National e-Bulletin

September 2009

Dear [FirstName]

Social workers are part of the solution to the social problems in remote Indigenous Communities, not only according to us, but also according to retiring District Court Judge Michael Forde. His findings were featured on page 1 of The Australian on September 1. I’ve asked the staff to contact Mr Forde to see if he would like to say more about the role that we can play.

National Election Reminder: Voting closes Friday 18 September

Members are the lifeblood of the AASW. It is members’ participation and leadership that shapes the direction of the profession, gives voice to the profession's issues and keeps the AASW closely tied to its members.

Elections are now being held to elect 3 (THREE) new National Directors. Online voting is now open and will close 4:00pm AEST Friday 18 September 2009.

You can read the candidates’ statements, ask them questions on a members’ discussion board, and vote easily online (as long as you have renewed your membership for the new financial year). Just go to the home page and enter your username and password in the white boxes at the very top of the page.

If you have any trouble voting online please contact the membership team on 1800 630 124 (or 02 6270 7200) for assistance. 

Registration Update

I recently met with the ACT Health Minister, Katy Gallagher, who is also chair of the Health Ministers’ Council, and with the CEO of the National Health Workforce Taskforce (NHWT), Peter Carver, to reiterate the need for social work to be registered. We are currently asking other State and Territory Health Ministers for meetings as well, regarding the national registration scheme for health workers. Our most recent submission to the scheme is on the NHWT website. 

Social Worker of the Year

The inaugural West Australian Social Worker of the Year Award was awarded to Rosalie Dwyer at a reception in the University of Western Australian in June this year. Ms Dwyer declared that “Working as a social worker in Warburton and the other Ngaanyatjarra communities is a continuing privilege. I’ve enjoyed social work in a range of roles during my professional life and consider this the best job I’ve ever had.”

The WA awards are a pilot for a possible national award in the future and I’d love to know what you think about this concept. The awards, and the winner, were featured in an article in the West Australian, and you can read an article about Rosalie and the awards on the ABC site and listen to an interview with her (for ABC radio’s Bush Telegraph) as well.

More information on the awards including winners and finalists in all categories can be found at the dedicated ‘blog’ page.

Accredited Mental Health Social Worker Directory

Thanks to all of the accredited Mental Health Social Workers who have recently submitted their details for inclusion in our new online Directory.  Although this is only an interim measure until we develop an advanced Find a Social Worker database, we hope it will help you promote your practice.  As more listings come in we'll be making the State/Territory feature more overt. 

If you're an accredited Mental Health Social Worker and would like to be included in the Directory, please refer to the email sent earlier this afternoon for full details and remember to submit your details by 30 October.