Today Tammy Franks asked the Parliament to note a report of the Joint Committee into the Registration of Social Workers Bill, the key recommendation of which is for South Australia to implement this nation-leading legislation.
In 2018 Tammy Franks introduced a Bill for the Registration of Social Workers in South Australia, which would make South Australia the first state in the country to do so. That Bill was then sent off to a Joint Committee of both Houses of Parliament, which has now reported. The report of that committee recommends the passage of an amended Bill for the registration of social workers.
Quotes attributable to Tammy Franks MLC:
“The Australian Association of Social Workers has been calling for this reform for over 20 years. Multiple reviews and reports have recommended the registration of social workers. It’s time to get this done.
“Social workers represent one of the largest professional working groups in Australia, but have no formal registration requirements. They work with vulnerable people every day. But at the moment, people have limited options for recourse or action if a social worker is either acting inappropriately or is calling themselves a social worker without any formal qualifications.
“We know that a Federal scheme would be preferable, but we’ve seen that idea put in the too-hard basket time and time again. It is therefore time for us to step up and lead the way, and introduce social worker registration in South Australia.