SWIFT A most inappropriate name.

The latest (December 2005) edition of “SWIFT” the newsletter of the NSW Branch of the Association of Social Workers represents one of the most inappropriate names for a newsletter.

It contains within its pages some of the latest set of communications between the Board of the Australian Association of Social Workers and the NSW Branch. Suffice it to say that matters that were on the table over a year ago have still not been resolved and indeed the matters are at a worse stage now than they were back then. Hardly what anyone would or could call ‘swift’

I suspect that the Association is now the laughing stock of professional associations not only in this country, but around the world. For a bunch of people who pride themselves on being able to assist others to solve their issues and problems, who claim to have expertise in mediation, counselling and conflict resolution, the leadership of this organisation now seem to demonstrate a complete inability to resolve a fundamental issue within its own ranks.

What’s the problem?

Apart from issues which may have arisen among personalities within the Association the issues seem to revolve around money and power and the problem of incorporation.

As a corporation, the AASW has a number of Directors on its Board each of whom is elected by the membership of the different Branches around the country. Each Branch gets to elect a Director regardless of the number of members in a Branch. Thus the two most numerous Branches in the country, NSW and Victoria get to have the same level of representation as say the tiny number of members in the Northern Territory and the ACT. There are thousands of members in the first two states and perhaps dozens of members in the two territories.

In short there is a considerable level of inequality in power.

1. How is money raised for the activities of the Association – through membership fees and activities during the year?


2. How is money distributed across the Association – at the discretion and by decision of the Board?


3. Is there a distribution of funds that provides the facilities and services sought and paid for by members across the country? Well no, not really, the people who raise the most funds do not get value for money while other parts of the organisation that either cannot or will not raise funds because of their low membership numbers manage to get the lion’s share of the spoils.

To ask a social work like question, how does this ‘feel’ for those who do most of the work?

“Bloody unfair”, would be their most likely response.

Unless the AASW manages to resolve its internecine war it is not in a position to adequately represent social work as a profession or its members in professional quarters.

I would like to point interested parties to the solution that has been found to this problem in Western Australia where a group of the most senior executives of the then Branch of the AASW resigned en masse and formed a rival social work organisation to represent the social workers in WA who become their members.

People should have a look at their organisation and their success and then adopt perhaps a “monkey see, monkey do” approach. Instead of wasting time and lives on the internal war within the Association perhaps it’s time to look at a solution that is from “outside the box” – let the current Association die from lack of membership and start again with something new and something that more adequately represents the interests of the professional people who want an organisation that represents them and their interests rather than an organisation that appears to be representing other interests.