Social Worker

Social workers help people to deal with personal and social problems, either directly or by planning or carrying out programs that benefit groups or communities.

Social workers may perform the following tasks:

counsel individuals through a crisis that may be due to death, illness, relationship breakdown or other reasons
provide clients with information on services to assist them
provide letters of referral or reports that will help clients to obtain other services such as crisis accommodation or social security benefits
guide small groups of people to share their experiences, support each other and learn social skills
help community groups to plan and carry out programs to help themselves (e.g. assisting newly arrived immigrants to form an association)
research community problems, needs and solutions through client contact and records of welfare and health agencies
analyse statistics and write reports
develop policy and evaluate programs
manage and train staff
attend professional meetings
lobby to change social welfare policies and procedures in the pursuit of social justice for all members of the community.

Specialisations:

Social workers specialise in fields such as family, youth and child welfare services; medical and health services; disability services; psychiatric and general mental health services; juvenile and family law courts; aged care and disabilities; income support; and mediation.

Some social workers travel to visit clients or run group meetings. In country areas they may travel long distances. They may also be involved in private practice, research or teaching.

Personal Requirements:

emotional maturity
keen analytical abilities
able to view other people's problems objectively
good organisational and communication skills
able to work independently or as part of a team
commitment to social justice.

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