Turner Judy: Social Workers Registration Bill — Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
Turner Judy: Social Workers Registration Bill — Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:607;Page:4855] 
JUDY TURNER (United Future) 
: 
 I rise for United Future to support the second reading of this bill. As the Minister has outlined the bill provides a framework for the registration of social workers. By raising the standard of professionalism for social workers it is expected that the safety and transparency of social work will increase for the good of the general public who are served by social workers. 
The bill originates from the recommendations of Judge Mick Brown formerly of the Youth Court after he had reviewed the service procedures of the Department of Child Youth and Family Services in 2000. He recommended urgent changes to increase the quality of social work. 
 It is common that when members of the public require the assistance of a social worker they are in a needy and vulnerable situation that does not need to be further complicated by poor social work practice. Increased public safety is a key aim of this bill and there is plenty of anecdotal evidence of the fall-out from social work incompetence. However it has been recognised that a one-size-fits-all approach to registration would not best serve the present interests of New Zealanders. There are many fine social work practitioners who have had years and years of experience and have a great track record and who entered social work long before there were any clear requirements or specific tertiary qualifications to be had. 
The registration of social workers will come under the Social Workers Registration Board set up as a Crown entity and the Social Workers Complaints and Disciplinary Tribunal. It will include an annual practising certificate for registered social workers with three tiers of registration: full registration and limited registration in the form of provisional registration and temporary registration. In respect of full registration we applaud the matters included in that framework including the recognition of New Zealand qualifications the review of competence every 5 years the requirement that the board be satisfied that a person is considered fit and proper to be practising as a social worker and the all-important clauses inserted by the Social Services Committee which we applaud requiring social workers to have culturally sensitive practice as part of their scope. Obviously having sufficient practical experience is part of what is required. In respect of provisional registration there is an 8-year time limitation for existing social workers to qualify for full registration and that time is allowed for them to become fully upskilled. Special appropriate conditions apply and special restrictions can be applied. Temporary registration is available for people with overseas qualifications who are either working here temporarily or who are waiting to meet the New Zealand requirements for full registration. 
United Future compliments the select committee on the wise way that it has approached the complicated issues that have required grandparenting provisions so that existing social workers who do not have tertiary qualifications but who have many years’ experience can have a pathway to registration. The discussion paper put out by the Ministry of Social Policy in 2000 found that among existing social workers 57 percent had tertiary qualifications although it was unclear how many of those qualifications had a direct link to social work. Twenty-four percent had school qualifications and 19 percent had no formal qualifications at all. Those people who argue against this bill because registration is not mandatory need to understand that if social workers are to be given the chance to enjoy a professional coming-of-age then time must be allowed for the current situation to be addressed. This bill includes review provisions that will mean that as professional progress is made over time mandatory registration could then be considered along with any other issues that may become apparent. 
It is interesting that the Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers recently made a submission to the Health Committee requesting that social workers be included under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Bill. Although there is some doubt as to whether the breadth of setting in which social workers operate makes that bill an appropriate measure under which this profession should be regulated the request further indicates the very real need felt by social workers for a framework to operate under. There has been concern for many years about the lack of credibility of social work as a profession and at the same time there has been growing disquiet amongst the public and in particular consumer groups that people in that occupation are not as accountable or the practice as transparent as is considered desirable. 
One of the problems faced by those wanting to legislate for safe practice is that defining social work is difficult. The International Federation of Social Workers which is an international body with over 80 member countries that approves the ethical standards and principles that are binding on the social work occupation in each member country acknowledges that difficulty. The focus of this bill is not to define social work; that is always the job of the professional bodies. The focus is to establish the legislative framework that supports and facilitates professional credibility and status. For that reason United Future is pleased to support the passage of this legislation.