Social Service Providers Aotearoa has told the social services select committee that some changes are necessary if the Bill on mandatory social worker registration is to achieve its purpose.

 A new magazine focused on social services for children, young people and families is to be launched at parliament today, Thursday 8 March, by Hon Tracey Martin, the Minister for Children.

SSPA supports mandatory registration of social workers to promote public accountability and safety and to reinforce the value of professional social work. But the Bill requires significant changes if it is to achieve these objectives.

Social service providers have welcomed the announcement by the Minister of Social Development, Carmel Sepuloni, that the previous government’s requirement for community organisations to forward personal data on their clients will be scrapped.