Webb DuncanSOCIAL WORKERS REGISTRATION LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILLFirst ReadingHon Dr DUNCAN WEBB (Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs) on behalf of the Minister for Social Development and Employment: I present a legislative statement on the Social Workers Registration Legislation Amendment Bill. DEPUTY SPEAKER: That legislative statement is published under the authority of the House and can be found on the Parliament website.Hon Dr DUNCAN WEBB: Kia ora Mr Speaker. I move That the Social Workers Registration Legislation Amendment Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Social Services and Community Committee to consider the bill.Hon Member: Hurrah!Hon Dr DUNCAN WEBB: An excellent committee. At the appropriate time I intend to move that the bill be reported to the House by 24 August 2023 and that the committee have authority to meet at any time while the House is sitting except during oral questions during any evening on a day on which there has been a sitting of the House and on a Friday in a week which there has been a sitting of the House and outside the Wellington area despite Standing Orders 193 195 and 196.The Social Workers Registration Legislation Amendment Bill will amend the Social Workers Registration Legislation Act 2019—no surprises there—to extend the experience pathway for social workers' registration from 28 February 2024 to 28 February 2028. This would be an extension of the current practice for four years. Again no surprises there.Social workers play a critical and mana-enhancing role in their communities. They provide much-needed support for some of our most vulnerable people and whānau. In recent years more so than ever social workers have been critical to supporting New Zealanders through tough times—for example through the COVID-19 response and in the weather events earlier this year.As a Government we want to ensure that the social work workforce is supported and empowered to meet the needs of those they work alongside. We passed the Social Workers Registration Legislation Bill in 2019 which required every practising social worker to register with the Social Workers Registration Board under the Social Workers Registration Act 2003. Prior to February 2021 registration was voluntary for people working as social workers. The change was about giving greater protection for some of our most vulnerable people and increasing competency in the social work sector.To be eligible for registration applicants must have a prescribed qualification. However section 13 of the 2003 Act provides an alternative pathway to registration for people with extensive practical experience. The Social Workers Registration Board uses the following assessment criteria for registration through the experience pathway: that the applicant has enough practical experience to compensate for not having a prescribed qualification usually around 10 to 15 years; that they have demonstrable competence to practise as a social worker; and that they have competence in working with Māori and ethnic and cultural groups more broadly. All applicants for registration must also pass the fit and proper person test to practise as a social worker. This provides the basis for determining the safety of social workers to practise.Currently this experience pathway is set to expire on 28 February 2024. This delayed repeal date was intended to support the social work sector to transition from voluntary to mandatory registration by allowing unregistered social workers time to either complete a prescribed qualification or to apply to register under section 13. Initially this date was set based on a view that a qualification would provide the main mechanism for professionalisation of the workforce and an assumption that there would be sufficient workforce supply.Since then there have been several significant shifts in the operating environment for social workers which contributed to the Government bringing this bill to extend the pathway. COVID-19 has exacerbated need amongst some communities creating an increased demand for social work services which cannot be met by the current workforce. Social worker vacancies are growing nationally. Indicative data from the Social Worker Registration Board's Annual Social Work Workforce Survey 2022 suggests an estimated shortfall of around 700 social workers. This bill will therefore ensure that by retaining an experienced pathway to registration we don't limit the pipeline for social workers into the workforce.On top of this the Government recently announced a pay equity extension for social workers in the Government-funded sector and it's estimated to lift the pay of around 5000 employees and will help to correct disparities in access to professional development between Government and NGO employees. It also removes some of the cost barriers of maintaining registration. The extension includes payment for annual practising certificates professional development and supervision costs. We know that these costs can prohibit a social worker's ability to maintain their mandatory annual practising certificate. The pay equity extension is likely to create an incentive for people doing substantially similar work to social workers to apply for higher-paying social worker roles which they need to become registered for.We heard directly from social service organisations that the pay equity settlement will be a major change for them and that they believe people working in the social sector who meet registration requirements may now register formally as social workers as a result of this.Delaying the removal of the experience pathway will therefore support the social sector to transition to this major shift in its operating environment. Another important shift is that there has been an increase in recognition of the importance of indigenous knowledge in the social sector more broadly to reflect the range of communities they serve. The Social Workers Registration Board has made changes to the experience pathway in recent years to ensure that it is more culturally responsive and inclusive of kaupapa Māori approaches and we've seen the number of Māori registering through the experience pathway increase since 2020.We have heard from sector representatives—the Tangata Whenua Social Workers Association—that they support an extension of the experience pathway in order to ensure that tangata whenua kaimahi and iwi and social services have the opportunity to register as social workers and there is more time to further consider indigenous knowledge and practices in social work training before the experience pathway is repealed.It's also important to note that the experience pathway to social work registration has shown to be a useful mechanism for social worker registration without diminishing the safety or competency of the workforce. There is no evidence to suggest that experienced social workers without a prescribed qualification who otherwise meet the registration requirements are less safe or competent than academically qualified social workers.The Social Workers Registration Board and social work sector partners have identified that there's likely to be a long-term place for vocational pathways to social worker registration but more work is needed to explore what future pathways need to look like. They are also working with education sector and social work sector partners on improving the accessibility of social worker registration training and qualifications. Delaying the repeal of section 13 will enable this work to be further developed before the experience pathway is removed.Social workers provide an essential front-line service to individuals whānau and communities. Having a social work workforce that is responsive to increasingly complex and diverse needs is crucial. This bill ensures that the experience pathway can continue for a further four years so that we do not exacerbate workforce shortages in the coming years can leverage benefits of the pay equity settlement and enable better recognition of indigenous knowledge and experience in the workforce.I want to acknowledge the social work representatives who reached out to the Government in support of this extension and advocated for their workforce. I want to end by thanking all of the social workers for doing the mahi. You undertake difficult and challenging work with people who are often highly vulnerable and this is an incredibly valuable service for our communities. I commend the bill to the House.DEPUTY SPEAKER: The question is that the motion be agreed.