How do I make arrangements for Ethics Counselling?

Telephone 1800 672 303* on Mondays to Fridays between 9:00 am and 5:00pm Australian EST. We will make a booking for you with one of our specially trained Ethics Counsellors, either by telephone or face-to-face in our Sydney offices if you prefer.

*Note that this is an Australian 'free call' number and may not work outside of Australia. If not, please use our general contact details.

Who should undertake Ethics Counselling?

The Ethi-Call Ethics Counselling service is open to anyone who would like to explore the ethical issues around an ethical dilemma or a difficult decision that they are facing.

Learn more about our Ethics Counselling service, including the very diverse types of callers who make use of Ethi-Call.

What sorts of ethical dilemmas are worthy of Ethics Counselling?

Your dilemma may be personal or work-related, or a combination of the two. It may be a life changing decision or it may be a relatively small matter, but one where there are just no ‘good’ options.

The important factor is that you a have an ethical dilemma and that you would value the space and time for reflection and the exploration of the related challenges and issues.

Will my Ethics Counselling session be kept confidential?

All Ethi-Call counselling sessions are completely confidential.

We do keep some statistical data (age group, gender, etc) which assists us in managing the service. However, we do not keep records of the specifics of your dilemma, your work or personal details.

We do not discuss the details of your Ethics Counselling session with anyone.

How much personal information do I need to tell you if I'm undertaking Ethics Counselling?

Our Ethi-Call counselling service can be as anonymous as you wish or need it to be. It is helpful for us if you give your first name - so we have something to call you. But you don't have to give your real name if that makes you uncomfortable.

We also find it useful if you give a contact phone number in case our counsellor, for some reason, is unable to keep your appointment, we can ring you and reschedule. We do not keep any of this information on file.

What's the difference between telephone and face-to-face Ethics Counselling?

Telephone counselling is available to anyone, anywhere in Australia. Face-to-face counselling is conducted in the Sydney offices of St James Ethics Centre. The Centre is currently located in Neutral Bay.

I have an urgent ethical dilemma - can I access Ethics Counselling immediately?

The Ethi-call service does not provide emergency counselling. You will need to ring first and book an appointment for counselling. Your appointment may be the next day, but it may be the next week.

If you are in need of emergency counselling and are unable to make an immediate appointment with St James Ethics Centre, please contact an organisation in your area offering this sort of service. Lifeline is one example of such an organisation in Australia.

Who will provide the Ethics Counselling and what qualifications do they have?

Our Ethics Counsellors are a group of professionals with a broad experience in a variety of fields. These counsellors volunteer their time to the Ethics Centre.

Our counsellors receive full training and on-going professional supervision from the Director of Counselling, Suzanne Ross MAPsP.

How much does Ethics Counselling cost?

The Ethi-Call Ethics Counselling service is completely free. There is no charge for the counselling session.

The phone number for counselling, 1800 672 303, is a free call from land lines within Australia. Charges from mobile phones or for calling from outside of Australia may apply and this is beyond our control.

Do I have to be a member to undertake Ethics Counselling?

No. The Ethi-Call Ethics Counselling service is open to everyone, not just members of St James Ethics Centre.

Learn more about becoming a member of the Ethics Centre if you are interested in doing so.

How long does an Ethics Counselling session take?

We allow one hour for each Ethics Counselling session.

Will I need more than one Ethics Counselling session?

One counselling session should be enough time to work through one ethical dilemma.

Will the Ethics Counsellor tell me what the right thing is to do in my situation?

Our trained Ethics Counsellors do not give advice: they will not tell you what you should or should not do. Instead, the Ethi-Call Ethics Counselling service will provide you with ‘tools’ to think through your dilemma in a systematic way, enabling you to make a good decision for yourself based on your own values and principles.

I'm not in Australia - can I still access the Ethics Counselling service?

The Ethics Counselling service is available to anyone with an ethical dilemma.

However, the service operates only during Australian eastern standard time (EST) business hours of 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. Visit www.timeanddate.com/worldclock to determine the difference from your current timezone.

Also note that our 'free call' number is very unlikely to operate anywhere outside of Australia. If you are not in Australia you will need to call us on +612 9299 9566 to make an appointment for Ethics Counselling. You will also need to be prepared to pay for the cost of your call during your counselling session as this is unfortunately not an expense the Ethics Centre is able to fund.

Note that we are unable to explore ethical dilemmas via email due to the complex nature of our Ethics Counselling sessions.

Do religious values play a role in the Ethics Centre's Counselling service?

The values that you hold as an individual and believe are important and/or relevant to the dilemma you are facing, are the values which will play a key role in your Ethics Counselling session.

We do not seek to impose our own values: in our Ethics Counselling both the values involved in the discussion and the final decisions must be your own.

Can my organisation make use of the Ethics Counselling service or set up its own similar service?

This may be possible. Learn more about formal relationships with our Ethics Counselling service and contact us if you have any queries about such relationships.