Parmar ParmjeetDr PARMJEET PARMAR (National): It is great to have this opportunity to speak today and also to speak while you are in the Chair Mr Deputy Speaker. I am taking a short call to support the Social Workers Registration Legislation Bill in its first reading. I want to start by thanking the Minister for Social Development for bringing this bill before the House as this bill is based on the recommendations made by the Social Services Committee's work on the issues paper that was presented by the Minister to the Social Services Committee. That issues paper was part of the Minister's ministerial review of the operation of the Social Workers Registration Act.As we have heard from previous speakers registering as a social worker is currently voluntary and there are other professions like youth workers community workers and health promotion workers who all can call themselves social workers. So there is a kind of confusion around the use of the title social worker". If an individual wishes to register as a social worker they have to apply to the Social Workers Registration Board and then the board looks at the applicant to see whether they fill the criteria to get the title of registered social worker.During the select committee work on the issues paper we saw that there was a huge amount of support for proceeding to make social workers' registration mandatory. It was felt that by making social workers' registration mandatory confusion around the use of the title will be addressed and the accountability issue can also be addressed. We also know that social workers face very very complex kinds of needs of people in their day-to-day life. It is important that they are upskilling themselves on an ongoing basis because for registered social workers they have to renew their practising certificate every year.Along with being a scientist and being involved in my family's manufacturing business I also volunteered in the community sector. I worked with one non-governmental organisation not as a social worker but I saw how hard social workers worked and I know the kinds of complex needs they have to address when they go out and meet with people. So it is really important that they are well equipped to address those kinds of complex needs.The good news is that for registration individuals can use their qualification or they can also use their work experience. Another piece of good news is that the majority of social workers—around 6300 social workers—are already registered. We have around 2000 people working as social workers who are not registered. Out of these 2000 social workers around 1200 social workers can use their qualifications to get themselves registered and around 300 social workers can use their experience to get themselves registered. So we are in a good position for the need that we have to fulfil in the community for social workers.Another thing is that I understand that there are some small NGOs and for them moving from the unregistered status of their social workers to registered status can be difficult so there is enough time allowed in this legislation for a smooth transition.Overall this bill covers all the aspects that we need to help the social workers to get registered. I support this bill and commend this bill to the House. Thank you."