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NPE prep sample · Study page · Ethics · A sample of the National Psychology Exam preparation inside PsychLog. Every subscription and free trial has all of it.

Try these first

Try these before you read. A wrong guess still helps, because you then read for the answer. These are 2 of the page's 5 quick checks. All 5 are at the end of the page, with model answers to compare.

Ethics

Mandatory notifications and self-notification

The four kinds of notifiable conduct, the thresholds for non-treating practitioners, treating practitioners and employers, what a reasonable belief is, the protections for notifiers, and the events a practitioner must notify about themselves.

Quick check

Answer each one in your own words, then open the model answer to compare. Signed in, your answers are kept and marked, and the plan uses them.

  1. 1.A psychologist in private practice in Melbourne treats a 36-year-old physiotherapist who describes a growing romantic connection with a current patient; nothing has happened yet. What is the most appropriate step?

    Model answer

    The psychologist should consider whether there is a reasonable belief that the physiotherapist is at risk of engaging in sexual misconduct, the lower threshold that applies to treating practitioners for this ground, and must notify if so, rather than waiting until something has happened.

  2. 2.Two psychologists at a practice both see a colleague arrive unsteady and smelling of alcohol this morning. One says she has already reported it to Ahpra today and tells the other not to bother. What does the second psychologist need to consider?

    Model answer

    Whether there are reasonable grounds to believe Ahpra has been notified of the same conduct, in which case the exemption applies, rather than notifying again by reflex or assuming a report was made without checking.

  3. 3.At a barbecue, a psychologist hears a colleague from another practice, clearly drunk, boast that he "sometimes has a drink before difficult clients". She has never seen him at work. What is the position?

    Model answer

    The mandatory duty applies to a reasonable belief formed in the course of practising, and a drunken boast at a social event is not direct knowledge of his practice, so the mandatory duty does not arise, though she may consider a voluntary notification if she has real concern.

  4. 4.A psychologist employed in a group practice tells the owner she intends to notify Ahpra about a colleague's sexual misconduct. The owner says she will lose her job if she does. What is the most appropriate step?

    Model answer

    The psychologist should still notify, since the National Law prohibits threatening or dismissing a person to stop a notification, rather than delaying until she has found another job.

  5. 5.A psychologist in private practice is disqualified under a Medicare agreement because of her conduct, after a review of her billing. She has not been charged with any offence. What must she do?

    Model answer

    She must give the Board written notice within 7 days, since Medicare disqualification because of conduct is a relevant event, rather than assuming only criminal matters must be reported.