PROFESSIONAL ETHICS AND CONDUCT
Professional Conduct
Professional conduct guidelines provide a set of minimum standards for how professionals should act in the animal healthcare environment, and are underpinned by ethical principles.
The AVPRC Code of Conduct is a set of guidelines and principles that Allied Veterinary Professionals in New Zealand should follow. It is an essential document to help guide Allied Veterinary Professionals in their work and to ensure that high standards of professionalism in the veterinary industry are maintained. The Code of Conduct comprises seven principles, all of equal importance. They form a framework that defines the professional behaviours, standards, and values expected to be upheld by an Allied Veterinary Professional.
Download a PDF of the Allied Veterinary Professional Regulatory Council Code of Conduct here.
The seven principles are as follows:
Respect the dignity, values, and individuality of clients.
Work in partnership with clients and colleagues to provide a high standard of animal welfare.
Provide safe and competent care to animals.
Respect the privacy and confidentiality of clients.
Work within legislative requirements to best ensure acceptable outcomes for the client and animal.
Act with integrity to justify clients’ trust.
Maintain public trust and confidence in the veterinary profession and strive to provide a high standard of Allied Veterinary Practice.
Supporting guidance accompanies each of these principles, to provide further details and explain sections of the principles to improve understanding, expectations, and compliance with the Code of Conduct.
Allied Veterinary Professionals are required to familiarise themselves with the Code of Conduct and incorporate the Code’s principles into their practice. Disciplinary investigation may be undertaken against an Allied Veterinary Professional who fails to uphold and abide by any of the principles of the Code of Conduct.
Printable posters listing the seven principles of the Code of Conduct are available for download here and are encouraged to be shared throughout the veterinary sector.
The AVPRC welcomes any feedback on this Code of Conduct. Feedback may be provided using the form below.
The New Zealand Veterinary Nursing Association has published Professional Guidelines for the conduct of Allied Veterinary Professionals.
The Veterinary Council of New Zealand has a Code of Professional Conduct for veterinarians that provides legislated conduct guidelines for veterinarians. Much of it is relevant to allied professionals as well.
Ethical Principles
Professional ethics are principles that govern the behaviour of professionals. Like values, professional ethics provide a foundation for ethical decision making. Unlike values which may be unique to each person, professional ethics are often presented as a set of rules that a profession uses.
The following ethical principles are the foundation for ethical care and service by veterinary nurses and allied veterinary professionals in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Professional Practice
Beneficence - Acting in a way that benefits others, whether an individual, family, group, community, or population; promoting their well-being and attending to their legitimate interests.
Non-maleficence - Actively preventing harm through individual and collective effort, establishing, maintaining, and improving the ethical environment of the work setting and conditions of employment that are conducive to safe, quality veterinary care.
Trust & Transparency - Upholding, protecting, and building trust in the profession and veterinary sector by adhering to legislative, and professional ethics and conduct guidelines, and by acting with integrity and empathy in all professional interactions.
Honest & Accountable – Acting with honesty, transparency, and accountability, demonstrating clinical effectiveness, through individual and collective effort, affording the same duties to self as to others, preserving wholeness of character and integrity, maintaining competence, and continued personal and professional growth.
Caring for People, Animals, and the Environment
Cultural safety - Practicing with compassion and respect for the inherent dignity, worth, autonomy, and unique attributes of all people, living or otherwise, Māori and non-Māori. Being aware of personal perspectives and biases to ensure inclusivity, collaboration, and agency for all in the delivery of culturally safe practice.
Animal Welfare- Actively attending to the veterinary professional's duty of care for sentient animals by advocating for A Good Life for animals, and actively preventing harm, utilising contemporary animal welfare frameworks such as the Five Domains to guide ethical decision-making and care, as well as ensuring compliance with legislative standards.
Sustainability - Advocating for A Good Life for All including sustainable practices that recognise both living and non-living things as part of an interconnected system encompassing the concepts of One Health, One Welfare, and te ao Māori.