“NCAT”).

The disciplinary action taken against the professional will vary depending on whether the conduct is considered to be unsatisfactory professional conduct or professional misconduct, the professional’s history and whether there is any future risk to the professional’s clients, patients or the public. Some sanctions that may be available include suspension or cancellation of the professional’s registration or licence, conditional practice, reprimands, financial penalty, periodic inspections and monitoring.

It is important that professionals are aware of their statutory and professional obligations and carefully adhere to these obligations. If you are a professional who is under investigation for an alleged breach of the Code of Conduct, or if you are a client or patient who has a complaint against the conduct of a professional and wish to pursue the complaints process, we recommend that you seek legal advice.

If you wish to speak with one of our Disciplinary & Professional Conduct Lawyers, please contact our firm by telephone on (02) 9233 4048 or send an email to info@navado.com.au. 

This webpage (and any material or wording appearing on this webpage) is provided for general information purposes only and does not constitute any Legal Advice. It does not take into account your objectives, your instructions or all of the relevant facts and/or circumstances. Navado accepts no responsibility to any person who relies on the information provided on this website. We further refer you to our Disclaimer.