Acknowledgement of Country

The Social Workers Registration Board of South Australia (SWRB SA) acknowledges that the land we work on is the traditional lands of Aboriginal peoples and we pay our respects to elders, past and present. The SWRB SA acknowledges and respects that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the First Nations peoples of this country and recognises them as traditional owners and occupants of Australian land and waters. The SWRB SA acknowledges the violence of the colonial past and social work’s part in this history and the impacts colonisation continues to have on First Nations peoples. The SWRB SA acknowledges the strong and enduring connection to land and culture for First Nations peoples.

Message from Sarah Wendt - Director 

As we wrap up our education engagement with the sector, I would like to share some reflections on the progress we have seen. Overall, the level of involvement has been outstanding. Most organisations have quickly moved beyond just understanding the regulatory framework to actively reviewing and updating their job descriptions, clinical governance, and supervision arrangements. This tells us there is strong acceptance of the registration process and a real commitment to compliance.

Our education efforts have focused on a few key areas:

• The Regulatory Framework: Helping organisations understand governance structures and clinical supervision requirements as they prepare for registration.
• Registration Categories: Explaining why we need multiple categories of registration, including pathways based on experience, to support a smooth transition to a fully registered workforce.
• Definition of Social Work Services: Clarifying what counts as high-risk work and why regulating this is essential to protect the public.
• Title Protection: Emphasising the legal safeguards around using the title “Social Worker” appropriately.
• Long-Term Strategy: Sharing SWRB SA’s vision for a fully regulated, qualified workforce, grounded in quality practice and stronger education standards.

This collaborative and educational approach has led to some clear signs of readiness:

• Organisations are starting to plan strategically for compliance, update their recruitment processes, and support staff toward registration.
• Position descriptions are being clarified.
• Many organisations are engaging with us as a supportive partner, joining sector-specific forums and staff meetings for ongoing discussions.

Since July 2025, we’ve received about 100 job descriptions, mostly from the NGO sector, asking whether certain roles require registration. Some organisations have done detailed assessments based on our social work services definition, while others have sent all positions for a simple yes/no check.

What is really encouraging is how many in the sector are beginning to put the regulatory framework into action as the workforce has moved from talking about the changes to actively preparing for them. At the same time, the SWRB Office has built the infrastructure needed and is ready to go.

For those wishing to join me for a conversation about National Registration: A Way Forward the details are below: 

National Registration: A Way Forward 

We are at a pivotal moment in the journey of the social work profession following the recent NRAS decision not to include social work under the AHPRA regulator. This presents both challenges and opportunities as we navigate the complexities of a national registration scheme for social work.

Join us for a live webinar where Professor Sarah Wendt will share valuable insights from the South Australian registration experience. Sarah will also share ideas and a potential roadmap for how we could collaboratively work towards national registration.

Don’t miss this chance to come together, engage with thought-provoking perspectives, and be a part of the conversation shaping the future of social work registration.

We look forward to your participation.

• When: 21st October 2025
• When: 10.30 - 11.30 ACST 
• Where:  Live Online Webinar (click below for registration) 

Stakeholder Engagement 

The SWRB SA has recently met with the following organisations:

•       Hutt Street Centre
•       AASW Southern Area members.

We are in the process of arranging additional events with AASW Eastern area and meeting with Neami National Office, ac.care. 

If your organisation would like us to come and speak with staff, please contact us: swrb@sa.gov.au.

Meeting with Hutt Street Centre:  Left to Right:  Tom Steeples, Louise Butler, Tameka Thompson, Courtney Arthur, Alicia Steele, Sarah Wendt.

Working with the Sector

Louise Butler Principal Policy Officer SWRB SA

In the coming weeks, we will showcase the incredible work of various organisations as they prepare for registration. We hope these showcases will encourage others to step forward and engage in these important and sometimes challenging conversations. We recognize that this adds extra tasks to already busy workloads, so we want to assure you that we are here to support and navigate these challenges together.

Showcasing Centacare Catholic Country SA (CCCSA) - Darlene Wyatt 

Let’s talk about your organisation’s readiness for registration. How you have worked through who needs to be registered?

At Centacare Catholic Country SA (CCCSA) we decided early on that one of our senior managers would take the lead in ensuring that there was good communication between CCCSA and the SWRB SA. I have met with staff of the Board regularly to ensure we were abreast of what is happening. When you are in regional locations you can sometimes be forgotten or not included in meetings but that hasn’t been the case. We joined the mailing list with SWRB SA early on so we could stay up to date with developments. CCCSA staff have attended the information sessions that have been provided, and information has been disseminated as soon as it comes out, and we make sure that the registration of social work is on the agenda at catch ups and meetings. Any questions have been directed straight to SWRB SA with prompt responses. CCCSA has also provided feedback and contributed information whenever the SWRB SA has sought consultation.

When we saw the final social work services definition, we looked at our roles and the work that is done in each. For most positions it is clear which ones fit the definition, and which ones do not. We have some positions where we are still working through the Position Descriptions. Interestingly we have several people with a social work qualification who are saying that even though they are not doing the protected work outlined in the definition they are going to register because they are proud to be called a social worker and want to use the title.

Tell us about how you have worked through Supervision and what that will mean for your organisation.

This was an area that CCCSA was concerned about at first because we were unsure of the requirement and how we would spread this across staff given that recruitment of qualified staff can be a challenge when working in rural, regional and remote areas.  We then looked at the people who need to register and the supervision lines or clinical governance we have in place. We have done modelling based on social work supervision being different to line management supervision. We are expecting social work supervision to be about ten hours per year, and we have nine senior practitioners and five senior managers with social work qualifications (all intending to be registered) and so we know we can cover all of the people who need to be supervised for that amount of time and some of those people will supervise other members. We are now talking about how senior managers will access supervision; we are exploring various models including external supervision but are also thinking about using a peer supervision model amongst ourselves.

Tell us about your thoughts on current social work graduates and using the pathways for now.

Where we can, we like to employ qualified social workers, but we don’t always get the applicants when we advertise.  Sometimes people apply with SW qualifications, but they are not as suitable at times as people who do not have the qualifications.  There are a range of reasons for this.  Working in a rural area is different to working in metropolitan settings, people have relevant experience but maybe not the qualifications.

There seems to have been a sharp decline in the number of social work placements we have offered as an organization to metropolitan students as universities have moved to managing placements centrally meaning that less students are having the opportunity to experience the work we do and living in a regional location.  This places them at a disadvantage when they apply for positions unless they have undertaken research about the organization.  We do find as an organization that some graduates coming from university are not work ready and not always adequately prepared to present well at interview. 

As an organization we are committed to supporting student placements and have had a high volume of social work students on placements in the past.  This still does not always meet our recruitment and quality requirements.  When the Practice experience pathways and Limited Registration were released, it was a huge relief for us as we will have people who need these options. We would love to work with the Universities to ensure that graduates are available and ready to work in the future.

Tell us about the challenges you face as a rural and remote service.

As mentioned earlier, we always have challenges attracting suitable, qualified people in regional areas. When registration was first happening, we were concerned about our workforce being compliant and that is why we prioritised a role in keeping on top of registration. In the process I have realised two things

1. We are not that different to metro workforce; I’m getting the idea that services in the city have a range of people with different background working in social work services and, 

2. We have had the opportunity to talk to SWRB SA about our impacts in rural and remote work and we were pleased that they have offered pathways to registration.

Louise Butler (SWRB SA) Darlene Wyatt (Centacare Country SA) 

LinkedIn

Please join our LinkedIn page for updates and education content. 

Stay Connected

Visit our FAQ’s on the website:  swrb.sa.gov.au 

If you have any questions, email us on swrb@sa.gov.au.