Policy Documents
This section brings together all policy documents developed by the Ethics Committee.
Coming Soon
Moral Distress: Information for Physicians & Trainees
This new resource will provide clear, practical information to help physicians and trainees recognise, understand, and respond to moral distress in clinical practice. It will outline common drivers of moral distress, its impact on wellbeing and decision
making, and the responsibilities of individuals and organisations in creating supportive, ethically safe environments. The document aims to strengthen ethical practice and promote healthier, more sustainable workplaces.
Proposed release: 2026
Ethical Considerations: Providing Telehealth Services
This new resource will outline the key ethical considerations for physicians and trainees delivering health care through telehealth practice. It will address consent, privacy, clinical appropriateness, continuity of care, and the responsibilities of medical
practitioners when navigating the limitations and opportunities of virtual care. The document aims to support safe, equitable, and ethically sound telehealth services across a wide range of clinical contexts.
Proposed release: 2026
Ethical Guidelines
The RACP Guidelines for ethical relationships between health professionals and industry was
developed primarily as a supportive educational resource and are intended to be voluntary rather than prescriptive.
These voluntary guidelines support members in navigating the complex and varied ethical challenges that may arise from interactions with industry. This resource covers interests, dualities of interest and conflicts of interest and issues affecting:
- health practitioners
- trainees and students
- institutions and professional societies
- research
RACP Online Learning
Ethics and Interactions with Industry | Video series complementing the Guidelines
Course details
A set of FAQs to address ethical issues physicians commonly encounter in their relationships with industry covers the following topics:
- meeting with drug representatives
- speaking at a pharmaceutical company sponsored event
- funding from a pharmaceutical company to attend a conference
- pharmaceutical sponsorship for clinical meeting or grand round
- funding from a pharmaceutical company to conduct or participate in research
- invitation to be a member of a pharmaceutical company advisory board
Position Statement on Clinical Ethics
The RACP Position Statement on Clinical Ethics (PDF) is the first of its kind to be developed by a medical college
and calls for clinical ethics support services to be embedded within the health care systems of Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.
It highlights that ethics is fundamental to clinical practice, advocates for education and research in clinical ethics, and calls for the development of clinical ethics services to better support practitioners in the contemporary health context.
Members are encouraged to use the position statement to support the development of their own clinical ethics capacity and to gain support for the establishment of rigorous clinical ethics support services in their workplaces.