WA Youth Work Code of Ethics - Review

The Western Australian Youth Work Code of Ethics was first established in 2007 and is held in partnership between Youth Work WA and the Youth Affairs Council of WA (YACWA). The Code of Ethics was last reviewed in 2014 - it was time for a refresh!

After a thorough consultation process, we were so excited to officially launch the new Code of Ethics for Youth Workers in WA in March 2025.  Incase you missed it, you can watch the launch here. We cover the process behind the Code of Ethics review, the key themes that arose during, key changes that have been made to the Code, and finally, share and celebrate the final product!

Sector Workshops, May - June 2024:

To assist us with the review, we engaged human centered design specialists - Tolchard, led by Tom Tolchard and Nina Ulyett. A series of six online workshops were held for the sector to give feedback on the current Code of Ethics. High level feedback included:

• Aboriginal perspectives: the Code should acknowledge and recognise First Nations culture and perspectives.
• Contemporary factors: Global events and societal shifts have evolved youth work, including the move to online services post-COVID-19, a focus on Child Safe practices due to mandatory reporting for some, and the rise of Lived Experience and Peer Work roles.
• Need to increase acknowledgement of different contexts for regional Youth Workers.
• Youth Work is now more professionalised - the Code is appreciated as a standard to support YW and provide a baseline for all workers and volunteers.
• The Code is useful to articulate to other orgs what Youth Work is and how they will operate.
  
  

Reference Group, June - August 2024:

• A Reference Group with 13 leaders from across the youth work sector was formed, this equaled a collective total of approximately 250 years of experience!
• Members of the Reference Group represented Youth Workers from the Not for Profit, Local Government, tertiary education, peak body, regional sectors, and one young person.
• Each Reference Group member brought their professional experience to the group and represented their relevant stakeholder group from the WA youth work sector.
• The Reference Group assisted us to work through several iterations of the draft Code and oversee and provide feedback on the process that was undertaken.

Finalise New Code, Nov 2024 - Feb 2025:

• Feedback from the survey was taken on board and a final version of the code was run past the reference group.
• 'Tested' the draft version of the Code with young people to seek their feedback.
  
• A working group was formed to develop an appropriate "young persons version" of the code. 
• Graphic designer engaged to create new posters and resources.
• Launch was planned.

Official Launch! March 2025:

The day had come! We officially launched the new Code of Ethics, with an online presentation and celebration with the sector. Catch the video above if you missed it. 

What happens next? We still have a bit of work to do! 

We are so happy to have the final code complete, but we are also now busy:

• Re-writing the case studies and examples that sit alongside the Code of Ethics.
• Re-designing the graphics on some final documentation and materials.
• Reviewing and updating the Code of Ethics training, so we can offer high quality training on the new code of ethics for the sector. 

Youth Work WA would like to acknowledge that the 2024 Review was made possible by a grant from the Department of Communities.