It is of paramount importance for human service workers to critically reflect upon their own personal ethics and values, so that they are conscious of the effect these can have on their professional practice. Ethical dilemmas occur when a given situation has two or more conflicting moral principles resulting in the practitioner needing to prioritise one ethical principle over another. Ethical decision making is an integral part of human service practice with social workers frequently encountering ethical dilemmas. Practitioners must utilise the systematic, reflective process outlined in the code of conduct to assist them to resolve the situation based on their professions best practice (AASW practice standards; AASW code of ethics). One
