Code of Ethics Article | Engineers Australia

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Code of Ethics Article | Engineers Australia

As engineering professionals, we take our ethical obligations very seriously. Since its
inception, Engineers Australia has had a Code of Ethics and disciplinary processes that
enable us to take action against members who breach that Code. Chartered members and
registrants on the various registers administered by the National Engineering Registration
Board are specifically required to practice in accordance with the Code of Ethics.
Our Code of Ethics was most recently updated in 2010 after an extensive process of consultation with
members and with external organisations expert in ethics. In revising and updating the Code, we
endeavoured to produce a document that is clear, concise and reflective of modern engineering practice.
The revised Engineers Australia Code of Ethics has also been used as the basis of a new Model Code of
Ethics for the World Federation of Engineering Organisations (WFEO).
The Engineers Australia Code of Ethics can be found by clicking here
But what is ethics? Dr Simon Longstaff, Director of the St James Ethics Centre and Australias premier
ethicist, describes ethics as being about making choices. When we are faced with an ethical dilemma, we
wish to choose a course of action which is good. But we need to go further than this, and ensure that we
implement that choice in a way which is right.
Take for example the badminton players who were recently expelled from the London Olympics for
deliberately losing matches to better position themselves for the semi-finals. I am sure that all of those
players wanted to win a Gold Medal for the honour and glory of their sport and their nation. We could
argue that such a choice, in essence, is good. However, the means by which they chose to implement that
choice is most definitely not good. They have paid a high price for their unethical behaviour.
Ethical decision making is rarely easy and no Code of Ethics can provide the solution to all ethical
problems. The Code of Ethics is not a book of rules. As the Engineers Australia Code of Ethics says:
Our Code of Ethics defines the values and principles that shape the decisions we make in engineering
practice. The related Guidelines on Professional Conduct provide a framework for members of Engineers
Australia to use when exercising their judgment in the practice of engineering.Ethical engineering
practice requires judgment, interpretation and balanced decision-making in context.
Our Code provides us with the Values we are expected to adhere to in ethical decision making, to make
those choices that are good. These values require us to demonstrate Integrity, to practice Competently, to
exercise Leadership and to promote Sustainability.
Along with those key values, our Code also outlines Guidelines on Professional Conduct. These Guidelines
set out a series of Principles which provide a framework for members to use when exercising their
judgment in the practice of engineering. These Guidelines cannot be exhaustive but are intended to
provide guidance in the application of the Codes ethical values, so that we can implement our good

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choices in a manner which is right.

As I said above, ethical decision making is rarely easy and normally requires careful thought and decision
making on a case by case basis. To assist members to develop their skills in this regard, we are presently
developing a web based training tool for ethical reflection, called the Values Exchange. This tool will
enable members to gain experience in ethical decision making by addressing ethical case studies in a
structured way, based around the Code of Ethics, in a manner which enables users to access and analyse
their decision making process as they go.
This tool has been successfully trialled by First Year Engineering Students at QUT and is presently being
trialled in industry in Western Australia. We expect to have it ready for release to the general membership
in 2013. In the meantime, members can trial the Values Exchange by going to the website
www.engineersaustralia.values-exchange.com, creating a login and trialling the case studies. We would
appreciate your feedback.
The Greek Philosopher Socrates invented ethics when he asked the question what ought one to do? A
seemingly simple question, it actually becomes more complex as you think about it. The Engineers
Australia Code of Ethics is intended to provide members with guidance to help address this question and I
urge you to study the Code and to visit the Values Exchange website.
By Rolfe Hartley FIEAust CPEng EngExec FIPENZ
Commissioner for Ethics and Discipline

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