Every employee contributes to safe, respectful, inclusive and high quality environments for children, families and colleagues. Professional responsibilities apply to all staff regardless of role, classification, hours of work or employment status.

Professional conduct includes the way staff behave, communicate, make decisions, manage information, use authority, respond to concerns and represent NERPSA. It applies at services and Head Office, during meetings and community events, through telephone and online communication, and outside working hours where conduct may affect children, colleagues, a service or NERPSA.

Professional responsibility includes

• placing children’s safety, wellbeing, dignity and rights at the centre of decisions;
• following lawful and reasonable directions, policies and procedures;
• maintaining professional boundaries;
• using respectful and inclusive behaviour;
• being honest about mistakes, risks and concerns;
• acting within the limits of your position and authority;
• seeking advice when you are uncertain;
• raising unsafe, inappropriate or concerning conduct promptly; and
• accepting responsibility for your actions, decisions and records.

Respectful communication is calm, clear, courteous and appropriate to the situation. It allows people to raise concerns and disagree without intimidation, blame or personal attack.

In practice, respectful communication means

• listening before responding;
• using clear, factual and neutral language;
• addressing the issue without attacking the person;
• considering tone, timing, location and audience;
• avoiding dismissive, aggressive, sarcastic or belittling language;
• communicating with cultural respect and inclusion;
• checking your understanding before making assumptions;
• being clear when a request or concern is outside your authority; and
• seeking support when a conversation is becoming difficult or unsafe.

Respect does not require staff to remain in an unsafe interaction

Staff are expected to communicate respectfully. Families, community members and colleagues are also expected to communicate respectfully. An employee may pause or end an interaction when another person is abusive, threatening, intimidating or behaving in a way that makes it unsafe to continue.

Staff have access to information because of their work. That information must only be accessed, used or shared for an authorised work purpose. Curiosity, personal relationships or informal conversation do not provide a valid reason to access or disclose information.

Confidentiality applies to

• information about children and families;
• health, disability, behaviour, enrolment and support information;
• staff and employment information;
• complaints, concerns, allegations and investigations;
• incident and witness records;
• service and organisational records;
• photographs, videos and digital information; and
• information received through information sharing or statutory processes.

Safe information handling

Do not promise secrecy

A child, family member or colleague may ask you not to tell anyone. Staff should listen respectfully but must not promise to keep information secret when it may need to be shared to protect a child or another person, meet a reporting obligation or allow NERPSA to respond appropriately.

Staff are often the first people approached by families or community members. Some questions can be answered immediately. Others involve private information, complaints, allegations, employment matters or decisions that must be referred to an authorised person.

Before responding, consider

Approved response wording

Staff must not

• speculate or repeat rumours;
• provide personal opinions about colleagues;
• confirm or deny confidential allegations;
• disclose investigation or employment information;
• argue with a family or community member;
• promise a particular outcome;
• speak on behalf of NERPSA without authority; or
• attempt to manage a serious complaint or allegation alone.

Social media can rapidly spread incomplete, inaccurate or confidential information. Personal accounts and privacy settings do not remove professional responsibilities or guarantee that content will remain private.

Staff responsibilities

• Do not post confidential workplace information.
• Do not identify or indirectly identify children, families or employees.
• Do not respond publicly to complaints, criticism or allegations involving NERPSA.
• Do not encourage colleagues, families or community members to join an online dispute.
• Do not use social media to raise or pursue a workplace grievance.
• Do not make a public statement on behalf of NERPSA unless authorised.
• Preserve relevant information and report concerning content promptly.

If you see a concerning post

1. Do not reply, react, share or enter into an online argument.
2. Capture the content, date, time, account or page name, link and relevant comments where it is safe and lawful to do so.
3. Do not send the material more widely than necessary.
4. Report it promptly to the Nominated Supervisor, Education Manager, NERPSA Manager or Human Resources Manager, depending on the circumstances.
5. Report any immediate safety or child safety concern through the required pathway without delay.

Professional judgement is the process of considering the available information, relevant responsibilities, risks and limits of authority before deciding what to say or do.

Before acting or responding

• pause and check the facts;
• separate fact from opinion, assumption and hearsay;
• consider children’s safety, dignity and rights;
• consider privacy and whether you are authorised to act;
• consult current policies and procedures;
• seek advice when the correct response is uncertain;
• consider whether immediate protective action is required;
• consider whether your stress, frustration, relationships or bias may be affecting your response; and
• record significant decisions and actions.

Factual documentation

A factual record identifies what was seen, heard, said or done. It includes relevant dates, times, locations, people present and actions taken. It avoids labels, exaggeration, assumptions about intention and conclusions that the writer is not authorised or qualified to make.

Not every difficult situation follows the same pathway. Staff need to recognise the type of matter being raised and whether it can be addressed through an ordinary internal process or requires immediate protective, emergency or statutory action.

Matters may include

• a routine operational question;
• a request for advice or support;
• feedback, dissatisfaction or a complaint;
• a workplace concern, grievance or interpersonal disagreement;
• an occupational health and safety or psychosocial hazard;
• occupational violence and aggression;
• suspected misconduct;
• a child safety concern;
• an emergency;
• a mandatory or statutory reporting matter; or
• a protected disclosure or whistleblower matter.

Ordinary internal pathway

The ordinary pathway is not appropriate in every situation. Staff should go directly to the person or authority required by the circumstances when following the ordinary pathway would delay protection, expose someone to further risk, involve reporting to the person implicated, compromise evidence or interfere with a direct reporting obligation.

When raising a matter internally

Be clear about what you are asking NERPSA to receive. State whether you are making a complaint or grievance, reporting a concern or risk, requesting advice, or seeking an opportunity to talk through frustration before deciding whether further action is required.

Provide the known facts, relevant dates, people involved, action already taken, available evidence and the outcome or support you are seeking. Do not delay urgent reporting while gathering complete information.