PSY4220 Ethics, legal and professional issues in psychology
Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences
PSY4220 Ethics, legal and professional issues in psychology is a level 4, 6-credit-point, undergraduate unit from the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, offered in 2025 in Semester 1 at Clayton and Malaysia. It has no prerequisites.
- Credit points
- 6
- Offered in 2025
- Semester 1
- Clayton, Malaysia
- Assessment
- No exam
- 3 tasks
- Workload
- 12 hours
- per semester
This is the 2025 handbook entry. See the 2027 entry.
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Requisites
Before PSY4220
No prerequisites or corequisites besides the enrolment rules below.
After PSY4220
No unit lists PSY4220 as a prerequisite in the 2025 handbook.
Enrolment rules
Prerequisite: Completed Bachelors Degree and a major sequence in psychology approved by the Australian Psychological Society or qualification assessed as equivalent by the Australian Psychological Society, with a distinction average for third year psychology units.
Prohibitions: PSY4200, PSY4504
Overview
This unit will focus on ethical, legal and professional issues related to psychological practice. Conceptual (e.g. ethical theories and definitions) and practical issues (e.g. common ethical dilemmas and case study appraisals) will be examined and addressed. Some of the professional areas to be covered include legislation governing psychologists, professional organisations, codes of professional conduct, and ethical issues arising from conflicts of interest, breaches of confidentiality, dual relationships, children as clients, working with older clients, using psychological assessments, the provision of psychological services to diverse populations, managing the suicidal client, reporting of child sexual abuse, and service delivery over a variety of digital platforms, including social media, internet and other digital applications.
This unit will provide opportunities for you to develop skills in professional and interpersonal reflection, ethical communication, deliberate practice, and self-care, as each of these are essential in ensuring effective, safe and reflexive practice for future study and work roles.
Offerings in 2025
| Teaching period | Campus | Mode |
|---|---|---|
| First semester | Clayton | On campus |
| First semester | Malaysia | On campus |
Assessment
- Group presentation on ethical issuesPresentation30%
- Cultural reflexivity workbookWrittenThreshold hurdle25%
- Case study analysis and Reflection (2,300 words)WrittenThreshold hurdle45%
Learning outcomes
When you finish this unit, you should be able to:
- 1
Appraise how ethics contribute to upholding professional integrity and cohesiveness in the practice of psychology and mental health professions.
- 2
Apply evidence-based ethical decision making models and legislation, which ensure public safety and effective practice, to complex real-life case studies.
- 3
Explain the professional responsibilities and boundaries of psychologists when dealing with various clients and research participants, in particular vulnerable groups at different developmental stages.
- 4
Develop professional and ethical behaviours for safe, effective, and reflective engagement with Indigenous, culturally diverse, and LGBTQIA+ populations, in psychological practice and research situations.
- 5
Apply ethical decision-making strategies to develop skills in professional reflection, deliberate practice, self-care, and to be able maintain high standards of ethical conduct as a practising clinician and/or researcher.
- 6
Demonstrate appropriate interpersonal communication skills, cultural responsiveness and empathic responding in contexts relevant to psychological practice and research.
Workload and teaching
- Tutorials18 hours
- Workshops6 hours
- Seminars24 hours
- Teaching approachActive learning
Clayton campus:
- 1.5 hours of asynchronous online learning per week
- 1 hour of seminar per week
- 2 hours of workshops 3 times a semester
- Up to 9 hours per week of self-directed study
Malaysia campus:
- 1.5 hours of asynchronous online learning per week
- 1.5 hours of tutorial per week
- Up to 9 hours per week of self-directed study
- Total per week = 12 hours
For full details of the teaching approach to this unit, please refer to Moodle.
Learning resources
Required resources
See Moodle for details about required resources.
Contacts
- Unit Coordinators
- Nathan Ogilvie
- Dr Lee Ji Kwan
- Chief Examiners
- Dr Primrose White
Common questions
What are the prerequisites for PSY4220?
PSY4220 has no prerequisites, but enrolment rules apply.
When is PSY4220 offered?
In 2025, PSY4220 runs in Semester 1 at Clayton and Malaysia.
How much work is PSY4220?
The handbook expects about 12 hours of study across the semester. No students have rated its difficulty yet.
Does PSY4220 have an exam?
No. PSY4220 has 3 assessment tasks and no exam.