AASW Social Work Leadership Program
Related content
Step into the future of social work leadership
Designed for social workers who are ready to lead with purpose, courage and impact, the Social Work Leadership Program is a seven-week, high-impact experience that will help you unlock your full leadership potential.
Through a blend of immersive in-person learning, a collaborative group project and expert-led reflection, you will grow the confidence and capability to lead teams, influence systems and inspire change. You’ll build meaningful connections with like-minded professionals and engage with some of the sector’s most respected leaders, all while staying grounded in the values that define our profession.
This is your opportunity to grow as a leader and join a network of changemakers driving lasting impact in communities across Australia.
The next program starts 2 September.
Limited spaces are available, register today.
Learn from the leaders shaping the profession
The in-person workshop in Brisbane, running 16 to 18 September, includes interactive sessions, panel discussions, and group work. Confirmed panellists include:
Dr Ros Baxter
CEO, Goodstart Early Learning
Dr Ros Baxter is CEO of Goodstart Early Learning, Australia’s largest not-forprofit early learning provider. A nationally recognised education executive with 25 years of experience, Ros has dedicated her career to advancing early intervention and education as key solutions to breaking the cycle of intergenerational disadvantage.
Her unique background spans frontline social work, senior government roles and policy leadership – including serving as Deputy Secretary at the Australian Department of Education and leading social policy strategy as First Assistant Secretary at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. She has also worked in partnership with community and research organisations to ensure early learning and intervention remain central to national policy.
Ros is a strong advocate for working alongside educators, families and communities to drive meaningful change. Her lifelong guiding principle, ‘Who needs me most?’ continues to shape her mission to ensure every child, particularly those facing disadvantage, has access to the high quality early learning they need to thrive.
Dr Ros Baxter
Jody Bell
Social work leadership advisor and researcher Churchill Fellow 2025 Founder, Being Your Potential
Jody Bell is a Social Work Leadership Advisor and Researcher with 35 years
of experience spanning frontline practice, senior executive leadership, and academia. As a 2025 Churchill Fellow, she completed research across nine countries examining how aspiring and early-career social work leaders maintain alignment with professional values as they move into leadership. That research, The Alignment Gap, surfaces what the profession most urgently needs to confront: the conditions under which leaders are made, or quietly lost, to the systems they lead.
Jody is founder of Being Your Potential, a social work leadership development consultancy, and a sessional academic at Queensland University of Technology. Her guiding conviction is straightforward: build a career you don’t need to recover from.
Jody Bell
Fiona Demnar
Director of Social Work, West Moreton Health
Fiona is currently the Director of Social Work, for West Moreton Health as the professional and operational leader in a regional health service at Ipswich. She has held senior leadership roles across government and community sectors and continues to contribute to community services serving as a management committee member on community service boards.
Fiona holds qualifications in Social Work and has worked for most of her career in the areas of family law mediation, child protection practice, as well as leadership positions in sexual assault services, before working in health.
Fiona joined West Moreton Health as a Social Worker and her experience in health has included working in women and children’s health services and providing community mental health recovery services, and post disaster emergency responses.
Fiona is committed to helping to shape organisational policy and practice, to improve health outcomes for all people and more recently has taken on a key role in embedding a child safe organisational culture to strengthen organisational support to children and young people.
Fiona Demnar
Maria Leebeek
CEO, Gold Coast Youth Service
With over six years of experience as a Chief Executive Officer at Gold Coast Youth Service, Maria focuses on leading impactful initiatives in the non-profit sector. Her work is driven by a commitment to community development, fostering effective collaborations, and enhancing service delivery for youth and vulnerable populations.
Her expertise has been generated over 30 years in non-profits, community engagement, and community development. With a strong emphasis on collaborative planning and policy analysis, Maria’s work with diverse stakeholders to address systemic challenges and create sustainable solutions. Maria is dedicated to advancing the role of non-profits in delivering meaningful change and fostering innovative partnerships.
Maria Leebeek
Geoff Rowe
CEO, Aged & Disability Advocacy Australia
Geoff is the CEO at Aged & Disability Advocacy (ADA) Australia, a Queensland
based advocacy and human rights service.
Geoff’s career spans more than 40 years and includes senior and executive roles in the Queensland Government and the NFP sectors. Geoff is currently Chairperson of the Queensland Public Trustee Advisory and Monitoring Board, member of the Queensland Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board, and a member of the Australian Health Protection Committee Aged Care Advisory Group.
Geoff is a Churchill Fellow having been awarded the prestigious Paul Tys Churchill Fellowship to examine the world’s best practice in preventing and responding to elder abuse in aged care and the community. Geoff traveled to the UK, Canada, USA and New Zealand to complete his fellowship.
He has a strong interest in human rights, social justice, and inclusion.
Geoff Rowe
Kevin Yow Yeh
Director, Institute for Collaborative Race Research
Kevin Yow Yeh is a Wakka Wakka and South Sea Islander man, born and raised on Butchulla Country (Hervey Bay). Kevin is a trained social worker, academic, and researcher at the Queensland University of Technology. He is a director at the Institute for Collaborative Race Research and is interested in race, racism and how to best support First Nations people experiencing racial discrimination. Kevin is also a founding director of the Disappeared Project, an Indigenous-led organisation dedicated to supporting families of disappeared Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. In his spare time, Kevin enjoys a laugh on Network 10s Gogglebox series.
Kevin Yow Yeh
“Social work leadership needs to be deeply ethical. It needs to hold on to a very strong human rights base, and it needs to be smart, it needs to be clever.”
– Dr Robyn Miller AM, CEO of MacKillop Family Services
In a profession that urgently needs bold, values-driven leaders, this program is your launchpad. It connects you with the right people, the right knowledge and the right opportunities to elevate your impact and amplify your voice. The leadership community you build will last long after the program ends, forming a trusted network of peers united by purpose, who support you, challenge you, and grow with you.
Led by one of the most respected facilitators in the sector, this program equips you with confidence, clarity and practical tools to lead with integrity and purpose.
If you are serious about stepping into your leadership potential and doing it alongside the best, this is the opportunity you have been waiting for.
What participants say about their leadership journey
A helpful and insightful program, covering many aspects of social work leadership that has given me greater confidence, and helped me to better integrate social work ethics and values into my leadership practices.
Attending this course has been very rich in that it has been the first opportunity to engage at this level of depth in social work since my degree 17 years ago.
It provides you with the language, understanding and nuance that education often misses, to define all of the specialist skills and knowledge that we bring to workplaces.
The program gave me the knowledge and skills to lead with confidence.
Participant profile
The AASW Social Work Leadership Program is designed for leaders who:
- Have 5+ years of leadership experience in social work or related practice.
- Are seeking to strengthen their leadership identity and expand their influence in the sector.
- Bring valuable and diverse experiences – professional, cultural, and personal—that will enrich the peer learning community.
- Are curious about different leadership approaches and how to create greater impact in their workplace and the broader community.
- Are committed to reflective practice and leading with integrity, grounded in social work values.
- Are seeking a hands-on, applied learning experience that blends theory with real-world practice.
- Are willing to be challenged, to contribute actively, and to commit time, effort, and openness across the 7-week program.
Core themes of the program
Leading with social work values
Grounding leadership in the ethics, principles, and identity of the profession to ensure decisions and practices advance equity, justice, and impact.
Confident and capable leadership
Build confidence, clarity, and capability to lead teams, influence organisations, and strengthen leadership presence across the sector.
Reflective and inclusive practice
Deepening reflective practice, fostering cultural responsiveness, and ensuring inclusive leadership that respects and amplifies diverse voices.
Strategic and adaptive thinking
Develop strategic insight and adaptability to navigate complexity, make sound decisions, and lead effectively through change or uncertainty.
Sustainable leadership growth
Define your leadership identity, embrace feedback, and create a sustainable plan for continued growth and positive sector-wide impact.
Program details
Over seven weeks, you’ll take part in a rich learning experience that includes:
- On-demand, self-paced learning to build knowledge, deepen reflection, and prepare for the 3-day in person workshop.
- An in-person immersive three-day workshop, where you’ll connect with peers, learn from senior leaders, and work through real-world leadership challenges.
- Networking opportunities, including a dedicated networking function and the opportunity to meet industry leaders
- A collaborative group project, giving you the chance to apply your learning in practice.
- Self-reflection and reflective practice, supporting you to critically examine your leadership style, values, and impact on others.
- Constructive feedback, helping you refine and strengthen your leadership practice.
- Certificate of Completion and a digital badge to share and showcase your achievement
Week 1
On demand, self-paced activities
Week 2
Meet your project group
Week 3
3 day in-person leadership workshop
Week 4
Project and individual work
Week 5
Live-online presentation
Journey overview
Build skills, apply learning and create impact over seven weeks.
Your commitment
The program is designed to fit alongside professional responsibilities, while ensuring depth of learning and engagement.
| Week # | Focus | Commitment | Date and time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Welcome session and meet your group | 1 hr live online session | 2 September 11:00am–12:00pm AEST |
| Week 2 | On demand, self-paced activities - Orientation, leadership fundamentals, personal reflections | 4 hrs self-paced modules | 2–15 September Complete at your own pace |
| Week 3 | Three-day immersive workshop, guest speakers, networking opportunities in Brisbane (16–18 September) | 3 days in person | 16 September – 9:30am–5:45pm AEST, followed by networking function until 8:00pm AEST 17 September – 9:30am–5:00pm AEST 18 September – 9:00am–2:00pm AEST |
| Week 4 | Group project | 1.5 hrs collaborative work | 21–27 September To be completed based on group availability and scheduling |
| Week 5 | Leadership framework submission | 1 hr individual work | Due 2 October Complete at your own pace |
| Week 6 | Live online presentations | 1 hr preparation and delivery | 7–8 October Varied presentation times (calendar invites sent five weeks prior) |
| Week 7 | Closing session and leadership framework reflections | 1.5 hrs live online session | 15 October 10:30am–12:00pm AEDT |
Learning outcomes
By the end of the program, participants will be able to:
- Critically evaluate diverse leadership approaches and powerfully articulate how these align with and advance social work values
- Demonstrate inclusive, culturally responsive leadership that strengthens social work identity and fosters equity across teams and communities
- Navigate complexity with integrity by applying ethical decision-making in challenging leadership contexts
- Lead with adaptability and resilience in the face of crisis, rapid change, and systems-level complexity
- Define and own their unique leadership approach, supported by a sustainable leadership plan for long-term impact in the social work sector
In-person workshop venue information
The three day in-person program will be held at the InterContinental Brisbane, 190 Elizabeth St Brisbane City, QLD 4000 Australia,
Dates
Wednesday 16 to Friday 18 September 2026.
In-person workshop venue information
The three day in-person program will be held at the InterContinental Brisbane, 190 Elizabeth St Brisbane City, QLD 4000 Australia,
Dates
Wednesday 16 to Friday 18 September 2026.
In-person workshop venue information
The three day in-person program will be held at the InterContinental Brisbane, 190 Elizabeth St Brisbane City, QLD 4000 Australia,
Dates
Wednesday 16 to Friday 18 September 2026.
Meet your facilitator
Carolyn Cousins, BSW, MSW, Med (Adult), Dip Mgt, MSc (App. Neuroscience), GAICD, is an accomplished social worker, educator, and leader with extensive experience in trauma, mental health, and organisational leadership across Australia and the UK. She has held specialist, management, and senior leadership roles, including Assistant Director of Postgraduate Education at the Tavistock and Portman Clinic in London, where she shaped postgraduate clinical education at a national level.
Since returning to Australia, Carolyn has led the development of leadership frameworks and programs for major Government and Non-Government organisations, including HETI’s People Management Skills Program, the Next Generation Leadership Program, and the NSW Police Force’s leadership programs. A recognised Subject Matter Expert in Clinical Supervision, she has collaborated with AASW on supervision programs and published widely on clinical practice and leadership. She brings together expertise in social work, adult education, and applied neuroscience to create inspiring, evidence-informed learning experiences that empower professionals to lead with confidence and integrity
Registration
Your registration covers the full seven week program, including the three day in-person leadership workshop in Brisbane, with catering provided (morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea), a networking function and a closing networking lunch. Overnight accommodation is not included.
All prices are in AUD and include GST.
Member price
Non-member price
Contact us
Please contact the AASW CPD team at [email protected] with any questions regarding the program.
FAQs
Continuing professional development (CPD)
This program will contribute 28 CPD hours under Category 2 Skills & Knowledge.
Future program dates
Click here to submit your interest for future program updates.
Contact us
Please contact the AASW CPD team at [email protected] with any questions regarding the program.
Payment and terms & conditions
By registering for the AASW Social Work Leadership Program you agree to our Terms & Conditions.
Cancellations must be made in writing to [email protected]
- 30–15 days before the Program: 50% of the registration fee applies
- 14 days or less before the Program: 100% of the registration fee applies
