Ethics and Professionalism Courses for Allied Health Professionals in Singapore

The Allied Health Professions Act 2011 is an umbrella Act: it sets one framework, and the Minister for Health can add professions to its Schedule. At present the AHPC registers five professions.

Some professions often grouped with allied health are not registered by the AHPC. MOH announced in May 2026 that psychologists in five subdisciplines will be brought under mandatory registration through the Act, but that has not yet started and no date has been set. Dietitians, podiatrists and audiologists are not on MOH's list of regulated professions, and MOH confirmed in September 2026 that chiropractors will remain self-regulated through their professional associations.

These courses are written for the five registered professions. Practitioners in other allied fields may still find the ethics content useful, but the regulatory sections describe the AHPC's framework only.

Our courses are independent and carry no CME or CPE points; your board and its accreditors decide what counts. If a concern has been raised about your practice, start with the remediation courses for allied health professionals.

The examples are composites for teaching, not real cases.

Start with Ethics for Allied Health Professionals if:

• a patient, family member or colleague has questioned how you touched, spoke to or treated someone;
• you feel caught between what an employer, insurer or referrer wants and what the patient needs;
• a long therapeutic relationship has become harder to manage or to end;
• you are unsure whether a gift, referral arrangement or package of sessions is acceptable.

Start with Professional Standards for Allied Health Professionals if:

• you are starting or supervising a period of supervised practice;
• you delegate tasks to therapy assistants or other support staff;
• you are moving into a new technique or area of practice and want to check your scope;
• your records or reports have been questioned, or you are preparing for the 2027 CPE requirement.

Most practitioners take both within the same year, and each one takes two hours.

The AHPC's Code of Professional Conduct is built on the health professional's fiduciary duty to the patient and six ethical principles, and sets out twelve expectations of every registered allied health professional. The AHPC asks that it be read in its entirety and that you consult the Council when in doubt. The courses also draw on the AHPC's other guidance:

• Supervised practice guidelines for diagnostic radiographers and radiation therapists (2023), and for occupational therapists, physiotherapists and speech-language therapists (2023).
• Recommended guidelines on tele-supervision, and the supervision requirements for the grace period.
• Guidelines on supervision and delegation of tasks to Therapy Support Staff.
• Competency guidelines on dysphagia and feeding.
• The AHPC's circular on overservicing, overcharging and fee splitting.

The AHPC also updated its registration requirements on 1 June 2026. Always check the AHPC website for the current version of each document.

From 1 January 2027, CPE becomes a requirement for renewing an AHPC practising certificate. It first applies to practising certificates expiring on 31 December 2028.

The qualifying period runs from 1 January to 31 December of the following year. A 2-year practising certificate costs S$300, applications are due by 3 December, and a S$100 late fee applies.

A complaint about a registered allied health professional may concern professional conduct or conduct that brings the profession into disrepute, services below a reasonable standard of quality, or physical or mental fitness to practise. It is made by letter with a statutory declaration. A Complaints Committee investigates, and the AHPC indicates the process usually takes at least 9 months. An investigator reports to the Committee with a recommendation on whether a formal inquiry is needed, and the Act provides for Disciplinary Tribunals.

Read the Allied Health Professions Act for the orders a Tribunal can make and the appeal routes, and take advice from your employer, professional association or indemnity provider before you reply to any letter. See also remediation courses for allied health professionals and the complaints and disciplinary guide.

Physical contact, undressing for assessment and long therapeutic relationships make consent and boundaries central for many allied health professionals.

For supervisors, newly registered practitioners, those moving into a new area of practice and those returning after a break.

Treatment notes, imaging records and reports to third parties all fall under the PDPA and the PDPC's healthcare guidelines.

For responding to a complaint, reflecting honestly and showing change.

• Physiotherapists, occupational therapists and speech-language therapists in hospitals, community care, schools, private clinics and home care.
• Diagnostic radiographers and radiation therapists in public and private imaging and oncology services.
• Practitioners under supervised practice and the supervisors responsible for them.
• Senior clinicians who delegate to Therapy Support Staff.
• Practitioners preparing for the 2027 CPE requirement who want structured learning on the Code.
• Practitioners who have received a complaint or an AHPC letter.

Each course takes 2 hours, divided into sections with short knowledge checks. The final assessment has 20 scenario questions, and 16 correct (80%) is a pass. You then download your certificate of completion and complete a short structured reflection. Your progress is saved as you go, so you can stop and return on another device.

Take one or both core courses, then add a supporting course for your profession. The full catalogue lists every Singapore course, and all professions shows the courses for other boards.