Establishing the qualification criteria for social worker registration in Aotearoa New Zealand: conflict and compromise

Abstract

Education requirements are integral to professionalization and regulation processes, debated alongside levels of qualification, standards, core curricula, and graduate attributes. The purposes of professional qualifications include ensuring quality, baseline knowledge and skills for practice, and meeting the responsibilities of the profession. In 2003, social work in Aotearoa New Zealand experienced a major change process with the introduction of the Social Workers Registration Act (SWRA). To implement the SWRA, the inaugural Social Workers Registration Board (the Board) consulted with key stakeholders to establish registration criteria. The Board set benchmarks for qualification, as well as policies for competence, fit and proper status, competence to practice social work with Māori and different ethnic and cultural groups in New Zealand, and sufficient levels of practical experience to meet section 6 of SWRA. Drawing on qualitative interview data and archival materials this article focuses on the establishment of the qualification criteria, exploring the impact of mixed priorities and agendas. Inevitable conflicts between stakeholders and the Board surfaced, requiring compromise. The Aotearoa New Zealand registration history has similarities and differences to Australian and English experiences of regulation as responses to risk averse environments, reflecting tensions between prescriptive regulation and professional autonomy.