The Australian standards for editing practice outlines core standards professional editors should meet in their editing practice. The IPEd Code of Ethics outlines conduct, principles and values that should guide us as editors and provides guidelines to help us navigate ethical issues that arise during our work. 

As members of IPEd, we are expected to comply with the Code, and we are also expected to work to the Standards, as appropriate for our level of skill and experience. But how many of us regularly refer to either the Code or the Standards in our day-to-day editing work?

By putting the Code and the Standards to work for us as editors, and by integrating core elements of both into our editing practice, we can give our editing the edge by:

• having the security of a documented quality control process
• ensuring we conform to the Code and the Standards
• using these structures to create boundaries when negotiating scope of work and establishing terms of service
• using these structures to help us define areas that require further learning or upskilling.