Ahpra and the Dental Board of Australia have released an advance copy of the revised Code of conduct, which comes into effect on 29 June 2022.
The code sets out expectations of professional behaviour and conduct for dentists and 11 other professions including physiotherapy, pharmacy and optometry.
The Dental Board of Australia is encouraging all practitioners to familiarise themselves with the revised Code as they “have a professional responsibility to be familiar with and to apply the code.”
A revision of the Code of conduct has been undertaken for three specific reasons:
– Continued relevancy and usefulness for practitioners
– Increased accessibility for health consumers
– To ensure it remains an effective and up-to-date regulatory tool
“The revised code is contemporary, more useful and more accessible to both practitioners and the public because of these contributions. We strongly encourage practitioners to familiarise themselves with the code before it comes into effect in June’, Ahpra CEO, Martin Fletcher, said.
The main changes include:
– principles to guide behaviour including when an issue is not specifically addressed in the code
– a new section on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and cultural safety that includes the National Scheme’s definition of cultural safety
– information about practitioners’ responsibilities in relation to bullying and harassment including the importance of addressing the issue in the workplace and the role of National Boards/Ahpra
– content about the importance of clinical governance particularly for practitioners in leadership positions
– more information about vexatious complaints (notifications)
– guidance for employers about ensuring performance targets and other business practices are consistent with the code, and
– reorganised content to reduce duplication and make sequencing more logical and minor changes to wording to improve clarity.
Read the advance copy of the shared Code of conduct
