Legislative Council Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1) 55 1 Parliament of South Australia Legislative Council published Bills Social Workers Registration (Commencement of Act) Amendment Bill Social Workers Registration (Commencement of Act) Amendment Bill Social Workers Registration (Commencement of Act) Amendment Bill Introduction and First Reading Introduction and First Reading Received from the House of Assembly and read a first time. Second Reading Second Reading The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN Legislative Council Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development Minister for Forest Industries The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (15:21): I move: That this bill be now read a second time. I seek leave to have the second reading explanation and explanation of clauses inserted in Hansard without my reading them. Leave granted. Mr President, today I introduce the Social Workers Registration (Commencement of Act) Amendment Bill 2025. As I do so I again place on record the many exception people undertaking work in this field. Social workers and people providing social work services are highly skilled, dedicated, wise and compassionate. They walk alongside people when they face really difficult times, empowering them to traverse new paths. Social workers in the Department for Child Protection, for example, encounter some of the most challenging and heartbreaking circumstances that children, young people and their families are experiencing. They are there for children, young people and their families at their hardest moments. These workers are resilient and compassionate, offering empathy and support and also setting about empowering people to have agency. They go about their work, often at the coalface of need, dutifully and not always with the praise or acknowledgement they deserve. The Bill seeks to amend the Social Workers Registration Act 2021 so that the scheme can commence on a day fixed by proclamation. We take this step following months and months of consultation with Unions representing social workers and those providing social work services, the AASW, government agencies and community sector organisations. Consultation which has highlighted the complexity of the work and workforce issues, the need for multiple registration pathways to recognise qualifications and experience and associated fees and timeframes. Paramount in the Government's thinking around this bill is our desire not to impose a new fee on South Australians at this time. Our work on this groundbreaking Scheme will continue. I acknowledge the intensive and remarkable work already undertaken. Professor Sarah Wendt and the team of the Office of the Social Work Registration Board have worked really hard, diligently and with such wisdom on this very unique and highly complicated piece of work. It is the Government's intention for Professor Sarah Wendt to continue to lead this work. She will rightly remain as Director and will continue to refine the specifics of the scheme until its implementation, particularly around the need for diverse pathways for registration, how best to recognise experience and how best to ensure the work of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who provide social work services is recognised. The Office of the Social Work Registration Board is in the process of forming an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Committee to provide advice on this important area. Mr President, again, the Office of the Social Work Registration Board has consulted with the sector at length about the scheme. I'm advised, that around 1,845 people from the sector (Government, Non-Government, Unions) were engaged. What we have learnt during this very comprehensive consultation period is that this extra time will allow the Office of the Social Work Registration Board to refine some of the concerns that have been raised with a scheme this complex. The Government will continue to advance this scheme in a thoughtful way that takes account of the complexity of the work and also takes account of the fees that will be required to be paid for registration in due course. Thank you again to all the of the contributors who have taken the time to be part of the process so far including, but not limited to, Women's Safety Services SA, Anglicare, Life Without Barriers, Connecting Foster and Kinship Care SA, Child and Family Focus SA, Embolden, Wakwakurna Kanyini, the PSA, the ASU, Flinders University and University of South Australia. I extend, again, my sincere gratitude to Professor Sarah Wendt whose leadership in this space has been exemplary. Also, the efforts of her team and all those who have worked on this over time need to be acknowledged, with special mention to the Australian Association of Social Workers who are fierce advocates for social workers and their members. Mr President, I commend the Bill to the Council. Explanation of Clauses Explanation of Clauses Part 1—Preliminary 1—Short title 2—Commencement These clauses are formal. Part 2—Amendment of Social Workers Registration Act 2021 3—Amendment of section 2—Commencement This clause amends the commencement provision of the measure so as to provide for commencement of the Act on a day to be fixed by proclamation. 4—Amendment of section 68—Regulations and fee notices This amendment is consequential. Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. D.G.E. Hood.