Community and Partnerships
Australian Association of Social Workers
The School of Social Work has a commitment to social justice principles and working collaboratively with the human services sector. Graduates of all the social work undergraduate degree programs are eligible for membership of the:
Public Seminars
Through a series of public seminars and conferences, the School aims to engage the community by focusing on issues which are topical, of interest to the wider community and have important social implications.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander National Conference
With the assistance and involvement of our final year community work students, the national School of Social Work has supported and hosted the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social work association's first ever national conference, which was held in June 2006. Over 100 Indigenous social workers from all over Australia attended the conference at the Canberra Campus (Signadou). The key note speakers included prominent Aboriginal social workers such as Tom Calma, the Aboriginal Social Justice Commissioner, Christine King, the founder of the Association, one of the School's PhD students and Steve Larkin the Director of the Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander studies in Canberra.
People's Inquiry into Detention
The School also hosted in May 2006, with the assistance and involvement of our final year community work students, the People's inquiry into Detention, that was aupiced by the Heads of School of Social Work. The Inquiry heard from local refugees, their advocates and supporters' stories about mandatory detention, its impact and consequences.
National Council of Women (NSW) Australia Day Award 2007
One of our final year students, Kathleen King, was a recipient of a National Council of Women (NSW) Australia Day Award (2007). The National Council of Women were particularly keen to reward a female honours student who had been engaged in social justice issues and who had overcome some adversity in her studies. Kathleen's thesis explored "Terrorism, Moral Panic and the Media: The need for rights-based approach in social work".
