EDF5532 Ethics for counsellors
Faculty of Education
EDF5532 Ethics for counsellors is a level 5, 12-credit-point, postgraduate unit from the Faculty of Education, offered in 2025 in Semester 1 at Clayton. It has no prerequisites.
- Credit points
- 12
- Offered in 2025
- Semester 1
- Clayton
- Assessment
- No exam
- 2 tasks
- Workload
- 288 hours
- per semester
The 2027 handbook has no page for EDF5532. This is its 2025 entry, the latest one.
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Requisites
Before EDF5532
No prerequisites or corequisites besides the enrolment rules below.
After EDF5532
No unit lists EDF5532 as a prerequisite in the 2025 handbook.
Enrolment rules
Overview
This unit develops advanced understanding of the ethical, legal, and regulatory dimensions of professional counselling practice. You will examine the ethical foundations of the profession and gain an awareness of the critical issues and dilemmas faced by counsellors. You will learn how to resolve ethical dilemmas which are not addressed by professional codes of conduct. Themes addressed include implementing ethical principles and codes of practice, legal responsibilities, personal, social, and professional values, diversity, sensitive issues and practice, duty of care, confidentiality and privacy, referrals, dual relationships and managing boundaries, and professional relationships. You will also consider the ethical issues of working in various contexts such as online counselling, schools, private practice, and community agencies.
Offerings in 2025
| Teaching period | Campus | Mode |
|---|---|---|
| First semester | Clayton | Online |
Assessment
- Essay on ethical issues (4000 words or equivalent)Written50%
- Ethical practice case vignette (4000 words or equivalent)Written50%
Learning outcomes
When you finish this unit, you should be able to:
- 1
describe and apply the professional, ethical, social, and legal obligations of counsellors
- 2
describe and apply the ethical requirements of the societies and professional organisations in the locations in which you plan to practice
- 3
describe the functions and processes of professional and legal bodies in dealing with ethical matters
- 4
utilise a formal structure to demonstrate ethical decision making and argue a defensible, well informed ethical position on ethical dilemmas arising in counselling
- 5
reflect upon one's own professional competencies and limits of proficiency in a range of situations
Workload and teaching
- Tutorials24 hours
- Lectures12 hours
- Teaching approachActive learning
The minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 288 hours per teaching period comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study.
Usually, you can expect to engage with:
A. Clayton enrolment
• 20 hours of scheduled learning delivered on campus via weekly/regular directed learning activities, 12 hours of directed learning activities delivered synchronously online and 4 hours of directed learning activities delivered asynchronous online and the remaining hours to be allocated towards self-directed/independent study
OR
• 12 hours of directed learning activities delivered synchronously online and 24 hours of directed learning activities delivered asynchronous online and the remaining hours to be allocated towards self-directed/independent study^
^ International students studying in Australia are not permitted to undertake this scheduled learning delivery mode
B. Kaplan enrolment
• 12 hours of scheduled learning delivered synchronously on campus and/or online via regular directed learning activities, 24 hours of scheduled learning delivered online via synchronous and/or asynchronous directed learning activities, and the remaining hours to be allocated towards self-directed/independent study
Scheduled learning activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.
Using a dynamic and applied approach to learning, this subject aims to foster ethical awareness which will support your professional practice as a counsellor. Problem-based learning allows you to collaboratively respond to complex ethical dilemmas in a supportive environment, providing considerable opportunity for self-reflection. Each week, you will engage with practical activities including case studies and group discussions which involve recognising, assessing and responding to ethical dilemmas and professional issues. The assessment for this subject provides you with opportunities to self-reflect, build practical resources, consult with academic literature, and utilise ethical-decision making models to work through practical case examples.
Learning resources
Recommended resources
Please visit the unit Moodle site for further information.
Contacts
- Chief Examiners
- Dr Barbara Lo
- Unit Coordinators
- Dr Barbara Lo
Common questions
What are the prerequisites for EDF5532?
EDF5532 has no prerequisites, but enrolment rules apply.
When is EDF5532 offered?
In 2025, EDF5532 runs in Semester 1 at Clayton, with an online option.
How much work is EDF5532?
The handbook expects about 288 hours of study across the semester. No students have rated its difficulty yet.
Does EDF5532 have an exam?
No. EDF5532 has 2 assessment tasks and no exam.