LWS101 Chap.1 Ethics, Law and the Australian Legal System
Ethics, Law and the Australian Legal System
Two kinds of obligation
The first week separates what a nurse ought to do from what a nurse must do.
Ethics and professional codes describe the first; law, made by Parliament or developed by judges, sets the second and attaches consequences.
Where proceedings come from
The topic also maps the forums a nurse may face after something goes wrong: a criminal prosecution, a civil claim for compensation, a disciplinary process about registration, or a coroner's inquiry into a death.
Each has a different purpose and a different starting point.
Using this topic in every answer
Week 1 content rarely appears as a question of its own, yet it supplies the vocabulary for every law heading you write later.
When a scenario involves harm, the four pathways give you a ready structure; when it involves a statute, the distinction between Acts and judge-made law tells you how to cite it, by the Act's name in text and its full title in a reference list.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Ethics Versus Law
- 02
Acts, Cases and Common Law
- 03
The Doctrine of Precedent
- 04
Commonwealth and State Powers
- 05
Criminal and Civil Proceedings
- 06
Disciplinary and Coronial Proceedings
Worked example · free
Which proceedings can follow a medication error?
- 1Civil: the patient may sue in negligence for compensation, because a duty was owed, the dose fell below reasonable care and harm resulted.
- 1Disciplinary: a notification can lead the regulator to examine whether the nurse is safe to practise, in order to protect the public.
- 1Criminal: police may consider whether the conduct amounts to an offence, which only the State can prosecute.
Key terms
- Act of Parliament
- A statute made by Parliament; legislation, statute and Act all name the same kind of law.
- Case Law
- The body of rules made by judges through court decisions, also called common law.
- Coronial Inquiry
- An investigation by the coroner's court into how and why a person died.
- Disciplinary Proceedings
- The regulator's process for deciding whether a practitioner's registration should be restricted to protect the public.
- Statute
- Another word for an Act of Parliament, used interchangeably with legislation.
- Criminal Proceedings
- A prosecution brought by the State to establish guilt for an offence and impose punishment.
- Commonwealth and State Powers
- The division of law-making power between the national Parliament and the State Parliaments under Australia's federal system.
Ethics, Law and the Australian Legal System FAQ
Why does the unit separate ethics from law?
The Week 2 tutorial asks students to recognise that law does not always reflect what is morally right and does not make every harmful act unlawful. Keeping the two apart lets you reach a separate conclusion on each under the Evaluate heading, which is exactly how the framework template is laid out.
Can a nurse face more than one set of proceedings for the same incident?
Yes. Criminal, civil, disciplinary and coronial processes have different purposes, so one serious incident can lead to several at once. A criminal court punishes, a civil claim compensates, a regulator protects the public and a coroner explains a death, so an outcome in one forum does not end the others.
What does precedent mean for a nurse?
Precedent means a lower court must follow the decisions of higher courts in its hierarchy, and every Australian court follows the High Court. For nurses it explains why a decided case, such as one setting out when treatment may be withdrawn, guides practice well beyond the parties who went to court.
How should I cite an Act or a case in my answers?
The assessment details page explains the house style. In text, give only the name of the case or the Act, for example the case name in italics or the short title of the Act. In the reference list, give the full legal citation, including the year and the jurisdiction for legislation and the report reference for cases.
Exam move
Draw the four-pathway table from memory once a week until you can fill every cell: who brings it, what it is for and what can follow. Practise turning one tutorial scenario into four short sentences, one per pathway, and check that each says who acts and why.
Learn the six key definitions from the Topic 1 resources well enough to use them correctly in a sentence, because precise vocabulary under the law heading signals understanding to a marker. Finally, practise one citation in each style the unit sets, so that referencing never slows you down in the exam.
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