INFO1111 Chap.3 The ACS Code of Professional Ethics
The ACS Code of Professional Ethics
This chapter is a close reading of the ACS Code of Professional Ethics adopted in March 2023, the code the unit expects you to know well enough to apply to a situation. The Code rests on four core values: honesty and trustworthiness, then respect for others and respect for the profession.
Each value is followed by lettered clauses, three under honesty, eight under trustworthiness, seven under respect for others and eight under respect for the profession, and the chapter explains how to cite a value and clause letter in an answer.
It also covers the older ACS Code of Professional Conduct from 2014, with its six values and the rule that the public interest comes first when values conflict, and the international ACM and IEEE Computer Society code. A four-step method, stakeholders, value, clause and action, is applied to a case in which a developer is asked to quote for work beyond her experience.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Why ICT professionals carry responsibility for others
- 02
The four core values of the 2023 Code
- 03
Honesty clauses a to c, including misrepresentation by omission
- 04
Trustworthiness clauses a to h, from accountability to secure systems
- 05
Respect for others and respect for the profession
- 06
The 2014 Conduct code and the primacy of the public interest
- 07
A four-step method for applying the Code
Worked example · free
Citing the Code for a hidden data-sharing feature
- +1Stakeholders: the users whose contacts are shared, the people in those contact lists, the company and the partner.
- +1Trustworthiness (d): respect the privacy and confidentiality of personal information in your possession.
- +1Honesty (b): burying the sharing in the terms misrepresents the feature by omission.
- +1Respect for Others: minimise harm, and identify and mitigate risks to others under clause (f).
- +1Action: object in writing and propose an opt-in design with a plain explanation before any sharing.
Key terms
- Honesty
- The ACS value requiring truthful dealings, no misrepresentation, even by omission, and speaking up about unprofessional conduct.
- Trustworthiness
- The ACS value covering accountability, integrity, privacy, competence and clear communication of your own capabilities.
- Respect for Others
- The ACS value requiring members to minimise harm to stakeholders and to act fairly and inclusively.
- Public Interest
- In the 2014 Conduct code, the interests of the public, including health, safety and the environment, which take precedence in a conflict.
- Conflict of Interest
- A situation in which a personal benefit could bend a professional judgement, which the Code requires members to declare and manage.
The ACS Code of Professional Ethics FAQ
What are the four values in the ACS Code of Professional Ethics?
Honesty and trustworthiness come first, followed by respect, which the Code splits into respect for others and respect for the profession. Each of the four values has its own lettered clauses to cite.
How many clauses does each value have?
In the 2023 Code, honesty has three lettered clauses, trustworthiness eight, respect for others seven and respect for the profession eight. Lecture slides number some of them differently, so cite the letters from the Code.
What happens when values in the ACS codes conflict?
The 2014 Code of Professional Conduct puts the primacy of the public interest ahead of all its other values. The public interest includes public health, safety and the environment.
Can an ACS member be penalised for breaching the Code?
Yes. Breaches can be reported through a complaints process, and if an investigation confirms a breach the penalties can extend to expulsion from the ACS. The 2014 Conduct code also notes relevance to negligence claims.
Does the Code cover every situation?
No. It says it is not exhaustive and expects members to use their own judgement in each situation, guided by its values and principles. That is why answers must apply clauses to facts rather than search for a rule.
Exam move
Print the four values as headings on one page and write each lettered clause beneath in your own words, keeping the letters. Then run a clause hunt like the Week 3 tutorial: find, without looking at notes, the clauses on privacy, on fairness in system design, on misrepresentation by omission, and the sentence saying the Code is not exhaustive.
Practise the four-step method on short scenarios: list stakeholders, choose the value, cite at least two clauses and state an action with an order. Learn the six values of the 2014 Conduct code as a separate list, together with its precedence rule, because a question about conflicting values is easiest to answer with that rule.
Finally, compare three ACM principles with their ACS equivalents so you can show the values are shared across the profession, not local to Australia.
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