The IT Professionals New Zealand (ITP) Code of Practice provides guidance for IT professionals on how to behave professionally and how to apply ethical principles in their everyday IT work. It is designed to be read alongside the ITP Code of Ethics and provides recommended standards and a framework for good IT practice.
The Code of Practice helps IT professionals understand what is considered good and acceptable professional practice in New Zealand. It provides guidance for common IT activities as well as practices relevant to particular
IT skills and areas of work. For examplean IT professional should:
* Work responsibly and professionally.
* Protect client and organisational information
.* Provide services competently.
* Follow recognised professional practices.
* Consider the social and legal consequences of technology.
* Continuously improve their technical and professional skills.
The purpose is not simply to tell IT professionals what technology to use, but to help them make responsible and ethical decisions.
Ethical behaviour means making decisions that are honest, responsible and fair, even when there is no specific law covering the situation.
The ITP Code of Ethics supports this through eight main principles, including good faith, integrity, community focus, skills, continuous development, informed consent, managing conflicts of interest and competence.
For example, an IT professional should not:
* Misuse confidential customer information.
* Hide a serious security problem from a client.
* Use their technical skills to cause harm.
* Claim to have skills or qualifications they do not possess.
* Allow personal interests to influence professional decisions.
The Code encourages IT professionals to follow recognised professional standards and provide services carefully and competently. It also encourages continuous professional development so that IT practitioners keep their knowledge and skills up to date. This is particularly important because technologies such as AI, cloud computing, cybersecurity and big data are constantly changing.
In Aotearoa New Zealand, ethical IT practice should also consider the country’s bicultural context and Māori perspectives.
IT professionals should understand concepts such as:
* Manaakitanga – showing care, respect and hospitality.
* Whanaungatanga – developing respectful relationships.
* Kaitiakitanga – guardianship and responsible protection.
* Rangatiratanga – self-determination and authority.
* Whakapapa – understanding relationships, origins and connections.
These principles can help IT professionals design technology that respects Māori people, communities and cultural values. New Zealand digital-government guidance specifically highlights the importance of incorporating tikanga Māori into digital workflows and respecting values such as manaakitanga, whanaungatanga, kaitiakitanga and rangatiratanga.
IT professionals may work with Māori data, which can include information about Māori people, communities, language, culture, places, resources and mātauranga. Māori data may be viewed as taonga, meaning something valuable and treasured, and therefore may require additional care and governance.
Ethical IT practice should therefore include:
* Obtaining appropriate consent before collecting or using Māori data.
* Protecting sensitive or culturally restricted information.
* Clearly explaining why data is being collected and how it will be used.
* Allowing appropriate Māori participation in decisions about their data.
* Avoiding commercial or technological exploitation of Māori knowledge.
* Keeping data secure and respecting Māori data governance.
* Considering whether the use of data provides benefits to the communities from which it comes.
Mātauranga Māori refers broadly to Māori knowledge, knowledge systems and understanding developed and passed down through generations. IT professionals should recognise that this knowledge may have cultural, spiritual and collective significance. Simply because information is available digitally does not mean that it is appropriate to copy, publish, analyse or commercialise it. For example, an IT developer creating a database containing Māori cultural knowledge should consider who has authority over the information, whether permission has been given, who can access it, and whether the technology could cause cultural harm. Government guidance recommends involving Māori early in decisions involving Māori data and establishing clear boundaries around what data can be used, for what purposes and under what conditions.