Regulators across professions say that members are expected to maintain professional standards in both their professional and personal lives. What matters is not where you posted or whether you were acting in your professional capacity at the time, but whether the conduct would reasonably be regarded as reflecting on your fitness to hold a licence. A personal account on a public platform is still public, and in the age of real names, profile bios, and professional identifiers, the connection to your profession is easy to make.
Years of practice management failures did not ultimately determine the outcome. Instead, the decisive issue was licensing dishonesty. After commencing and continuing articling without having received a required Certificate of Qualification, the Tribunal found willful blindness despite the respondent’s assertion that he had no intention to deceive. The case underscores a critical regulatory principle: uncertainty about eligibility is not a defence, and integrity in the licensing process can become a determining factor.