Social Workers Registration (Commencement) Amendment Bill
Thursday 16 November 2023
Ms CLANCY (Elder) (12:42): I rise today in support of the Social Workers Registration (Commencement) Amendment Bill 2023. Assented to on 9 December 2021, the Social Workers Registration Act 2021 is due to commence on its two-year anniversary, on 9 September this year, as required under the legislation.
Social workers are extremely committed and qualified professionals, who every day will make a difference to the life of a South Australian and their family. Their work is crucial to disadvantaged and vulnerable members of our community. The introduction of a social worker registration scheme will have a range of benefits, including introducing accessible mechanisms for complaints and review to promote higher standards of conduct and accountability, improved professional development opportunities, and greater public safety.
The bill before us today seeks to amend two sections of the Social Workers Registration Act 2021. Firstly, it will replace section 2 to defer commencement of the act to 1 July 2025, unless fixed earlier by proclamation. Secondly, it will make a consequential amendment to section 68 to ensure that the opportunity to create transitional provisions via regulation remains under the act as amended.
In September this year, Professor Sarah Wendt began in her role as director for the social work registration scheme. Professor Wendt is charged with the responsibility of developing and implementing the scheme, including recruiting staff, engaging a registrar and facilitating the appointment of a board, all of which will take time, and we want to ensure there is time to do it properly.
Professor Wendt is a social work expert with a strong national and international reputation, having worked at Flinders University from 2016 and my uni, the University of South Australia, before that, from 2006 to 2015. During this time she was a teacher of social work and a researcher and was published on violence against women and children as well as on social work practice.
Prior to her time as an academic, Professor Wendt practised as a social worker in the field of domestic and family violence. When I worked at Women's Safety Services SA (WSSSA), Sarah and her work were often mentioned in conversation and praised. As director, Professor Wendt will build upon the stakeholder engagement work—including at a national level with the Australian Association of Social Workers and other jurisdictions—that has been undertaken by the Department for Child Protection over the past 12 to 18 months. She will draw on the implementation plan that was finalised and funded as part of the 2022-23 Mid-Year Budget Review.
As the Minister for Child Protection outlined in introducing this bill, funding has been committed to the scheme and, outside of some timing changes across the out years, the delayed commencement of the act will not have a budget impact. Any timing changes will be managed by the Department for Child Protection in discussion with the Department of Treasury and Finance as part of the budget process.
We recognise the incredibly important work undertaken by social workers across a range of settings and agencies, both government and non-government, throughout South Australia, which is why we must ensure that the foundations of the social workers registration scheme are properly laid prior to the commencement of the act. By establishing this scheme, South Australia is leading the nation, and it is so important that we get this right the first time.
The preferred long-term approach in South Australia remains that it be a national registration scheme, which I understand is also the preference of the Australian Association of Social Workers. While there may be insufficient jurisdictional support for a national social workers registration scheme at this stage, it is still important that our scheme is implemented in a way that positions it for transition to a national approach, should one be adopted in the future. As I and others in this place have outlined, the introduction of a social workers registration scheme will provide a range of benefits to the sector. As a national leader in this space, it is important that we take the time to do things right.
In closing, I would like to thank the Minister for Child Protection and her team for their work in bringing these amendments to this place. I would like to thank every social worker in South Australia: thank you for your work in incredibly challenging environments, and thank you for choosing a path dedicated to supporting others. A special shout-out goes to my most favourite social worker of all, my incredible sister Kendra, who has been working with the Department for Child Protection for around 14 years now and is so deeply committed to her work. She inspires me every day, and it is she who inspired me to become a foster carer. I commend the bill to the house.
