Internal and External Entities

All information obtained by the Ethics Committee, including any formal enquiry committee, and all proceedings of the Ethics Committee will be confidential except to obtain evidence, at which point the Ethics Committee Chair/s may disclose that a process to address an ethical concern is under way. The Ethics Committee Chair/s will not provide unnecessary information nor disclose any identification of the parties involved to anyone except in the following cases:

  • If the Ethics Committee deems that sharing information with the ITAA President is in the best interests of ITAA.
  • Where the ITAA President has received information that they believe the Ethics Committee needs to be aware of, and in this consultation the Ethics Committee Chair/s decide after careful consideration, that other related information is appropriate to share with the ITAA President (taking confidentiality into full consideration).
  • Whenever the Ethics Committee appoints an investigator/s or formal enquiry committee to investigate a concern, either may disclose only as much information as is necessary to conduct its formal inquiry. It is most likely that the categories of people whose information may be disclosed to in the conduct of a formal inquiry, are witnesses, Petitioner and Respondent, ITAA committee members overseeing specific processes or committees that have relevance to the concern.
  • The Ethics committee will present an annual report to the BoD which will state the number of cases they have been involved in.

Questions Received Regarding Disclosure

When ITAA Directors and members have questions about whether information may properly be disclosed, these will be referred to the ITAA Ethics Committee chairperson/s.

Disclosure to the Petitioner

The Ethics Committee will disclose to the Petitioner the resolution of a particular case as it affects him/her. The ITAA Ethics Committee will not reveal to the Petitioner, its recommendations pertaining to the Respondent, unless the Ethics Committee Chairs decide otherwise.

Reports to the International Board of Certification (IBOC) regarding Practitioners

When an ITAA Practitioner has been found to contravene the ITAA Ethical Principles, and after action, if any, the Ethics Committee will submit a brief report on this to the IBOC. The report will state the Ethical Principles of the ITAA Code of Ethics contravened, a brief statement regarding the nature of the contravention, the action taken, and the date of the committee’s finding.

Reports to the ITAA Awards Committees

If a person has been found to contravene the ITAA Ethical Principles, the Ethics Committee will report this to the ITAA awards committees, or when the member is a nominee for an honour or an elected position within the ITAA, the Ethics Committee will make a report to the Nominations Committee and the BOD as in item “Disclosure to the ITAA Board of Directors” below. The report of the Ethics Committee will state the Ethical Principles of the Code of Ethics contravened a brief statement regarding the nature of the contravention, the action taken if any, and the date of the event and/or finding.

In cases where an issue of ethical concern has been raised and the Respondent is a nominee for an honour and/or and elected position within the ITAA, the Ethics Committee will notify the Nominations Committee and/or the President, stating that concern has been raised regarding the Respondent.

Membership Committee

If the Respondent has been found to contravene the ITAA Ethics Principles, or that of another body, resulting in termination of their membership, the ITAA Office will be informed only of the fact of the termination, or suspension, for their records. The ITAA Office will check membership applications and renewals against this record.

See Disposition of Files.

External Entities

Publication of Termination of Membership

The Ethics Committee will make a recommendation to the Executive Committee, having considered the public profile and nature of the case, as to whether to publish a termination of membership. The considerations will be based on:

  • The Case’s Public Profile. The termination’s publication having a positive and necessary impact on closure for parties involved directly as well as the public.
  • The Case’s Nature. Notwithstanding the consideration above, if the case involved an especially egregious contravention of the ethics principles, a termination publication may be warranted.

Inquiries From State Regulatory Agencies and Professional Organisations

It is the policy of the ITAA Ethics Committee to cooperate with state regulatory agencies, other professional organisations, or any other institution or organisations that have control (by means of a code of conduct or a code of ethics) over the member or former member when such groups inquire about any action taken in relation to a member or former member for contravention of the ITAA Code of Ethics. If the member or former member has never been found to contravene the Code of Ethics, the state regulatory agency or professional association will be so informed. In cases in which the member or former member has been found to contravene the Code of Ethics, and when such an inquiry is received, the following procedures will be followed:

  • The member or former member will be notified in writing that such a request has been received and that the ITAA intends to comply by a specific date.
  • The inquiry will be answered with a report from the Ethics Committee chair/s. The report will include the following:
    • The principle/s of the ITAA Code of Ethics that were contravened.
    • A brief statement regarding the nature of the offence.
    • The action taken, if any.
    • The date of the event and/or finding.
  • A copy of the report will be sent to the member or former member.

Disclosures Required by Law

The ITAA may disclose such information as compelled by a validly issued subpoena or when otherwise required by law.

Disclosure to the ITAA Board of Directors

The ITAA Ethics Committee chairperson/s will inform the President , who may in turn inform the ITAA Board of Directors of any action taken regarding a member for contravening the ITAA Code of Ethics.

Action by the ITAA President on Disclosure

Where a national or regional TA association member, who is also a member of the ITAA has been subject to an action taken regarding an ethical contravention by that national or regional TA association, the organisation enacting the action is requested to inform the ITAA President. Having ascertained that due process was followed, the President will confer with the ITAA Ethics Committee to ascertain the appropriate steps regarding the member’s standing with ITAA.