National Registration and Accreditation Scheme

Support for the Inclusion of Social Work in the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme

For much of our history, the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) has strived to achieve registration and protection of title for professional social workers because we strongly believe this is the best way to enhance public safety and uphold safe and ethical practice.

The National Registration and Accreditation Scheme (NRAS) has been established since 2010 and is the only Government authority which oversees the regulation of qualifications, standards and practice for health practitioners in Australia.

The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) is the registration body charged with the task and responsibility of operationalising the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law which came into effect on July 1st 2010.

Initially in 2010, ten professions became regulated by nationally consistent legislation, followed by an additional four professions joining the National Scheme in 2012, due to their existing partial regulation in some states or territories at that time.

See below for table outlining the health professions currently included in NRAS, and those still excluded.

The AASW shares the same core objective as the NRAS (to keep the public safe from harm) and therefore continues to actively campaign for the inclusion of the social work profession under the NRAS (where it would become one of the health professions regulated through AHPRA).

See our latest campaign actions here

Read our paper: NRAS and the National Regulation of Social Work