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Profession-specific course

Ethics and Professionalism for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioners

Applying the Board's Code, Scope and Cultural Practice in Community Health Settings

  • 3 CPD hoursEstimated learning time
  • 20-question assessmentPass mark 80%
  • Online, self-pacedStart any time
  • CertificateFor your CPD records

Written for

About this course

Registered Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioners work in a way no other profession does. You are usually caring for your own community, often for your own family, in services where you may be the first and sometimes the only clinician a sick person sees for hours. You are accountable to a National Board and a code of conduct written for twelve professions at once, while also carrying the expectations of Elders, kin and community.

Most of the ethical questions that come up in this work do not have neat answers in the code. What do you do when your uncle asks for tablets at your front door? When a senior family member asks about a cousin's test results? When a visiting doctor asks you to give an injection that is not in your practice plan? When the clinic is behind on health check targets and someone suggests a short cut? This course works through those situations using the code, the Board's registration standards and Professional capabilities, and the laws that apply in your state or territory.

You will finish with a clear understanding of what registration asks of you each year, a structured way to reason through hard decisions, practical scripts for the conversations you find most difficult, and a written reflective account to add to your CPD portfolio.

Who this course is for

  • Registered Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioners in community controlled, government, rural and remote services
  • New graduates moving from training into registered practice
  • Experienced practitioners who have moved to a new state, territory or service with different medicines arrangements
  • Practitioners returning to practice after a break who want a structured refresher on standards
  • Clinical supervisors, managers and educators who support Health Practitioners
  • Practitioners responding to feedback or a concern who want structured learning on professional standards

What you’ll learn

  • Know your registration obligations

    Explain the Board's registration standards, including the annual CPD requirement of 20 hours with five interactive hours and a reflective portfolio, and what to declare at renewal.

  • Work safely within scope

    Check each layer of your scope, including the medicines authority that applies where you work, and escalate early and clearly when a patient is deteriorating.

  • Handle closeness with integrity

    Manage treating kin, dual relationships, gifts, confidentiality, social media and community talk in ways you could explain to your patient, your Elders and the Board.

  • Meet reporting duties and look after yourself

    Apply mandatory notification and child protection duties in your jurisdiction, respond well if a concern is raised about you, and use support before you burn out.

Learning objectives

  • Describe how the profession is regulated and what each registration standard requires of you.
  • Apply the Code of conduct and the Professional capabilities to everyday community practice.
  • Use a structured ethical decision-making approach when professional and cultural values pull in different directions.
  • Work within your individual scope of practice and the medicines authority that applies in your state or territory.
  • Obtain valid informed consent using interpreters, plain language and family involvement chosen by the patient.
  • Manage dual relationships, treating kin, gifts and sharing in small communities.
  • Protect confidentiality and privacy, keep non-stigmatising records and claim honestly for services.
  • Meet mandatory notification, child protection and family violence reporting duties in your jurisdiction.
  • Look after your own wellbeing and plan meaningful CPD, supervision and leadership.

Scenarios covered

Practice situations you reason through, step by step, in the course.

  • Pain tablets at the front door

    A relative comes to your home after hours asking you to bring something from the clinic. You will work through why this is unlawful and unsafe, and how to offer a proper after-hours assessment instead.

  • A senior family member asks about results

    An aunty with a respected role in the family asks what the doctor said about her adult nephew. You will practise respecting her place while protecting his right to decide who knows.

  • An injection outside your practice plan

    A visiting doctor asks you to give a medicine you are not authorised to give. You will use the five layers of scope and a calm script to decline and offer a lawful alternative.

  • Health check targets and short cuts

    A manager suggests completing assessment templates from old notes. You will look at honest claiming, Medicare requirements and how to raise the concern constructively.

  • A colleague who smells of alcohol

    A colleague who is also kin seems intoxicated while giving medicines. You will apply the mandatory notification threshold, find support and act to protect patients.

  • A gift that is more than a token

    A grateful family offers money. You will explore sharing and reciprocity, what the code allows and how to decline without causing offence.

Course contents

8 sections, 32 lessons, then the final assessment.

  1. Section 1: The Profession and Its Regulation4 lessons
    • 1.1 A Profession Built for and by Community
    • 1.2 The National Law, the Board and Ahpra
    • 1.3 The Registration Standards in Practice
    • 1.4 The Code of Conduct and the Professional Capabilities
  2. Section 2: Ethical Foundations: Values, Culture and the Code4 lessons
    • 2.1 Ethics in Two Worlds
    • 2.2 A Decision-Making Approach for Community Practice
    • 2.3 The Cultural Safety Duties of the Code, Applied to You
    • 2.4 Advocacy, Self-Determination and Speaking Up
  3. Section 3: Scope of Practice, Competence and Medicines4 lessons
    • 3.1 No Defined Scope: Working Within Your Competence
    • 3.2 Medicines and the Law: It Depends Where You Work
    • 3.3 Working With Nurses, Doctors and the Wider Team
    • 3.4 Recognising Limits and Escalating Safely
  4. Section 4: Consent, Communication and Family4 lessons
    • 4.1 Informed Consent in Community Settings
    • 4.2 Family, Kinship and Decision-Making
    • 4.3 Difficult Conversations and Bad News
    • 4.4 When a Patient Declines Care or Wants to Leave
  5. Section 5: Boundaries, Kinship and Dual Roles in Small Communities4 lessons
    • 5.1 Living and Working in the Same Community
    • 5.2 Treating Family and Kin
    • 5.3 Gifts, Sharing and Reciprocity
    • 5.4 Social Media, Community Talk and Reputation
  6. Section 6: Confidentiality, Privacy and Records4 lessons
    • 6.1 Confidentiality When Everyone Knows Everyone
    • 6.2 Privacy Law and Sharing Information
    • 6.3 Clinical Records That Protect Patients and Practitioners
    • 6.4 Medicare, Programs and Honest Claiming
  7. Section 7: Reporting Duties and Notifications4 lessons
    • 7.1 Mandatory Notifications About Practitioners
    • 7.2 Child Protection and Family Violence Reporting
    • 7.3 If a Notification Is Made About You
    • 7.4 Vexatious Notifications, Lateral Violence and Fairness
  8. Section 8: Sustaining Yourself and the Profession4 lessons
    • 8.1 Cultural Load, Wellbeing and Sorry Business
    • 8.2 CPD That Means Something
    • 8.3 Supervising, Teaching and Leading
    • 8.4 New Challenges: Technology, Virtual Care and Commercial Pressures
  9. Final assessment and written reflection20 questions

Assessment and certificate

  1. Work through the course

    Study each section at your own pace, including the case illustrations and apply-it questions.

  2. Pass the assessment

    20 scenario-based questions. You need 16 correct (80%) to pass.

  3. Write your reflection

    A short written reflection on how the learning applies to your own practice.

  4. Download your certificate

    Shows your name, the course, the date and 3 CPD hours. Anyone can check it on our verification page.

What you keep for your CPD records

  • A certificate of completion recording approximately 3 hours of CPD learning time
  • A written reflective account based on three prompts drawn from your own practice
  • A quick-reference guide covering scope, kin, gifts, confidentiality, escalation and reporting
  • A CPD planning approach you can use to set goals and record reflections for the Board's standard

How certificates and CPD records workVerify a certificate

Primary sources

The course is built on these official documents. Check them for the current version.

Questions about this course

Is this course recognised by Ahpra or the Board?

No. This is independent education. It is not accredited, not approved and not endorsed by Ahpra, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice Board or any professional body. You can record the actual time you spend against your CPD plan if it fits your learning goals.

How many CPD hours do registered Health Practitioners need each year?

The Board's CPD registration standard requires at least 20 hours of CPD each year, including at least five interactive hours with other practitioners, and a portfolio of goals, activities and reflections kept for five years. This course is self-paced, so it does not count as interactive learning.

Which code of conduct applies to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioners?

The Board uses the shared Code of conduct, which took effect on 29 June 2022 and also applies to eleven other professions. This course shows how to apply it to community-based primary health care.

Is there a national scope of practice for Health Practitioners?

No. The Board states there is no defined scope of practice. Your scope depends on your qualification and training, state or territory law, your employer's policies and practice plan, and your own competence and recent practice.

Can I give medicines as a registered Health Practitioner?

It depends on where you work. Medicines authority comes from state and territory law and your employer's arrangements, such as Queensland's Extended Practice Authority and individual practice plans. The course explains how to check your authority and what to do when asked to go beyond it.

Is it wrong to treat my own family?

The code expects practitioners to avoid treating close family where there is a reasonable alternative. In many communities there is not always one, so the course covers how to manage it safely: same standards, transparency with your supervisor and clear documentation.

Does this course cover cultural safety?

Yes, as it applies to your own practice, including not assuming shared culture when working away from your own Country and reflecting on the power your role carries. A separate course covers cultural safety in depth for all professions.

I have a Board condition to complete education. Can I use this course?

Only the Board can say whether a course meets a condition or undertaking. Check with Ahpra or the Board, and your indemnity insurer or lawyer, before enrolling for that purpose.