The State Government has decided not to proceed with the commencement of a mandatory registration scheme for social workers in South Australia.

With communities continuing to face cost of living challenges, including recent fuel price increases, the State Government is not prepared to impose an additional financial burden by way of a new registration fee upon more than 4000 hard working professionals and their families.

There have been ongoing concerns with the scheme from representatives in the social services sector, including the Australian Services Union (ASU). The ASU have called for the scheme to be ceased due to the potential for the scheme to cause additional financial strain for relevant organisations, to exacerbate workforce shortages in the industry, and due to rising costs for social workers.

There has been a significant amount of high-quality work undertaken by the Office of the Social Workers Registration Scheme staff during the establishment phase, which has provided a sound guide for strengthening professional development across the sector.

Through policy settings, this work can be used to uplift standards of conduct and competency, while also embedding robust approaches to continuing professional development (CPD) and supervision.

Importantly, this work will also be able to inform education and training standards to support the next generation of social workers.

Attributable to Alice Rolls MP, Minister for Child Protection

I want to commend the hard work by both the Social Workers Registration Board and the staff at the Office of the Social Workers Registration Scheme.

Social workers are highly trained practitioners who bring specialised knowledge, empathy and critical skills to support individuals, families and communities every day.

Their work spans many areas including child protection, health, disability, and education.

With ongoing cost of living pressures, we are not prepared to impose a new fee upon hard working social workers.

This is especially the case when no comparable scheme exists interstate. Imposing registration fees here in South Australia alone has the potential to detrimentally impact our ability to recruit and retain more social workers at a time when skilled labour is in demand.

Social workers continue to play a critical role across many sectors in addressing complex social issues, supporting vulnerable populations and driving meaningful change across systems and communities.