Editorial policy: how our courses are written and reviewed

Practitioners use our courses to understand the standards they are held to, and some use them while responding to a concern about their practice. Errors in that setting matter. This policy sets out how the Practitioner Ethics editorial team decides what to teach, where facts come from, how they are checked, how cases are written and what happens when something changes or turns out to be wrong.

It applies to every course, program, tool and article we publish, including our blog.

We build courses on primary sources: the documents that create or state the obligations practitioners are held to. In practice that means:

• the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law as in force in each participating jurisdiction, and its amendments;
• Ahpra and National Board registration standards, codes of conduct, guidelines, position statements, fact sheets and published outcome information;
• Commonwealth legislation and regulators where they apply to practice, including the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles, the Health Insurance Act and the Professional Services Review scheme, the My Health Records Act, the Therapeutic Goods Administration and the Sex Discrimination Act;
• national standards and guidance from bodies such as the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care and Safe Work Australia;
• state and territory law where it differs, for example on medicines and poisons, health records and co-regulatory complaint systems in New South Wales and Queensland.

We use secondary material, such as professional commentary, only to help find and understand primary sources, never as the authority for a statement. Where the law or a standard differs between states and territories, we say so rather than presenting one jurisdiction's rule as national.

Regulatory facts in our courses are tied to a named primary source, which is listed in the course's references. Before publication we recheck facts that are prone to change, including the commencement of new guidelines, recent amendments to the National Law and current Board positions.

Where we cannot confirm a specific detail, such as a clause number, a threshold or a date, against a primary source, we state the underlying principle and direct you to the source rather than give a detail we are not sure of. We do not invent statistics, case names, clause references, quotations or outcomes.

Use of software tools

Like many publishers, we may use software, including AI-assisted drafting and checking tools, during research and writing. These tools never act as a source. Every regulatory statement must be traceable to a primary source and is checked by the editorial team before it is published.

Case illustrations are fictional and anonymised composites set in realistic Australian settings. They are written to show how a standard applies, not to describe any real practitioner, patient or published decision. Any resemblance to real people is coincidental.

We aim for scenarios that reflect the full range of the National Scheme professions and practice settings, including public hospitals, private clinics, community and rural practice, Aboriginal community controlled health services, aged care and telehealth. Where we refer to published tribunal or panel decisions in general terms, we do so only to illustrate a principle and never to suggest what outcome another matter would have.

• We explain standards; we do not give legal advice. Courses describe what the codes and law say and how they are generally applied. They are not a substitute for advice from your indemnity insurer, medical defence organisation or lawyer about your own situation.
• We are honest about status. Our courses are not accredited, not approved and not endorsed by Ahpra, any National Board or any professional body, and we do not say otherwise.
• No outcome promises. We do not claim that a course will resolve a notification, satisfy a condition or produce any regulatory result. A Board, panel or tribunal decides what weight to give any education.
• No commercial influence on content. We do not accept payment from third parties to include, promote or favour products, services or organisations in course content.
• Respectful language. We write about patients, clients, colleagues and practitioners under scrutiny with respect, and we follow guidance on culturally safe practice when writing about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health.

Each course states an approximate learning time, which includes reading, apply-it activities, reflection and the assessment. It is an estimate, not a credit or points value. You record the time you actually spend, in line with your National Board's CPD registration standard.

Two-hour courses close with 15 scenario-based questions and a pass mark of 12 out of 15. Three-hour courses close with 20 questions and a pass mark of 16 out of 20. Every course ends with a reflective account in which you apply the learning to your own practice. More detail is on our certificates page.

Codes, guidelines and the National Law change regularly. We monitor announcements from Ahpra and the National Boards and from the Commonwealth regulators named above. When a relevant change is announced, we review the affected courses and update them as soon as practicable, ideally before the change takes effect.

Every course is also reviewed on a regular cycle even if no change has been announced. Where a change is significant, we note it in the course so that learners who completed an earlier version can see what is different.

If you think something in a course is wrong, out of date or unclear, please tell us at support@practitionerethics.com. Include the course name, the section and, if you can, the source you are relying on. We review every report. Where we find an error we correct it, and where the error is material we note the correction in the course.

Feedback on how a course could be clearer or more useful in your profession is just as welcome. It is one of the main ways our courses improve. You can also reach us through the contact page.