The Ethics Toolkit is a series within Essential Ethics designed to give clinicians a clear understanding of the tools that bioethicists use to think through complex problems. In this episode we explore the origin of the four principles of bioethics, namely, respect for autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice. The four principles provide an easy framework for ethical analysis and have gained prominence as the main framework that is used for clinical ethics consultation. Host: Prof John Massie, Clinical Director, Children’s Bioethics Centre. Guest: Prof Lynn Gillam: Academic Director, RCH Children’s Bioethics Centre and Professor, University of Melbourne School of Population and Global Health.