Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions at IIT

The respect which society accords the engineering professions is earned and maintained by its members demonstrating a strong and consistent commitment to ethical values. These commitments are additional to the obligations, which every member of society is required to observe, such as obeying the law, and reflect the additional responsibility expected of all professionals. It therefore follows that the Institution must maintain an appropriate Code of Ethics, to publish it for the information of the public and to enforce it impartially. This Code must be responsive to the changing expectations of both society and the profession and the global standards to which the Institution subscribes.

The Code of Ethics is based on the five fundamental ethical values set out in Rule 4 of the Institution as follows:

Protection of life and safeguarding people
Sustainable management and care for the environment
Commitment to community well-being
Professionalism, integrity and competence
Sustaining engineering knowledge

The Code consists of three Parts. The first is a set of five fundamental ethical values. These values are intended to inform Members of the high ideals of professional life. Part II provides expanded guidelines. These guidelines are not exhaustive - they are offered as a guide to the understanding and intentions of Part I. They should be read with Part I as a whole and given a free and liberal meaning. They range from exhortations to excellence to prescriptive directions as to what constitutes ethical professional behaviour. Part III sets out the minimum standards of behaviour against which the behaviour of Members will be judged in terms of deciding if they have reasonably complied with the requirement in Rule 4 of the Institution to behave ethically.

Members will find in the three Parts assistance in deciding the proper response to most of the situations they will meet in their professional life. In the final analysis, the judgement of the Member's peers as to what the `reasonable professional' would have done faced with the same situation and applying the same provisions in Part III will prevail.

The Institution may issue information such as definitions of terminology to further assist Members interpret the Code. Such information does not form part of the Code.

Part 1 - Values

Protection of Life and Safeguarding People: Members shall recognise the need to protect life and to safeguard people, and in their engineering activities shall act to address this need.

Professionalism, Integrity and Competence: Members shall undertake their engineering activities with professionalism and integrity and shall work within their levels of competence.

Commitment to Community Well-being: Members shall recognise the responsibility of the profession to actively contribute to the well-being of society and, when involved in any engineering activity shall endeavour to identify, inform and consult affected parties.

Sustainable Management and Care for the Environment: Members shall recognise and respect the need for sustainable management of the planet's resources and endeavour to minimise adverse environmental impacts of their engineering activities for both present and future generations.

Sustaining Engineering Knowledge: Members shall seek to contribute to the development of their own and the engineering profession's knowledge, skill and expertise for the benefit of society.

Part 2 - Guidelines

Protection of Life and Safeguarding People: Members shall recognise the need to protect life and to safeguard people and in their engineering activities shall act to address this need

Under this clause you should have due regard to:
1.1 Giving priority to the safety and well-being of the community and having regard to this principle in assessing obligations to clients, employers and colleagues.
1.2 Ensuring that reasonable steps are taken to minimise the risk of loss of life, injury or suffering which may result from your engineering activities, either directly or indirectly.
1.3 Drawing the attention of those affected to the level and significance of risk associated with the work.
1.4 Assessing and taking reasonable steps to minimise potential dangers involved in the construction, manufacture and use of outcomes of your engineering activities.

Professionalism, Integrity and Competence: Members shall undertake their engineering activities with professionalism and integrity and shall work within their levels of competence.

Under this clause you should have due regard to:
2.1 Exercising your initiative, skill and judgement to the best of your ability for the benefit of your employer or client.
2.2 Giving engineering decisions, recommendations or opinions that are honest, objective and factual. If these are ignored or rejected you should ensure that those affected are made aware of the possible consequences. In particular, where vested with the power to make decisions binding on both parties under a contract between principal and contractor, acting fairly and impartially as between the parties and (after any appropriate consultation with the parties) making such decisions independently of either party in accordance with your own professional judgement.
2.3 Accepting personal responsibility for work done by you or under your supervision or direction and taking reasonable steps to ensure that anyone working under your authority is both competent to carry out the assigned tasks and accepts a like personal responsibility.
2.4 Ensuring you do not misrepresent your areas or levels of experience or competence.
2.5 Taking care not to disclose confidential information relating to your work or knowledge of your employer or client (or former employer or client) without the agreement of those parties.
2.6 In providing advice to more than one party, ensuring that there is agreement between the parties on which party is the primary client, and what information may be shared with both parties
2.7 Disclosing any financial or other interest that may, or may be seen to, impair your professional judgement.
2.8 Ensuring that you do not promise to, give to, or accept from any third party anything of substantial value by way of inducement.
2.9 First informing another Member before reviewing their work and refraining from criticising the work of other professionals without due cause.
2.10 Upholding the reputation of the Institution and its members, and supporting other members as they seek to comply with the Code of Ethics.
2.11 Following a recognised professional practice (Model Conditions of Engagement are available) in communicating with your client on commercial matters.

Commitment to Community Well-being : Members shall recognise the responsibility of the profession to actively contribute to the well-being of society and, when involved in any engineering activity shall, endeavour to identify, inform and consult affected parties.

Under this clause you should have due regard to:
3.1 Applying your engineering skill, judgement and initiative to contribute positively to the well-being of society.
3.2 endeavouring to identify, inform and consult parties affected, or likely to be affected, by your engineering activities
3.3 Recognising in all your engineering activities your obligation to anticipate possible conflicts and endeavouring to resolve them responsibly, and where necessary utilising the experience of the Institution and colleagues for guidance.
3.4 Treating people with dignity and having consideration for the values and cultural sensitivities of all groups within the community affected by your work.
3.5 Endeavouring to be fully informed about relevant public policies, community needs, and perceptions, which affect your work.
3.6 As a citizen, using your engineering knowledge and experience to contribute helpfully to public debate and to community affairs except where constrained by contractual or employment obligations.

Sustainable Management and Care of the Environment: Members shall recognise and respect the need for sustainable management of the planet's resources and endeavour to minimise adverse environmental impacts of their engineering activities for both present and future generations.

Under this clause you should have due regard to:
4.1 Using resources efficiently.
4.2 Endeavouring to minimise the generation of waste and encouraging environmentally sound reuse, recycling and disposal.
4.3 Recognising adverse impacts of your engineering activities on the environment and seeking to avoid or mitigate them.
4.4 Recognising the long-term imperative of sustainable management throughout your engineering activities. (Sustainable Management is often defined as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs).

Sustaining Engineering Knowledge : Members shall seek to contribute to the development of their own and the engineering profession's knowledge, skill and expertise for the benefit of society.

Under this clause you should have due regard to:
5.1 Sharing public domain engineering knowledge with other engineers so that the knowledge may be used for the benefit of society.
5.2 Seeking and encouraging excellence in your own and others' practice of engineering.
5.3 Contributing to the collective wisdom of the profession.
5.4 Improving and updating your understanding of the engineering and encouraging the exchange of knowledge with your professional colleagues.
5.5 Wherever possible sharing information about your experiences and in particular about successes and failures.

Part 3 – Minimum Standards of Acceptable Ethical Behaviour by Members

General obligations to society

1. Take reasonable steps to safeguard health and safety
A Member must, in the course of his or her engineering activities, take reasonable steps to safeguard the health and safety of people.
2. Have regard to effects on environment
(1) A Member must, in the course of his or her engineering activities,—
(a) have regard to reasonably foreseeable effects on the environment from those activities; and
(b) have regard to the need for sustainable management of the environment.
(2) In this context, sustainable management means management that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations (including at least the future generations within the anticipated lifetime of the end products and by-products of activities) to meet their own reasonably foreseeable needs.

3. Act with honesty, objectivity, and integrity
A Member must act honestly and with objectivity and integrity in the course of his or her engineering activities.

General professional obligations
4. Not misrepresent competence
A Member must—
a) not misrepresent his or her competence; and
b) undertake engineering activities only within his or her competence; and
c) not knowingly permit engineers whose work he or she is responsible for to breach paragraph (a) or paragraph (b).

5. Not misrepresent Membership status
A Member must not (in connection with a business, trade, employment, calling, or profession) make a false or misleading representation, or knowingly permit another person to make a false or misleading representation, that services are supplied by a Member of the Institution.

6. Inform others of consequences of not following advice
(1) A Member who considers that there is a risk of significant consequences in not accepting his or her professional advice must take reasonable steps to inform persons who do not accept that advice of those significant consequences.
(2) In this context, significant consequences means consequences that involve—
(a) significant adverse effects on the health or safety of people; or
(b) significant damage to property; or
(c) significant damage to the environment.

7. Not promise, give, or accept inducements
A Member must not—
a) promise or give to any person anything of substantial value intended to improperly influence that person’s decisions that relate to the Member’s activities; or
b) accept from any person anything of substantial value intended to improperly influence his or her professional engineering decisions.

Obligations to employers and clients
8. Not disclose confidential information
(1) A Member must not disclose confidential information of an employer or client without the agreement of the employer or client.
(2) Subclause (1) does not apply if—
(a) the failure to disclose information would place the health or safety of people at significant and immediate risk; or
(b) the Member is required by law to disclose that information.

9. Not misuse confidential information for personal benefit
A Member who obtains another person’s confidential information in connection with one purpose in the course of his or her engineering activities must not use that information for another purpose that is to his or her own personal benefit.

10. Disclose conflicts of interest
A Member must disclose to an employer or client any financial or other interest that is likely to affect his or her judgement on any engineering activities he or she is to carry out for that employer or client.

Obligations owed to other engineers
11. Not review other engineers’ work without taking reasonable steps to inform them and investigate
(1) A Member who reviews another engineer’s work for the purpose of commenting on that work must take reasonable steps to—
(a) inform that engineer of the proposed review before starting it; and
(b) investigate the matters concerned before commenting.
(2) Subclause (1) does not apply if taking those steps would result in there being a significant and immediate risk of harm to the health or safety of people, damage to property, or damage to the environment.

This version of the IPENZ Code of Ethics was approved by the Board to take effect from 1 January 2005.