Practice Standards 2023 Webinar recording

Register to download the Practice Standards webinar recording, which took place on Thursday 8 June 2023. There were two sessions - a lunchtime session and an evening session. This recording is of the evening session.

This webinar recording features our three panellists and eminent social workers, Director Fotina Hardy, Dr Anne-Louise McCauley and Dr Bernadette Moorhead about the new social work Practice Standards in Australia.

The AASW Practice Standards 2023 was published in May 2023 following a thorough consultation, to reflect current practice.

The Practice Standards, which all social workers are expected to practice articulate the profession’s commitments to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, human rights and social justice and encapsulates culture, identity and intersectionality in practice.

The webinar will explain what the new Practice Standards mean for social workers, the sector and the people social workers work with.

The speakers

Dr. Fotina Hardy has over 30 years’ experience in direct practice, policy and research and as an educator, most recently nine years as Coordinator of Field Education for the BSW, MSW(Qualifying) and BHS degrees at a major Brisbane university. She has been co-convenor of the Queensland Social Policy sub-committee, Child Protection Practice Group and is a past member and convenor of the National Research Committee. Fotina holds a Bachelor of Social Work, Master of Commerce, Doctor of Social Sciences along with a Graduate Certificate in Academic Practice. Fotina is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a current affiliate member of the AICD. As a Board member, Fotina is a member of the Association’s People and Culture Committee and is Chair of the Standards and Assessment Committee.

Dr Anne-Louise McCawley has been the Statewide Clinical Education Program Manager for Social Work and Welfare in Queensland Health since 2013. She has degrees in government and public policy, law and social work and completed her PhD in 2007. She has worked variously as a Solicitor, school-based child and family counsellor, research assistant/manager and health social worker. She was a part-time lecturer at The University of Queensland and continues the association with the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work in an Adjunct Senior Lecturer capacity. Her current role in Queensland Health is to design, develop and implement social work clinical education for students, new graduates, field educators and workforce across Queensland so she has a keen interest in enhancing strategies to help students enter employment with a strong sense of social work identity and value.

Dr Bernadette Moorhead is a senior lecturer in the school of social work and arts at Charles Sturt University, Wiradjuri Country, Wagga Wagga. Bernadette’s main area of focus in teaching and research is professional identity in social work, especially during the newly qualified period.