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Talent Acquisition Association of Australia

Code of Professional Conduct

For members, vendors, suppliers, sponsors and commercial partners

1.  Purpose of this Code

The Talent Acquisition Association of Australia exists to lift the standard, credibility and impact of the Talent Acquisition profession.

This Code of Professional Conduct sets out the behaviours expected of all individuals and organisations connected with TAAA, including members, office holders, volunteers, vendors, suppliers, sponsors and commercial partners.

The Code is designed to support:

  • ethical Talent Acquisition practice
  • fair and respectful treatment of candidates, employees, clients, employers and suppliers
  • professional standards across recruitment, hiring, workforce advisory and talent technology
  • public confidence in Talent Acquisition as a recognised profession
  • responsible use of data, technology and artificial intelligence
  • a safe, inclusive and respectful TAAA community

2.  Who this Code applies to

This Code applies to:

  • individual TAAA members
  • corporate members
  • employer members
  • vendor and supplier members
  • sponsors and commercial partners
  • board members and committee members
  • volunteers acting on behalf of TAAA
  • contractors or service providers engaged by TAAA
  • any person or organisation representing TAAA in a formal capacity

Where an organisation is a member or partner, it is expected to take reasonable steps to ensure its employees, representatives and contractors act consistently with this Code when engaging with TAAA or the broader TAAA community.

3.  Core principles

3.1  Integrity

Members and partners must act honestly, fairly and in good faith. They must not knowingly mislead, deceive or misrepresent information about candidates, roles, employers, hiring processes, products or services, fees, pricing, commercial arrangements, technology capability, assessment outcomes, professional qualifications or experience.

3.2  Respect

Members and partners must treat others with dignity, courtesy and professionalism. Discrimination, bullying, harassment, intimidation, victimisation or humiliating conduct is not acceptable.

3.3  Professional competence

Members should maintain the knowledge, skills and judgement required to perform their work responsibly. Talent Acquisition professionals are expected to stay current with developments in recruitment and selection practice, employment law, privacy, diversity and inclusion, candidate experience, assessment, artificial intelligence and hiring technology.

3.4  Accountability

Members and partners are responsible for their conduct and for the conduct of people acting on their behalf. Where an issue arises, members and partners are expected to respond honestly, promptly and constructively.

3.5  Fairness

Members must support fair and transparent hiring processes based on relevant capability, experience, potential, values alignment and role requirements, rather than bias, favouritism, undisclosed conflicts or improper influence.

3.6  Community responsibility

Members and partners must recognise that hiring decisions affect people’s livelihoods, confidence, opportunities and careers. TAAA expects members and partners to contribute positively to the profession and avoid conduct that could damage trust in Talent Acquisition.

4.  Standards for TAAA members

This section applies to individual members, corporate members, employer members, practitioners, consultants and office holders.

4.1  Candidate care

Members must treat candidates fairly and respectfully throughout the hiring process. Members should make reasonable efforts to:

  • provide accurate role and process information
    • communicate clearly and honestly
    • avoid misleading candidates about role status, remuneration, location, flexibility or selection likelihood
    • protect candidate confidentiality
  • avoid unnecessary delays
    • ensure assessment methods are relevant to the role
    • provide appropriate consideration to accessibility needs
    • avoid exploitative or coercive practices

4.2  Client and employer responsibility

Members must act with care when representing an employer, client, hiring manager or organisation. Members should:

  • clarify role requirements before going to market
    • challenge unrealistic, unlawful or discriminatory requirements
    • avoid overstating candidate availability or interest
    • disclose material information that may affect hiring decisions
    • manage conflicts of interest
    • protect confidential employer and candidate information
    • avoid conduct that undermines trust in the hiring process

4.3  Truthful representation

Members must not knowingly make false or exaggerated claims about:

  • experience, qualifications or credentials
    • candidate suitability
    • market data
    • salary benchmarks
    • diversity outcomes
    • technology performance
    • service capability
    • hiring outcomes

If data is used to support a claim, it should be presented honestly and with appropriate context.

4.4  Confidentiality and privacy

Members must handle personal, commercial and confidential information responsibly. This includes:

  • candidate records
    • resumes and profiles
    • interview notes
    • assessment results
    • remuneration information
    • business plans
    • workforce plans
  • client lists
    • technology, pricing or product information
    • internal TAAA information

Information should only be collected, used, stored and shared for legitimate purposes and in accordance with applicable privacy, employment and data protection obligations.

4.5  Responsible use of technology and AI

Members using AI, automation, assessment tools or hiring technology must do so responsibly. Members should ensure technology use is:

  • lawful
    • transparent where appropriate
    • relevant to the role or business purpose
    • monitored for fairness, accuracy and unintended bias
    • supported by human judgement where decisions materially affect candidates or employees
    • respectful of privacy and data security
    • not used to deceive candidates, employers or clients

Members should not present AI-generated work, assessments or analysis as human expert judgement where that would mislead others.

4.6  Conflicts of interest

Members must identify and manage actual, potential or perceived conflicts of interest. This includes situations involving:

  • family members or friends in hiring processes
    • financial interests
    • referral arrangements
    • supplier or vendor relationships
    • undisclosed commissions
    • personal relationships with candidates, hiring managers or suppliers
    • competing obligations to multiple parties

Where a conflict exists, members should disclose it to the appropriate party and remove themselves from the decision-making process where necessary.

4.7  Compliance with law

Members must comply with applicable laws, regulations and professional obligations relevant to their work, including those relating to:

  • employment
    • workplace relations
    • equal opportunity and anti-discrimination
    • privacy and data protection
  • immigration and right to work
    • workplace health and safety
    • consumer law
    • competition law
    • modern slavery and labour exploitation
    • anti-bribery and corruption

4.8  No exploitation

Members must not engage in, support or ignore conduct that exploits candidates, workers or vulnerable people. This includes conduct involving:

  • forced labour
    • debt bondage
    • misleading job offers
    • unlawful unpaid work
    • coercive recruitment practices
    • improper deductions or fees
    • unsafe work arrangements
    • misuse of visa or immigration vulnerability
    • deceptive contracting arrangements

4.9  Professional communication

Members must communicate in a way that supports trust in the profession. Members should avoid:

  • abusive or demeaning language
    • misleading advertising
    • public attacks on candidates, employers, competitors or peers
    • careless use of confidential information
    • inappropriate social media conduct
    • using TAAA membership to imply endorsement beyond what has been granted

4.10  Complaints and dispute handling

Members should respond to complaints, disputes or concerns in a timely, fair and constructive manner. Where a complaint relates to TAAA activity, membership, events, conduct or professional standards, members must cooperate with any reasonable review or resolution process established by TAAA.

5.  Standards for vendors, suppliers and commercial partners

This section applies to TAAA vendors, supplier members, sponsors, commercial partners, contractors and service providers.

5.1  Legal and regulatory compliance

Vendors and suppliers must comply with applicable laws and regulations in the locations where they operate. This includes obligations relating to employment, workplace health and safety, anti-discrimination, privacy and data security, anti-bribery and corruption, consumer protection, marketing and advertising, intellectual property, taxation, modern slavery and labour standards.

5.2  Product and service quality

Vendors and suppliers must provide products and services that are fit for purpose, accurately represented and delivered with appropriate skill and care. Vendors must not exaggerate the capability of their products or services, especially in relation to AI capability, automation, candidate matching, bias reduction, compliance, predictive accuracy, integration capability, security or return on investment.

5.3  Responsible AI and technology claims

Vendors offering AI, automation, assessment or hiring technology must ensure their claims are clear, evidence-based and not misleading. Vendors should be able to explain what the technology does, what it does not do, what data it uses, how outputs should be interpreted, where human review is required, key risks or limitations, privacy and security considerations, and how bias, fairness and accuracy are monitored.

5.4  Data protection and confidentiality

Vendors and suppliers must protect TAAA information, member information, candidate information and any other confidential or personal data they access. They must use such information only for authorised purposes and maintain appropriate technical, organisational and contractual safeguards.

5.5  Fair labour and employment practices

Vendors and suppliers must not use forced labour, child labour, unlawful labour arrangements or exploitative employment practices. They should provide safe, lawful and fair working conditions for their employees and contractors. Where vendors use subcontractors, they should take reasonable steps to ensure those subcontractors act consistently with this Code.

5.6  Diversity, inclusion and respectful workplace conduct

Vendors and suppliers must maintain workplaces and business practices that are free from unlawful discrimination, bullying, harassment and victimisation. TAAA encourages vendors to support diverse suppliers, inclusive employment practices and accessible products and services.

5.7  Health, safety and wellbeing

Vendors and suppliers must take reasonable steps to provide safe systems of work and protect the health, safety and wellbeing of people involved in delivering goods or services to TAAA or its members.

5.8  Environmental responsibility

Vendors and suppliers should conduct business in a way that considers environmental impact, including responsible management of waste, energy use, travel, emissions, materials, technology lifecycle and supply-chain practices where relevant.

5.9  Gifts, hospitality and improper advantage

Vendors, suppliers and partners must not offer, request or accept gifts, benefits, hospitality, commissions, payments or incentives that could improperly influence decision-making or create the appearance of improper influence.

Modest and reasonable hospitality may be acceptable where it is transparent, lawful, proportionate and not linked to a procurement decision, award, endorsement, speaking opportunity or membership benefit.

5.10  Conflicts of interest

Vendors and suppliers must disclose any actual, potential or perceived conflict of interest involving TAAA, its office holders, employees, volunteers, committee members or commercial decision-makers.

5.11  Use of TAAA name, brand and assets

Vendors, sponsors and partners must not use TAAA’s name, logo, materials, member lists, intellectual property or confidential information without permission. TAAA membership, sponsorship or partnership must not be represented as product endorsement, guarantee of quality, certification of compliance, preferred supplier status or exclusive commercial approval unless expressly authorised by TAAA in writing.

5.12  Reporting concerns

Vendors and suppliers must promptly report known or suspected improper conduct relating to their dealings with TAAA, including bribery, corruption, misuse of information, conflicts of interest, fraud, data breach, harassment, discrimination, unsafe practices, misleading conduct or serious breach of this Code.

6.  Conduct at TAAA events and forums

All members, vendors, speakers, sponsors, attendees and guests must behave respectfully at TAAA events, meetings, webinars, training sessions, awards programs, committees and online communities.

Expected conduct includes:

  • respectful participation
  • professional debate
  • no harassment, intimidation or discrimination
  • no aggressive selling in inappropriate settings
  • no misuse of attendee or member data
  • no recording or distribution of private sessions without permission
  • no conduct that damages TAAA’s reputation or undermines community trust

TAAA may remove any person from an event or forum where behaviour is unsafe, disrespectful, disruptive or inconsistent with this Code.

7.  Advertising, sponsorship and commercial influence

TAAA welcomes responsible vendors, sponsors and partners who contribute positively to the Talent Acquisition community. However, commercial involvement must not compromise TAAA’s independence, credibility or professional standards.

Vendors and sponsors must:

  • clearly distinguish paid promotion from editorial, educational or independent content
  • avoid misleading claims
  • respect TAAA’s audience and member data
  • avoid undue influence over awards, judging, research, events or professional standards
  • comply with agreed sponsorship and partnership terms

TAAA may decline or end commercial relationships that conflict with its purpose, reputation or member interests.

8.  Breaches of this Code

A breach of this Code may include conduct that:

  • damages trust in TAAA or the Talent Acquisition profession
  • harms candidates, workers, members, clients or stakeholders
  • involves dishonesty, discrimination, harassment, exploitation or unlawful conduct
  • misuses confidential information or personal data
  • misrepresents TAAA membership, endorsement or authority
  • creates unmanaged conflicts of interest
  • fails to cooperate with a reasonable TAAA review or complaint process

TAAA may take action appropriate to the seriousness of the matter. This may include:

  • informal guidance
  • written warning
  • request for corrective action
  • suspension of membership or partnership
  • removal from an event, committee or forum
  • termination of membership, sponsorship or vendor relationship
  • referral to an external regulator or authority where required or appropriate

9.  Reporting and complaints

Concerns about conduct may be reported to TAAA through the complaints procedure process as nominated by the Board or authorised officer.

TAAA will seek to handle complaints and concerns in a way that is:

  • fair
  • confidential where appropriate
  • timely
  • respectful
  • procedurally balanced
  • proportionate to the seriousness of the issue

TAAA may decline to investigate matters that are outside its remit, better handled by an employer, regulator, court, tribunal or other authority, or insufficiently connected to TAAA membership or activity.

10.  Commitment

By applying for, renewing or maintaining TAAA membership, or by entering into a supplier, sponsor, partnership or service relationship with TAAA, individuals and organisations agree to act consistently with this Professional Code.

11.  Member and vendor commitment statements

On joining or applying for TAAA membership, sponsorship and vendor membership, members are agreeing to:

Act in accordance with the TAAA Professional Code of Conduct and to uphold professional standards of integrity, fairness, confidentiality, respect and accountability in my dealings with candidates, employers, members, suppliers, partners and the broader Talent Acquisition community.

Contact us

TAAA Membership Manager
Level 7, 10 Yarra Street,
South Yarra,
Melbourne, VIC, 3141
E: members@taaa.au

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