ABSTRACT
The Australian code was first published in 1949, and in the initial stage drafters were pragmatic and reactive, producing a code to assist psychologists in dealing with the immediate ethical challenges they faced. They nevertheless realized the limitations of the code and during the next stage were more reflective and consultative. Their successors worked during the third stage when the profession was more mature and intellectual debates about ethics were more common. The drafters in this stage systematically collected data and consolidated their new knowledge and insights with what was in previous codes. The drafters in the final stage used this code to develop one that looked forward into the 21st century and was distinctly Australian whilst applying the conventions that had guided their predecessors. I will in this chapter trace the evolution of the Australian code through these four stages and identify the conventions that I believe guided those drafting the code during these stages.
