Is it OK? Duty of care, law & ethics in NSW youth work:
A guide to common legal and ethical dilemmas
(2006) by Nick Manning
contents list
Drugs: Contents
- Smoking
- Alcohol & illegal drugs
- Coffee in youth services
Smoking
Let under 18s smoke on your premises or during an outing or camp?
There is no obligation under either public health law or duty of care to prevent young people smoking (outside) - either under 18s or over 18s. Legally you must prevent smoking indoors and in vehicles in most situations.
Most youth services allow smoking outside by all ages, because to ban smoking:
- is unenforceable in some situations
- may drive away young people who particularly need the services provided.
Give a young person a cigarette?
The legality and ethics of a youth worker giving a cigarette to a young person are not clear.
Public Health Act - under 18s
Legally you must not sell cigarettes to, or buy cigarettes for, an under 18 year old (NSW Public Health Act). This much is clear.
Legally it is not clear if this extends to giving an under 18 year old a cigarette of your own.
Duty of care - under 18s & over 18s
Legally it is not clear whether:
- buying for, selling to, or giving cigarettes to, young people over 18, or
- giving cigarettes to young people under 18,
would be a breach of a youth worker's duty of care (see Smoking: Law & policy for NSW youth services - link below). Your duty of care in this situation is a somewhat remote and technical legal concept. It is probably more useful to focus on whether giving a young person a cigarette is ethical.
Ethics - under 18s & over 18s
Ethically the question is unresolved - some youth workers argue that a youth worker must never provide a young person of any age with a cigarette. Other youth workers argue that generally a youth worker should not give a young person a cigarette, but that there are some exceptional circumstances where giving a cigarette would be acceptable.
More on smoking & youth services
- Smoking: Law & policy for NSW youth services at
www.yapa.org.au/youthwork/facts/smoking.php.
Alcohol & illegal drugs
Have a drink after work with a young person?
Ethically and professionally this raises several concerns:
-
It would usually be a breach of professional boundaries. You should not have contact outside of work with a young person from your work. Any exceptions should be approved by management. (See Is it OK... to have contact with a young person outside of work in Boundaries
- Given that many young people drink at unsafe levels, it may not be appropriate for either the young person or the youth worker to drink to excess while with the other person.
If the young person is under 18, purchasing or supplying alcohol for them in most (not all) situations is illegal. Therefore it raises an additional ethical/ professional issue of the youth worker being seen to condone an offence.
If the youth worker actually bought alcohol for the under 18 year old, the worker would be committing an offence in most (not all) situations.
If the young person is over 18 there is no legal issue, but the ethical issues still exist.
Let a drunk or drug-affected young person come into your agency?
The question of how to respond to intoxicated young people at your agency - turn them away, or let them in for their own safety - is complex.
You have to weigh up several factors about your program, your staffing, the young person's current situation and the alternatives currently available to the young person. There is no single correct answer, from the point of view of law, duty or care, ethics or professional practice.
See Alcohol & illegal drugs: Law & policy for NSW youth services (link below).
Search & confiscate?
The question of whether to confiscate alcohol or other drugs is also more complicated than it might seem. See Alcohol & illegal drugs: Law & policy for NSW youth services (link below).
More on alcohol, illegal drugs & youth services
-
Alcohol & illegal drugs: Law & policy for NSW youth services
www.yapa.org.au/youthwork/facts/alcohol.pdf (293KB PDF)
Coffee in youth services
Another youth worker at your centre asks if there a minimum legal age for coffee intake - young people are requesting coffee at the centre and some parents are not keen on it. Should you check if parents consent or not?
There are no legal restrictions on young people of any age drinking coffee.
With young people in youth services the law is unlikely to require parents' consent - a young person can make their own decision. If a parent is unhappy with that, they would have to try to sort it out with their child directly.
A possible exception would be if a parent specifically asked you not to provide the young person with coffee or caffeine drinks because of a medical condition or because the young person is consuming caffeine at a dangerous level. You would need to work out a safe solution that everyone can accept.
It's a good idea to have a pamphlet explaining to parents what is available at your centre (eg. coffee). Parents can then discuss it with their child if it is an issue for them. Parents are informed and involved from the beginning, rather than finding out down the track. There is an example of this information (though it doesn't mention coffee) in the Duty of Care Statement, in Part 7: Safety, of the YAPA Model policies at www.yapa.org.au/youthwork/modelpolicies .
You can provide health information to all young people about coffee and caffeine-containing drinks and unsafe levels of consumption. A good guide is at
www.health.nsw.gov.au/public-health/dpb/publications/caffeine.html.
Notes
Published: 2006 Opinions are the author's and not necessarily YAPA's.
Applicable to NSW youth services (non-government agencies & local councils) providing accommodation, welfare, social or recreation services to young people. May not be consistent with laws and guidelines in, schools, out-of-home care or health services. "young people" - aged roughly 12-25 years old (unless stated otherwise).
Be careful! YAPA and the author took reasonable care to ensure that this information is correct. However government regulations, laws and standards are complex and changing constantly. The author/s have no health, occupational health and safety, or legal qualifications (unless stated), and information provided is general - it is not specific legal or professional advice. Do not rely on it - check with other publications and authorities and if necessary get qualified legal or professional advice for your situation.
Copyright 2006 Nick Manning. You can: a) quote small amounts of text if you acknowledge the author, publisher, web address & date; b) print out multiple copies of this web page but only if you print the whole web page. No other use permitted without prior consent. Do not put large amounts or all of the text in any other document, including: a policy & procedure manual; a presentation (eg. Powerpoint); a training/learning resource book (eg. for TAFE); a web page. Copyright and training enquiries: nmanning@pnc.com.au
