PACFA sets high standards of ethical conduct for the counselling and psychotherapy profession. This supports the ethical practice of counsellors and psychotherapists and helps to protect the public from harm.
PACFA members, including practitioners, affiliates, students, educators, trainers and researchers, are required to work to the PACFA Code of Ethics 2017. PACFA Member Associations registrants are also required to abide by the Code of Ethics of any PACFA Member Associations to which they belong. PACFA and its Member Associations have complaints handling processes where there are concerns that the ethics standards have not been met. Practitioners are held accountable for any breaches of the relevant codes of ethics.
Submit a concern
See information on how to make a complaint. All concerns are heard in accordance with PACFA’s Professional Conduct Procedures 2024. PACFA’s ethical standards are implemented and reviewed by the PACFA Ethics Committee.
Access Ethics advice
The Ethics advice line is primarily accessed by registrants or members who are enquiring about their own practice and is separate from the complaint process. The advice line will be temporarily closed from 10th July 2024 to 30th September 2024. In the case where you have any ethical dilemmas or require ethical support, we recommend you consider the following options:
- Seeking supervision with your supervisor or an alternative supervisor
- Reading the Code of Ethics 2017
- Reviewing PACFA Resources (including but not limited to the following):
- Contacting your insurance provider to discuss any potential impacts on your policy (if applicable)
- Contacting a legal service or your insurance provider to see if they offer free legal advice (if applicable)
- Contact an alternative Ethics support line such as The Ethics Centre Ethi-Call service by booking online or calling (02) 8267 5700.
PACFA recommends you keep records of the source of any advice you receive, and any information involved in your decision making
Please note: Ethics advice enquiries submitted prior to 10 July 2024 will be responded to as usual. The ethics concern/complaints service will not be impacted by this change. This means you can still report any ethical concerns or complaints through the existing make a complaint process.
PACFA also provides training in ethics and ethical practice to support practitioners and to maintain high ethical standards.
As a useful resource for those interested in exploring duty of care: the recording of the “What is a mental health clinician’s duty of care? Implications of the new mental health and wellbeing act” webinar is available. This webinar is an external resource by La Trobe Law School.