Transcript Slide 1

National Registration campaign:
it's time to act
Kandie Allen-Kelly
Campaign Manager &
AASW spokesperson on Registration
July - Sept 2012
• AASW has actively
pursued statutory
regulation of social
workers for the past
43 years
• NT - only jurisdiction
where social work was
registered
• Self-regulation has had
limited success.
Australia: 21,000 Social Workers
AASW: 7,000 members
Worldwide research shows
that social work clients
continue to be exposed to
harm and many countries
have now moved to
regulate the social work
profession.
Why is the AASW pursuing statutory regulation of Social
workers in Australia?
• Registration and accreditation is a means of protecting the
public from practitioners who breach ethical standards and
enforcing safe and competent practice by requiring all
practitioners to meet practice requirements and undertake
professional development (cf 60% who currently practice
without these requirements)
• While a good self regulatory system currently exists within the
AASW for managing ethics complaints, this system has severe
limitations:
– only members who remain members can be investigated
through this process and the most severe penalty provided
under this system is exclusion from eligibility for
membership of the AASW.
– The AASW doesn’t have legal powers to investigate
– Other legislated authorities can over-rule our processes
(recent example)
Q. What is the process of registration currently being pursued
by the AASW? A: Statutory Registration of social workers under
the National registration and Accreditation Scheme (NRAS)
Primary purpose - providing protection for
clients and greater certainty for employers
by ensuring all practitioners are registered.
Statutory model of regulation provides
•a legally enforceable set of probity,
qualification and practice standards for entry
into the profession and
•maintenance of continuing professional
development as a requirement for ongoing
registration and accreditation
•Dedicated and legally enforceable
complaints and disciplinary process.
This provides members of the public with
greater confidence that a person stating they
are a social worker is qualified and conforms
to ethical practice.
Criteria for professions to be included in NRAS:
1. Is it the responsibility of Health Ministers to
regulate social workers?
2. Is there a Significant Risk to the Public?
3. Are current regulatory mechanisms
adequately addressing the health and safety
of vulnerable clients?
4. Is Australia ready for legislative regulation of
Social Workers?
5. Is there support for the regulation of social
work?
6. What are the benefits to the public?
Is it the responsibility of Health Ministers to regulate social
workers or does it fall into the domain of other Ministers?
• The AASW contends that all Social Workers in Australia
would be best regulated within a single, national health
regulatory scheme.
• The health sector is the largest employer of social workers in
Australia.
• Social workers work alongside the regulated health
professionals - doctors, nurses, physiotherapists etc.
• They work across the continuum of health care in community
health, acute inpatient, rehabilitation, health promotion,
mental health, end of life (palliative care) services, veterans
affairs, aged care, disability services and Indigenous health.
• Sectional regulation would allow rogue practitioners to
continue to freely take up work in other sectors when
complaints are made against them. This currently happens.
We don’t want it to continue.
• Social work is regulated under the health minister in the UK
Do the activities of the occupation pose a significant risk of
harm to the health and safety of the public?
• The AASW contends that in the absence of a monitoring regime that
enforces probity requirements prior to practice, minimum qualifications,
professional supervision and practice standards, and a dedicated
disciplinary and complaints process, the public cannot be protected from
negligent or unethical social work practice.
• Social Workers service the most vulnerable people - poor, homeless,
refugees, victims of sexual assault, addicts, survivors of domestic violence,
people with a disability, people with mental illness - often unemployed or on
income support payments. These Australians are least able to protect
themselves or seek legal redress from harm eg physical and sexual abuse in
government hostels, children in care and religious organisations
• Risks to vulnerable clients can be financial, mental and emotional and
include:
• Abuse of trust – sexual or physical abuse cf sex abuse in Govt hostels etc.
• Inadequate assessment – eg resulting in a child at risk not being removed
into alternative care
• Poor judgment by the social worker who does not recognize the limits of
their scope of practice – eg doesn’t refer client to acute psychiatric hospital
• Current unrestricted use of the title ‘social worker’ – anyone can call
themselves a Social Worker
Do the activities of the occupation pose a significant risk of harm
to the health and safety of the public? contd
• Increase in the outsourcing of social support and health
services into unregulated environments - accountability is
transferred to an external organization that may not have the
resources to implement the safety checks that public
organizations do
• When harm occurs, it is serious. Breaches of the Code of
Ethics recorded over the last three years against AASW
members relate to sexual misconduct, inappropriate
professional boundaries, not protecting client’s privacy and
confidentiality. Overseas evidence where social work is
registered confirms this pattern of harm by a minority of
workers. Refer to case studies available in e-bulletin.
• Changes to Medicare and workforce issues have resulted in a
more than tenfold increase in the number of Social Workers
in private practice (from 100 to 1200 in 5 years). This creates
risks that the government has clearly recognized - they have
commissioned AASW to undertake checks for accreditation,
post-grad experience, PD etc for Social Workers who seek to
be registered under the Better Access program
Do existing regulatory and other mechanisms fail to address
the health and safety of the public?
• The AASW contends that the problem with having assorted mechanisms to
provide varying levels of protection is that consumers, even those with the
capacity and motivation to complain, do not know where to go.
• Failure of self-regulation
• Membership of AASW is voluntary
• Members subject to a complaint can leave AASW or let membership lapse to
avoid investigation
• Refusal of membership is the strongest penalty available to AASW
• Continuing professional development is voluntary
• Failure of consumer laws and regulations
• Consumer protection laws do not operate well in the case of health services.
• Health complaints commissions are not well-resourced and have proved
inconsistent and patchy.
• Social work clients are not well resourced to take civil action against a
practitioner and research suggests they rarely exercise this option.
Is regulation possible for social work?
• Is Australia ready for legislative regulation of Social Workers?
• The AASW contends that the groundwork for a national
social work registration scheme is already in place
• Social Work in Australia is a well-defined profession with a 4
year degree program
• Social Work skills, techniques and activities are testable and
consistent
• There is an established Code of Ethics
• The AASW has established an accreditation process for all
social work programs and a set of practice standards that
articulates the minimum expected performance of social
workers
Is regulation practical for social work?
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The AASW contends that the practicality for regulation is strong.
There is strong support from Social Workers - a recent AASW survey indicated that
89% of members support national registration
There is strong support from the sector - several Inquiries have made
recommendations for stronger accountability and monitoring of the profession:
the 1988-90 Royal Commission (The Chelmsford Inquiry) into Deep Sleep Therapy
the 1997 NSW Wood Commission
various coronial inquests into the deaths of children
the 2008 NSW Special Commission of Inquiry into Child Protection Services
the 2010 Northern Territory Board of Inquiry into NT’s Child Protection System
the 2012 Victorian Inquiry into Child Protection
There is strong support from the public - a recent national survey indicates that 87%
of the public assumes that the social work profession is already a registered
profession
There is a strong professional association to drive change
There are more than enough social workers (21,000) to support the costs of
regulating the profession - more than most other registered professions including
chiropractors, occupational therapists, medical radiation practitioners and
podiatrists
Do the benefits of regulation outweigh the
costs?
• Benefits to the public
• There is strong evidence to suggest that
members of the public have been subject to
improper practice by qualified social workers
over and over again
• Existing legislation is fragmented and
inconsistent, making it difficult for consumers
to understand their rights and choices
• The long-term savings in protecting and caring
for vulnerable Australians will outweigh the
costs of harm. Eg sexual and physical abuse
Other facts
• Many countries have recognised the dangers
and moved to regulate social work including
the US & Canada and more recently Ireland,
the UK and New Zealand.
• Australia is now out of step with comparable
countries and many developing countries have
regulated social work eg Brazil, Argentina,
Uruguay and most recently Bahrain.
What is registration about & what
will it mean?
FAQs
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
•
Will registration improve the professional standing of
Social Work and lead to better pay and conditions?
•
Why is the process of gaining registration taking so
long?
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What is the relationship between registration and
accreditation?
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Will the AASW control registration of social workers?
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Will registration be included in the cost of my
membership of the AASW?
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How might registration impact on the AASW?
Will registration improve the professional standing of
Social Work and lead to
better pay and conditions?
• Registration may have the secondary benefit of
increasing the confidence of employers and
consumers in the professions because there are
legally enforceable standards in place.
• It is highly unlikely registration will have any impact
on pay rates cf in NSW a allied health award applies
to all allied health professions in the public sector
• There is no difference between the pay rates of
registered as opposed to unregistered professions.
• Politicians will not support registration if they
perceive that professional self interest not consumer
protection is a motivating factor behind
representations made to them
Difference between registration and
accreditation
• If social work is included in NRAS a Board will be
appointed which will be responsible for probity
requirements, accreditation of entry level
qualifications and practice requirements including
standards, currency of practice, a code of conduct,
and CPD requirements for re registration.
• Complaints and disciplinary processes.
• All Social workers including students would be
required to register prior to practice.
Will the AASW have any control over
the Board?
• No the AASW as the national professional
membership body may have an advisory role
but would have no direct in put into Board
decision making
• Ultimate control would be vested in a
Ministerially appointed Board which may have
non social work members.
Cost of registration and effect on
AASW
• What will be the cost of registration?
• Registration fees will be totally separate from
AASW fees and be somewhere around the
current AASW fee, maybe slightly less.
• This may result in a drop in membership for
the AASW. The association will need to
reposition itself within a regulated
environment by focusing on other services to
members such as CPD/advocacy.
Alison Xamon’s motion in Legislative
Council calling for inclusion of social work
in NRAS
• Alison Xamon MLC is the Greens upper house
member for East Metropolitan and is their
spokesperson on human services.
• Following the SWOTY awards last year in which Joe
Calleja called for the registration of social work,
Alison tabled a motion in the upper house calling for
inclusion of social work in NRAS.
• Motion due for debate in October or November this
year and has the benefit of making the parties make
their views known on the issue.
• We will be working with Alison to try and have them
support the motion.
Other action to date in WA
• WA Registration Committee with Margaret Stockton Convenor
up until a few years ago. Since meeting on ad hoc basis.
• Sabina Leitmann and I commenced stakeholder consultation
last year then put on hold as no convenor for NRC or staff in
National office. Resumed in June with appointment of project
officer and Taskforce.
• The Vice Chancellors of UWA and Curtin wrote letters in Nov
and Feb to Minister Hames calling for inclusion of social work
in NRAS following lobbying through the respective social work
departments.
• Letter to Commissioner for Children and Young people
Michelle Scott in Nov requesting support. Not able to lobby on
our behalf due to non partisan requirements of her position.
• Met with WACOSS CEO Irina Cattalini in Dec who was happy to
take it up with her Board and ACOSS.
Politics of campaign
• Registration fatigue – based on cost and complexity of
registration ten initial, four new professions, little political
appetite for more until at least 2014/15.
• Many of remaining smaller unregistered professions all cueing
up for NRAS – Ministers may see authorised self regulation as
the answer…down the track.
• Liberals less likely to support registration at state or federal
level.
• Federal Minister Plibersek supportive and ? State labour
colleagues Tas, SA and NT….
• Labour on the wane... at state and federal level.
• Need to try and use political pressure to get inclusion on the
table ASAP.
• Our case is good … remember governments have seen fit to
regulate a HUGE range of occupations and professions
including builders, plumbers and most recently tax agents. It
seems that governments value buildings, sewage and finances
more than the victims of rogue social workers ie our precious
children, the elderly and the vulnerable in our community.
CAMPAIGN TIMELINE 18th June to 10th September
KEY DATE 10TH AUGUST
Target - Australian Health Ministers Committee aka Standing
Council on Health meeting 10th August 2012
Focus – All health ministers
Purpose – convince them to vote in favour of considering
social work registration as part of the review of NRAS or
commitment to a regulatory impact statement (consensus)
Current campaign focus and plan
How can individuals assist in the process of gaining
registration?
• MPs, greens and independents – target them as
we want them to sway their state ministers that it
is a well supported issue and to vote for it.
• Consumers – need for case studies and people
able to tell their story
• Media – local media will most likely grab – what
does it mean to the public?
• Facebook and LinkedIn users – create new status,
postings, encourage ‘friends’ to do same.
Current campaign focus and plan
How can individuals & branches assist in the process of gaining
registration?
•Create badges or stickers and wear them with pride
•Facilitate work forums to get support
•Ask your employer to write a letter of support to the Minister
for Health & AASW (not advisable for health department
employees but do discuss it with them)
•Facilitate others writing support letters / memos
•Public petition – create, gather signatures & send to minister
•Day of Action - Attend parliament as a group on Legislative
Assembly sitting days 7th – 9th August (prior to Ministers meeting
on 10th) to meet with members’ local MP’s, create a presence in
public areas of parliament etc. Wear Tshirts, hand out briefings..
Resources on AASW website
• Submission to Health Ministers ‘Protecting the
Health and Well being of Australians’ Oct 2011
outlining social work case for inclusion in NRAS
• Briefing paper for MP’s, Ministers
• Template letters for Ministers, employers etc
• FAQ’s
• Lobbying tips…Fact sheet and Youtube video from
politician. Please read.
• Links to state and federal parliamentary sites to find
out details of your local members, ministers etc.
• Recording sheet to record letters/answers
• Media releases
• Case examples of ethics breaches in Australia and
registration breaches overseas
Political strategy
• MP’s more likely to listen to local constituents. Therefore…
• Write to local MP’s urging them to write to Minister Hames to
support inclusion of social work in NRAS by August 10th
meeting of health ministers. Personalise the template letter
with your own experience/examples for registration.
• Write to your upper house members as well as there are more
of them, they are across parties and Alison’s motion will be
debated in the upper house.
• Write to Minister Hames by August 10th
• Write to relevant human services ministers eg Ministers
Morton and McSweeney especially if you are in their upper
house electorates of East Metropolitan and the South West
Region…see maps.
• We will continue lobbying until Alison’s motion is debated.
Any other ideas?
Any further questions?
For more information
Visit: www.aasw.asn.au
EMAIL: [email protected]