Integrity Provisions in Response to Practitioner Sexual Boundary Violations in Australia: A Comparative Analysis

Abstract

This article examines integrity provisions from the stance of a member of the public who wishes to make a complaint regarding practitioner sexual boundary violation. A hypothetical case scenario applicable to practitioners in a range of psychotherapeutic and social care occupations is presented. Relevant sections of the ethical codes of key Australian voluntary professional associations are then compared. These associations are the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, the Australian Psychological Society, the Australian Association of Social Workers, as well as the Australian Counselling Association and the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia, which have recently made a joint agreement to establish the Australian Register of Counsellors and Psychotherapists. An analysis of the provisions of relevant national, state and territory boards, complaint commissions and professional associations, (defined for the purposes of this article as “integrity bodies”), highlights significant inequities in clients' rights regarding complaints.