Australian Association of Social Workers - Some not so recent gaffs!

Australian Association of Social Workers - Some not so recent gaffs!

Centrelink (the descendant of the Department of Social Security) is one of the largest employers of qualified social workers in the Commonwealth Government. It is an orgainsation in which social work celebrated its 60th anniversary last November. It is an organisation in which, in even more recent times, social work has performed magnificently in the provision of services to people in crisis both at home in Australia and in Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and elsewhere in the wake of the recent earthquake and tsunami. Not only do the staff in Centrelink provide services to the most underpriviledged groups in our society they also provide social work training to students around the country.

How does the AASW treat this organisation and the colleagues who work there, many of whom are members of the Association?

"National President of The Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW), Peter Richardson, is calling on Australia’s 12-15,000 qualified social workers to refuse to implement the proposed changes to Indigenous welfare. Many Social Workers are employed in the Public sector, including Family and Community Services and Centrelink." This was the headline in 2004 of a press release by the President of the AASW.

Social workers employed by the government are required by law to carry out government policy unless it is either illegal or unethical. Since the policy and directions of the government fall into neither category, the press release merely indicates level of political immaturity and irresponsibility that is coming from the Association, its President and of the Board that governs it. The fact that the press release refers to the Department of Family and Community Services, which is a policy Department that does not provide services or employ social workers as such, is yet another indicator of the lack of knowledge and understanding of how social services work in this country that is exhibited in this press release.

The 'call to arms' from the President of the Association achieved nothing beyond making the Association a laughing stock in most quarters and bringing it and social workers in general who were no doubt assumed to have called upon him to make this comment, into disrepute in others

The then CEO of Centrelink (herself a qualified social worker) made it clear to the Association that it did not welcome stupid and irresponsible commentary from the Association especially since Centrelink provided the Association with considerable funding in support of its work.

I suspect that the National Manager in charge of the Social Work Service within Centrelink was also less than pleased with the Association for having brought it and the members who work within Centrelink into a situation in which they are perceived to be encouraged to break the law and their contract with their employers simply because of some enthusiastic if misguided social commentary by the President of the Association

Indeed it is interesting to note that the President of at least one Branch not to mention at least two Directors are Centrelink employees.

I wonder how they and other members of the Association who happen to work within Centrelink felt when the press release came out? I have it on good authority it was issued without any consultation with members of the Association who manage social work within Centrelink. I wonder whether there was any consultation with the Board or whether it was just the President who decided to speak out on behalf of the members that he does not appear to represent.

"Not happy" would be my guess.