Overview
This unit provides an overview of the intersection between ethical principles and legal imperatives in social work practice in Australia. You will develop an understanding of First Nations lore, the first laws of Australia, and how British colonisation shaped the Australian Legal System. You will explore the human rights principles that inform the law, social work ethics, and social justice responsibilities to address human rights violations and challenge structures that sustain oppression and inequality. You will explore different areas of the law relevant to working in human services, understanding the inherent tension between legal obligations, ethics, and values, which contribute to ethical decision-making challenges practitioners commonly encounter in various settings. Using ethical decision-making models and the AASW Code of Ethics (2020), you will navigate challenges in case studies that involve balancing competing rights and responsibilities, ethical use of power, and constraints on individual freedoms when working with involuntary service users. Additionally, you will examine First Nations peoples' experience of the law and social workers' ethical and legal obligations when working with First Nations people and people from culturally diverse contexts. To build a robust ethical framework for your future practice, you will critically reflect on your values and attitudes, considering how they might impact your work with service users and stakeholders whose life experiences, views and values differ from yours. You will undertake your first fieldwork placement while completing this unit. This practical experience will allow you to reflect on your practice within a human service agency, enhancing your understanding of social workers' ethical and legal dimensions.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Co-requisite - SOWK28005 Social Work Field Education 1
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 2 - 2026
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback - Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.