SOCIAL workers are champions for social justice, self-determination and human rights, according to University of South Australia Mount Gambier campus social work lecturer and accredited social worker Paula McCubbin.
Ms McCubbin said World Social Work Day had grown each year with the South East’s social work fraternity coming together today for an informal event.
“The day has been progressing for many years and the theme for this year’s event is promoting the world’s importance of human relationships,” she said.
“Forming relationships is what we do every day and is always the forefront of our daily routines.”
Steps have been taken to create a formal registration process for qualified social workers in South Australia, taking into account numerous government and coroner’s reports, along with input from the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW).
Ms McCubbin said the introduction of a private member’s bill in South Australia’s upper house last September was positive for the social work profession.
“The bill means all people with social work qualifications would lie underneath AASW, the umbrella association which manages social work,” she said.
“This registration will certainly work towards the association’s aim which is improve the social work profession in general.”
According to an AASW document published on September 5 – the day the bill was introduced – the association had extensively campaigned for the social work registration bill to be introduced.
AASW national president Christine Craik said the purpose for social work registration and regulation was to protect the public from unprofessional practice.
“Regulation will mean that for social workers to gain registration, they will need to have a recognised qualification and be accountable to a code of ethics,” she said.
“This is especially important for professionals who are doing complex and highly skilled work with vulnerable people.”
Ms McCubbin said the hundreds of social workers within the South East are just one building block that helps support the general public and grows relationships.
“We are just local people working in a local community,” she said.
“I think social workers are good at networking with each other and those around them.
“The whole process begins when they are studying in university, especially those here in Mount Gambier.
“Rural social work is different to the city.
“You can sometimes bump into clients when you are walking down the street and it is about knowing how to manage all of those aspects.
“The South East university student group end up being associates or colleagues throughout their career which forms tight-knit relationships.”
