Sepuloni CarmelSOCIAL WORKERS REGISTRATION LEGISLATION BILLThird ReadingHon CARMEL SEPULONI (Minister for Social Development): I move That the Social Workers Registration Legislation Bill be now read a third time.I'm pleased to be here to speak on the third reading of this bill which will achieve two important goals. Firstly it modernises the Social Workers Registration Act and increases the professionalism of the social work workforce. The bill will bring the occupational regulation for social workers into greater alignment with the system for health practitioners putting social work on an equal footing with other similar professions. Secondly as a result the bill provides greater protection and safety for individuals and families who social workers support who are often at a highly vulnerable point in their lives. It will bring greater transparency and help build trust.What this bill does will be transformative for the sector and the public. It will provide greater public certainty that people practising as social workers will have the right qualifications experience and on-going professional development to deliver the support that is needed. In return social workers will be better recognised for the valuable work they do and the legitimacy of their role will be concrete.Being a social worker is not an easy job. It often involves adults and children who are vulnerable and have complex issues and who may be living in challenging or dangerous situations. That's why it is essential that this workforce has protections in place for themselves and that they have the skills they need to manage these situations and are valued for the mana they bring to our communities. I know there are many people invested in the legislation who are here today watching.I want to acknowledge all these people for the role that they've played in getting us to this point and ensuring we have legislation that is fit for purpose and has the endorsement of the sector.The Social Workers Registration Board has contributed so much to this process and will have a significant and exciting role to play as the various parts of the bill come into force. I want to in particular acknowledge former chair of the board Shayne Walker the new chair of the board Shannon Pakura and chief executive Sarah Clark. I want to take this time to thank the officials at the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) and the Social Work Alliance who worked so collaboratively to ensure we are presenting to the House the strongest piece of legislation we could. I also want to acknowledge all those people who submitted on the bill and provided feedback to me or MSD throughout the process.Throughout the committee stage of the bill there has been a big focus from the Opposition on the process for developing the Supplementary Order Paper (SOP) to this bill and many aspects of the bill itself. We have faith in the process we followed in large part thanks to all those who have worked with us on this journey. As was made clear during the committee stage we followed a robust process to develop the SOP. MSD undertook a fresh round of consultation with the sector and with health regulatory authorities about the function of scopes in the health sector. We did not consider it necessary to go back to a select committee because the sector engagement facilitated by the Social Workers Registration Board encompassed the key stakeholders who had made submissions including social worker representatives NGO employers and funders training providers and major Government agencies. The SOP itself was then developed with ongoing consultation with the Social Work Alliance. This was an incredibly valuable experience and I'm really glad that we had the opportunity to work together on this. The bill that we present to the House today is I believe—thanks to the hard work of the social work sector—the best possible legislation to make social work registration mandatory. It is the culmination of many years of hard work. Interestingly while the Opposition raised concerns about the time when they were in Government they chose not to support my member's bill in 2015 when it was before the House which would have achieved the same goal. When I put forward this bill it was in response to the many stories reported in the media of social workers who were causing harm and distress to people because they were operating beyond their level of competence and they were not sufficiently qualified let alone registered. I know that these same concerns were shared by former Minister the Hon Anne Tolley who I want to commend for introducing the bill in 2017. These concerns were also validated by a 2016 select committee inquiry that recommended amongst other things that the existing voluntary registration of social workers be made mandatory. I'd like to acknowledge the Hon Alfred Ngaro who chaired the select committee inquiry and I want to acknowledge the role of that inquiry because it did play an important role in laying the groundwork for the bill. When the Social Workers Registration Act was passed in 2003 it was estimated that only 20 percent of practising social workers had the necessary level of qualifications. This was why registration was voluntary. However this was talked about as being an interim measure. Since then there has been a steady increase in the proportion of social workers who have professional qualifications. Registration is a growing expectation of all major employers and Government contracts for service. Now our estimates are that around 75 percent of social workers are registered. That's why it's time to make the move to mandatory registration. This move was supported by submissions to the select committee that considered the bill. I'd like to acknowledge Gareth Hughes for his able chairing of the select committee hearings and all of the members of the Social Services and Community Committee. After all the changes in the bill come into force a person can practise as a social worker only if they are registered under the Social Workers Registration Act within a scope of practice. Mandatory registration will then come into effect two years after the passing of this bill. The lead-in period will give the Social Workers Registration Board time to communicate with social workers employers and training providers so that everyone knows what to expect and crucially what they need to do. This two-year time frame is particularly important for people who do not have the right qualifications and who may wish to take advantage of the recognition of the practical experience pathway. They will have three years longer to complete their full application but must provisionally register if they wish to continue working during that period. This two-year lead-in time for mandatory registration will also allow time for extensive consultation on scopes of practice which will occur over the next 18 months. Scopes of practice provide a mechanism to describe the breadth of professional practice for social workers and any conditions limiting an individual's practice.I know that the social work sector has been keen for the legislative changes to be passed so that they have certainty on what is expected of them and they can get on with their jobs. But it has been important to get it right. On coming into Government I listened to the sector leaders who said the initial bill was not strong enough and did not provide for futureproofing. While over 70 percent of submissions to the Social Services and Community Committee advocated for the inclusion of scopes of practice or a scopes of practice model there was a range of views of what it might look like in detail. This is why I directed officials to work with the social worker sector on developing amendments to the bill.The coming together of a range of organisations from the social worker sector to collaborate with the Ministry of Social Development as facilitated by the Social Worker Registration Board was itself a very significant achievement. I wish to again thank everyone who has been involved in getting this legislation to this point. It has been a long time coming but now we have the statutory framework needed for the future. I'm looking forward to this bill being passed and implemented. I commend this bill to the House.