Essay on YACVic Code of Ethical Practice in Youth Work (AEB2802)

This essay delves into the YACVic Code of Ethical Practice, a crucial framework for youth workers in Victoria, Australia. It begins by defining ethical work practice and highlighting its significance, particularly in the context of youth work, which often involves vulnerable individuals. The essay then explores the YACVic Code, established in 2007 after extensive consultation, emphasizing its principles of empowerment, participation, social justice, respect, connectedness, safety, and positive outcomes for youth. It examines the code's relevance to current youth work practices, particularly in addressing ethical dilemmas. The essay provides real-world examples of ethical dilemmas, such as a 16-year-old using social media inappropriately and a 9-year-old with behavioral issues, demonstrating how the YACVic code can guide ethical decision-making and promote positive outcomes for young people. The essay concludes by reiterating the importance of ethical practice and the YACVic Code as a valuable resource for youth workers to navigate complex situations and advocate for the well-being of young individuals.

Running head: MANAGEMENT
Management
Name of Student
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Author Note

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Introduction
Ethical work practice is mainly defined as a set of ethical standards that generally
encompasses the ethical principal and values. Ethics in youth workplace is vital for underpinning
the task that is being performed. Code of ethics is generally labelled as the terms if engagement
and core principles that is used for governing the overall approach of working with younger
people. The essay aims in discussing the code of ethically that generally applies to workplace.
The essay will shed light to YACVic Code of Ethical practice that enables a person to think
through various ethical dilemmas (Huff and Furchert 2014). The Code was established in the
year 2007 after a detailed consultation with the Youth Sector of Victoria. This particular code of
ethics mainly include a set of principle related to work performed by the youth and the ethical
duties of the youth.
Code of ethics applying to workplace
The code of ethical practise is particularly important for the youth concerning their work.
The code of ethics applies to the workplace that ensure fair work practice among the Youth. The
Victorian Youth Affairs Council is a crowning body that represents the youth of Victoria (Youth
Affairs Council of Victoria 2007). This ethical principles apply to the workplace across Australia
as it delivers a process in which the young individuals are able to raise the concern regarding the
issues that might affect them.
This code of ethics allow the young people to voice their concern regarding the unfair
practices that might happen in a workplace. The YACVic is supported by the office of youth and
mainly works for the interest of the young people and their rights (Ord 2016). The YACVic
framework is quite effective for decision making as it helps an individual to think through

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various ethical dilemmas. The essay aims in discussing the process in which YACVic can help in
solving certain key ethical dilemmas. The code mainly intend in supporting the youth workers in
making exceptional ethical decisions related to their day to day practise. Thus, this particular
code of practise is quite relevant to youth workplace as it outlines and documents the key youth
work principle that the young workers should follow to ensure an effective decision making.
Understanding the Nature and Ethical Context of Youth Work
Youth work can be described as an umbrella terms that covers a wide range of activities
in social, educational and cultural grounds. Youth work is a social practise associated with
working with the younger individuals and with the society in which they thrive in. Youth’s
people effective contribution and enclosure is needed not only in their work place but also to the
society in which they are working (Mason 2015). Thus, it is quite clear that ethical concerns are
endemic in work performed by the youth. Youth work might often require performing with the
members having lesser rights in consideration to the adults, who are vulnerable or lack power,
hence are more prone to exploitation, harm or manipulation (White, Wyn and Robards 2017).
The essay provides an overview of similar situation where individual are exploited or harmed,
giving rise to ethical dilemmas. The YACVic code of ethical practise is applicable to the youth
force as it aims in helping the youth to understand their rights and take effective decision (Hart
2017.). The examples of ethical dilemmas that are illustrated in the later section of the report
demonstrates the process in which the said ethical practice helps in solving the ethical issues.
Purpose and Relevance of the YACVic Code of Ethical practice to Youth workplace
The code is concerned with the youth of Victoria and is grounded on human rights.
YACVic include a group of work values applied to youth work practice and tasks in Victorian

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youth sector. This code is therefore considered to be a principle document for the youth sector of
Victoria and is mainly used for creation of a cooperative identity and shared outline for the
practitioners.
The Youth Affairs Council of Victoria (YACVic) is one of the most important body to
represent the young individual of Victoria (Fox 2019). This code is quite pertinent to the
Victorian youth sector mostly because YACVic works with the government to serve as an
interest of the youth workers.
The determination of this code is to stimulate and provision the contribution of the youth
in policy development (Lohmeyer 2019). This code of ethical practise incorporates certain key
principles related to youth work. The youth workforces will mainly work towards permitting and
safeguarding the related principles, as per YACVic Code of Ethical practice-
1. The empowerment of the youth
2. Participation of the young people
3. Social justice to the youth
4. Respect to the human dignity and worth of the young people
5. Youth’s connectedness to the significant people in their lives
6. Safety of the youth
7. Positive health and wellbeing outcome for the youth (Youth Affairs Council of
Victoria 2007)
8. Positive change along with healthy progress of the youth

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As per the principles of YACVic Code of Ethical practice, the responsibility of the youth
work practise is to work morally with youth people and the young workers. As per the code of
ethics, the young people have the following responsibilities-
1. Recognition of the importance of culture to indigenous people
2. Duty of care
3. Respect of young people’s confidentiality and privacy
4. Maintaining transparency, integrity and honesty
5. Collaboration and cooperation
6. Self-awareness
The code is relevant as it outlines the responsibilities of the young workers. The youth
workers are directed by the principles of the work of young individuals. The spirit of youth work
preparation and responsibilities are indicated in YACVic Code of Ethical practice (Youth Affairs
Council of Victoria 2007). Thus, it can be indicated that YACVic is relevant to the current youth
workplace as it guides the youth towards being a better decision maker and be a better problem
solver by guiding them to effectively solve the ethical dilemmas.
Examples of Ethical Dilemmas
Ethical issues are mostly related to the matters of human well-being or welfare. One of
the most effective ways of tackling an ethical issues is to have a clear idea of the ethical code of
conduct. The YACVic code of ethical issues provides a framework of solving several ethical
dilemmas.

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One example of ethical dilemma concerning a youth can be cited here. Sharon who is 16
years old, living in residential home and having developmental delays have been given an i-
phone by her family member. Sharon has signed up to different social media websites and uses
the phone to send unsuitable photos of herself to male students at her school and also to other
older men, without knowing the implication or anger around this behaviour. The issue could not
be handled by cutting down the internet connection as Sharon is able to get hold of public wifi.
She is not ready to give up the phone as well since it’s her private property. This gives rise to an
ethical dilemma.
According to YACVic code of ethics, anti-oppressive practice that relates to equity, non-
discrimination and self-awareness is necessary to be present among the youth. It is the
responsibility of the youth workers to guarantee that fairness of chance is promoted among the
young people (Oliver and Pitt 2014). Self –awareness in missing in the above discussed ethical
dilemma and this might be because of the developmental delays. Sharon’s family member should
have been more cautious while handling her a phone. As per the youth work values discussed in
the previous section of the essay, it is the responsibility of the youth to work towards the
optimistic health and welfare outcome for the young individuals. Sharon needs counselling and
help. Disconnecting the wifi or forcing her to stop using the phone will make the situation worse.
Sharon should be made to understand the negative impacts or risks associated with the
behaviour. A positive transition will be possible with this step.
Another example of ethical dilemma can be cited. This is related to a 9 yr old boy having
severs ADHD and behavioural issue. The behavioural issues are quite challenging which include
setting off fire alarms, using bad language. The key cause of the behavioural issue is the
unhealthy environment at his home where his mum is ill-treated by his dad and his dad has a

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drinking problem. This is an ethical issue. The issue is lack of connectedness of the boy to the
important people in his life such as his mum, dad or brother and sisters. Hence this ethical
dilemma can be solved by following the youth work principle that aims in ensuring young
individuals’ link to the most significant people in their lives (Evans 2015). The family members
and the boy needs counselling to bring on the needed improvements in his behaviour.
Conclusion
The essay provides a broad overview of the Code of Ethical Practice for young Workers
in Victoria and its aim and significance with the work practise of the young individuals. The
essay provides an overall understanding of the ethical practise and provides an overview of the
YACVic Code of ethics that can be considered for resolving certain major ethical issues
concerning the youth.

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References
Evans, G., 2015. Ethical codes in youth work: a comparative analysis. Ethics and Social
Welfare, 9(4), pp.420-426.
Fox, C.J., 2019. Government Regulation of Youth Work: The Shortcomings of Good
Intentions. Ethics and Social Welfare, 13(2), pp.203-209.
Hart, P., 2017. The reality of relationships with young people in caring professions: A qualitative
approach to professional boundaries rooted in virtue ethics. Children and Youth Services
Review, 83, pp.248-254.
Huff, C. and Furchert, A., 2014. Toward a pedagogy of ethical practice. Communications of the
ACM, 57(7), pp.25-27.
Lohmeyer, B.A., 2019. Informal Educational Infrastructure: Citizenship Formation, Informal
Education, and Youth Work Practice. In The Palgrave Handbook of Citizenship and
Education (pp. 1-15). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Mason, W., 2015. Austerity youth policy: exploring the distinctions between youth work in
principle and youth work in practice. Youth & Policy, 114, pp.55-74.
Oliver, B. and Pitt, B., 2014. Youth work. Interprofessional Working in Health and Social Care:
Professional Perspectives, p.186.
Ord, J., 2016. Youth work process, product and practice: Creating an authentic curriculum in
work with young people. Routledge.
White, R., Wyn, J. and Robards, B., 2017. Youth and society.

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Youth Affairs Council of Victoria, 2007. Code of Ethical Practice: A First Step for the Victorian
Youth Sector. Youth Affairs Council of Victoria.