CHAPTER 2

CHCLEG001 Work legally

and ethically

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PPTs to accompany Walker & Miller, The Early Childhood Educator for Certificate III

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Work legally and ethically

A legislative framework outlines the
required compliance with regard to conduct
in the workplace and mandated national
laws and regulations.
An ethical framework consists of a set of
guidelines which relate to professional
codes of conduct in the workplace.

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PPTs to accompany Walker & Miller, The Early Childhood Educator for Certificate III

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Element 1: Identify and respond to legal

requirements
An overview of the Australian legal system

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PPTs to accompany Walker & Miller, The Early Childhood Educator for Certificate III

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Laws and regulations applicable

to early childhood services
Statutes and regulations cover:
the Building Code of Australia
child protection
disability standards
discrimination and harassment
education and care of young children
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PPTs to accompany Walker & Miller, The Early Childhood Educator for Certificate III

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Laws and regulations applicable to

early childhood services (cont.)
equal employment opportunities
family assistance law
family law
industry awards
privacy legislation
workplace health and safety.
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PPTs to accompany Walker & Miller, The Early Childhood Educator for Certificate III

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An educators legal
responsibilities in the workplace
An educator must demonstrate an
understanding of the legal responsibilities and
obligations of their designated job role, as well
as knowledge of relevant key statutory and
regulatory requirements, including:
duty of care responsibilities
taking responsibility for own actions
maintaining confidentiality

seeking agreement of a client.

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PPTs to accompany Walker & Miller, The Early Childhood Educator for Certificate III

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Workplace policies and

procedures
An induction of all staff members is a
requirement of the NQS and should
include:
national laws and regulations
expectations and responsibilities
the services philosophy and code of conduct
policies, procedures and protocols
NQS and EYLF (or appropriate framework).

Copyright 2016 McGraw-Hill Education (Australia) Pty Ltd

PPTs to accompany Walker & Miller, The Early Childhood Educator for Certificate III

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Workplace policies and

procedures (cont.)
Policies reflect the philosophy of a
service and guide practice to ensure
legislative and ethical compliance and
consistency.
All staff members must follow policies
as they will agree to be accountable to
them.

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PPTs to accompany Walker & Miller, The Early Childhood Educator for Certificate III

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Reporting breaches
If a person does not fulfil their duty of
care obligations (referred to as a
breach), then they could be accused of
negligence and liable for compensation
or other forms of legal penalties.
Employees are required to report
breaches to a supervisor in accordance
with the appropriate service
procedures.
Copyright 2016 McGraw-Hill Education (Australia) Pty Ltd
PPTs to accompany Walker & Miller, The Early Childhood Educator for Certificate III

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Element 2: Identify and meet

ethical responsibilities
The Early Childhood Australia Code
of Ethics is a guide to best quality
practices for educators.
It is designed as a reflective tool for
evaluating an educators actions.
It is useful in difficult circumstances
(ethical dilemmas) where you may be
unsure of the best course of action.
Copyright 2016 McGraw-Hill Education (Australia) Pty Ltd
PPTs to accompany Walker & Miller, The Early Childhood Educator for Certificate III

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The Early Childhood Australia

Code of Ethics
Core values and processes of the code
are: respect, democracy, honesty,
integrity, justice, courage, inclusivity,
social and cultural responsiveness, and
education.
These values and processes are
echoed in the Early Years Learning
Frameworks Principles, Practices and
Learning Outcomes.
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PPTs to accompany Walker & Miller, The Early Childhood Educator for Certificate III

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Report unethical conduct

Recognising unethical conduct and
reporting to an appropriate person may
include reports which are:
verbal (either by telephone or face-toface)
non-verbal (written).

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PPTs to accompany Walker & Miller, The Early Childhood Educator for Certificate III

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Element 3: Contribute to
workplace improvements
Identify situations where work practices
could be improved to meet legal and
ethical responsibilities.
The development of a client-orientated
culture in the workplace will support
principles of access and equity.

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PPTs to accompany Walker & Miller, The Early Childhood Educator for Certificate III

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Share feedback with

colleagues and supervisors
Good working relationships and
communication builds trust and an
environment which ensures workplace
policies and protocols are followed.

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PPTs to accompany Walker & Miller, The Early Childhood Educator for Certificate III

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Contribute to the policy and

protocol reviews and
development
All staff members should be involved in
reviewing and developing policies in
collaboration with families and other
stakeholders as this supports a shared
understanding of a services practices.
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PPTs to accompany Walker & Miller, The Early Childhood Educator for Certificate III

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Summary
Educators need to:
have a good understanding of key statutory
and regulatory requirements
act within the boundaries of a designated
job role
follow the services policies and procedures
seek advice from their supervisor

protect the rights and interests of clients.

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PPTs to accompany Walker & Miller, The Early Childhood Educator for Certificate III

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