Australia | Social Work

The Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) is the major membership body for professionally qualified social workers in Australia. It sets the benchmarks for professional education and practice in social work. It provides a strong voice on matters of social justice, human rights and issues that impact upon the quality of life of all Australians. The AASW self-regulates the profession by setting the educational, practice and ethical standards, as well as managing its own complaints process. The AASW has over 15,000 members. It is estimated there are over 46,000 professionally qualified social workers currently employed in Australia.

There is projected to be a high demand for these professionals in the coming years.
In Australia a qualified social worker has an AASW accredited, 4-year minimum bachelor or master’s qualification in social work; or overseas equivalent as assessed by the AASW.
The ‘social worker’ title is not legally protected in Australia. Unqualified workers often use the term to describe themselves, or the term is used by others, such as the media, to generically describe people employed in social and community services.

In Australia the Covid pandemic prompted changes in service delivery and governance arrangements for the AASW. There has been a shift from state-based offices to a centralised national administrative entity. Meetings, education, and most service delivery organisations have moved to internet/teleconference only. Social work students were not on campus for two years. Compulsory placements were conducted from students’ homes. Fortunately, life has ‘almost’ returned to normal following the pandemic.

Among the membership are those who insist that the AASW be a strong advocate. Others prefer a non-partisan view, given that constituents come from a range of backgrounds and viewpoints. Australia hosted the Asia Pacific IFSW biannual Conference in Brisbane in November 2021. Online. The Association has been lobbying for the professional registration of social work for more than 50 years. Australia is the only comparable jurisdiction internationally without registration. Now that professional registration has been achieved in South Australia, the AASW will monitor its implementation, with a view to achieving registration of the profession across Australia.

Prepared by; Naomi Spencer, long standing NSW Branch Committee member, former National Board member, Vice President and AASW representative.
Updated on 13 August 2023