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Registration
and Renewal
- Is
a registered social worker regarded as a member of Social
Workers Registration Board? Should the registration fee
and the renewal fee be regarded as membership fee and
annual fee respectively?
Social
Workers Registration Board is a statutory body established
under the Social Workers Registration Ordinance but
not a professional organization that adopts a membership
system. Fellow workers are required by statute to be
registered as registered social workers and to pay the
prescribed fees. Along this line, registered social
workers are not members of the Board. Nor should the
registration fee and the renewal fee be regarded as
membership fee and annual fee.
- A
person intends to study abroad to pursue a qualification
in Social Work. What qualifications does the Board recognize
for registration?
The
Board has compiled an accreditation list of social work
qualifications awarded in the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia
and Singapore. It has also drawn up the accreditation
mechanism for social work qualifications awarded in
Taiwan. Please click the URL here for details.
Those social work qualifications which are recognized
by the accreditation bodies of the said countries (except
Singapore and Taiwan) are in principle recognized by
the Board for registration. However, any person who
is going to pursue social work studies in the above
countries are strongly advised to check with the accreditation
body of the country concerned that the qualification
led by the programme he intends to study will still
be recognized in the year of graduation.
- Is
it necessary for a social worker, who is occupying a non-subvented
social work post, to be registered with the Board?
There
is no relationship between the source of subvention
of a social work post and the requirement of registration
for the person who occupies the post. Under the Social
Workers Registration Ordinance, any person whose uses
the title of "social worker" or other related
descriptions is required to be registered with the Board
or he will be liable to the violation of the Ordinance.
-
A registered social worker submitted his application for
renewal only one day after the expiry date of his registration.
Why was he required to re-apply for registration instead
of having his registration renewed?
A registered social worker's name will be removed from
the Register of registered social workers if he fails
to renew his registration before it expires. Under Subsection
20(6) of the Ordinance and the Board's current policy,
he will be required to re-apply for registration if
he wishes to resume his registration status. The Board
understands that fellow workers might miss the expiry
date of their registration amid heavy work engagements.
However, the Board has to abide by the Ordinance in
dealing with the break in registration. Fellow workers
are therefore advised to notify the Board of any changes
in their registered addresses as soon as practicable.
This is to ensure that fellow workers will receive the
Board's correspondence related to renewal of registration.
In any circumstances, fellow workers have the primary
responsibility to renew their registration in time.
- A
person who does not hold a social work qualification recognized
by the Board for registration but intends to pursue a
career in social work. How can he attain his goal?
Subsection
17(2) of the Social Workers Registration Ordinance provides
a person who does not possess a recognized social work
qualification or the mandatory social work experience
with another avenue to registration. Such a person may
apply for registration as a registered social worker
(Category 2) if he is currently occupying or has been
accepted for a social work post. In his application
for registration, however, the person should submit
documentary proof of his social work employment to the
Board. Such proof should at least include an employment
contract duly signed by his employing agency and him,
or a letter of certification issued by his employing
agency. It should be unequivocally stated in the documentary
proof that the post the applicant is occupying or will
occupy is a social work post and that the post requires
the applicant to be a registered social worker and use
the title of "social worker". The job duties
of the post should also be clearly stipulated in the
document. If the application is so approved, the applicant
will be required to submit, within 2 years after his
registration, a study proposal to obtain a social work
qualification recognized by the Board for registration.
-
I plan to pursue a degree in social work in Taiwan. By
holding a social work qualification to be conferred by a
university there, will I be qualified for registration as
a registered social worker?
A social work qualification awarded overseas, which is
accredited by the authorized accreditation body of the
individual region or country, in principle, is recognized
by the Board for registration, provided that a
well-established accreditation mechanism has been adopted
in that region or country, and that such a mechanism has
been recognized by the Board. In Taiwan at present,
however, there is not a unified mechanism for the
professional recognition of all social work qualifications
conferred by various tertiary institutions there. Instead,
an examination system has been adopted and an individual
candidate who passes one of the prescribed professional
examinations will be granted a professional qualification
for practising social work.
To deal with the application for registration from a
holder of a social work qualification awarded in Taiwan,
the Board set the following pre-requisites for
registration in September 1999:
a) The curriculum and practicum of the programme led to
the award of the social work qualification to the
applicant shall satisfy the requirements under the
stipulation of the Board’s Principles, Criteria and
Standards in Accrediting Social Work Qualifications for
Registration as a Registered Social Worker; and
b) The applicant shall pass any one of the following three
professional examinations launched by the Ministry of
Examination of Taiwan:
(i) 專門職業及技術人員高等考試社會工作師考試
(ii) 特種考試社會工作師考試
(iii) 社會工作師檢覈筆試
All applications from holders of social work
qualifications awarded in Taiwan will be submitted to the
Committee on Accreditation and Registration for initial
assessment and then to the Board for consideration. If you
are interested in pursuing social work studies in Taiwan,
please make sure that the curriculum and practicum of the
programme that you are going to enroll in satisfy the
Board’s requirements. You are also advised to check with
the Ministry of Examination of Taiwan on the eligibility
of a candidate for sitting for any one of the above
professional examinations, among those, for example, the
status as a Taiwanese national.
-
I intend to pursue an
overseas social work programme for a qualification which
is now recognized by the Board for registration. I notice
that the awarding institute, in partnership with another
tertiary institute in Hong Kong, is offering a programme
bearing the same name leading to the same qualification.
If I complete that “partnership” programme in Hong Kong, I
will be awarded the qualification by the said overseas
tertiary institute, which carries the same name as that
currently included in the Board’s list of recognized
social work qualifications. Can I be registered as a
registered social worker based on that qualification?
When
considering whether to recognize a social work
qualification awarded overseas for registration, the Board
will take the reference of the authorized accreditation
body of the country where the awarding institute is. In
the case where an accreditation mechanism has been well
established in that country and the Board has already
admitted such a mechanism, the Board, in principle, will
recognize those social work qualifications already
accredited by the accreditation body of that country.
Given this mechanism of the Board, for a qualification to
be awarded by an overseas tertiary institute, even though
the programme is run by its Hong Kong partner and the
students will take courses in the local territory, the
local tertiary institute should not seek recognition of
the qualification from the Board direct. Rather, the
awarding institute should first seek the recognition of
the qualification from the authorized accreditation body
of its country. Therefore, you should first seek
clarification from the Board, or the awarding institute
and the accreditation body of that country on the
recognition status of the social work qualification you
plan to pursue.
-
I possess a local social
work qualification which is recognized by the Board for
registration. Recently, I have found that the awarding
institute (“Institute A”) of my qualification is launching
a joint social work programme in partnership with another
tertiary institute (“Institute B”) on the mainland. The
qualification will still be conferred by “Institute A” but
the programme is run in the campus of Institute B on the
mainland. The names of the programme and the
qualification are the same as those offered and conferred
here in Hong Kong. Do the holders of the qualification
led by the “joint programme” run on the mainland enjoy the
same qualification for registration as those holding the
qualification led by the programme offered in Hong Kong?
The
qualification led by a social work programme which is run
by a local tertiary institute at a campus outside Hong
Kong, no matter by itself alone or in partnership with
another institute, will not be automatically recognized by
the Board for registration, notwithstanding that a
qualification bearing the same name and being led by a
local social work programme offered by the same tertiary
institute has already been recognized by the Board for
registration. Therefore, “Institute A” will have to apply
for the Board’s recognition of the social work
qualification led by that programme run outside Hong Kong
to enable the graduates to be qualified for registration.
Upon receiving such an application for qualification
recognition, the Board will launch a qualification
recognition assessment before deciding whether to
recognize the social work qualification led by the
programme being run outside Hong Kong.
Registered Social Workers' Duties
- If
a registered social worker has been charged with or convicted
of an offence, should he report to Social Workers Registration
Board?
Under
Section 24 of the Social Workers Registration Ordinance,
a registered social worker who has, at any time on or
after the date of the statutory declaration made by
him during his application for registration with the
Board, been charged with or convicted of any offence,
whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere, shall as soon as
reasonably practicable after he has been charged or
convicted, serve a notice in writing on the Board specifying
the nature of the offence. Court documents pertinent
to the charge or the conviction, e.g. charge sheet,
trial certificate, court's judgement etc., should also
be provided to the Board.
Disciplinary Procedures
- What
are the Board disciplinary procedures for dealing with
a complaint against a registered social worker?
Under
Subsection 25(3) of the Social Workers Registration
Ordinance, any complaint concerning any disciplinary
offence shall be made in the specified form to the Registrar
who shall submit the complaint to 2 members of the Board
(also registered social workers) appointed for the purpose
for scrutiny. Should the 2 members consider necessary,
they will refer the complaint to the Board. The Board
will then appoint a disciplinary committee composed
of 5 members selected from the Disciplinary Committee
Panel to inquire into the case and to make recommendations
to the Board after the disciplinary inquiry. Based on
the report submitted by the disciplinary committee,
the Board will make a final decision on the complaint.
Please click the URL here for the details of
the disciplinary procedures of the Board.
Interpretation of Code of Practice
- Social
workers may encounter difficulties in comprehending the
clauses of the Code of Practice. Whom can they turn to
for help?
The Board understands that fellow workers in general
would expect the Board might help them interpret the
application of the clauses of the Code of Practice.
However, one of the Board's functions is to deal with
disciplinary offences in accordance with the Ordinance.
After a complaint has been referred to the Board, it
will appoint an independent disciplinary committee to
inquire into the case. Based on the report submitted
by the disciplinary committee, the Board will make a
final decision as to whether the registered social worker
being complained has committed a disciplinary offence
and issue a disciplinary order as and if necessary.
In view of the Board's role as an adjudicator, the Board
is required to maintain an impartial stance. For this
reason, the Board has decided to make reference to the
practice of other professions not to address individual
enquiries on the respective clauses of the Code of Practice.
By so doing, the Board does not have to express its
position at the initial stage on a certain scenario
that may subsequently become a complaint case to be
inquired by a disciplinary committee. However, fellow
workers may approach Hong Kong Social Workers Association
which has agreed to assist the Board in addressing enquiries
on the applicability and the implication of the Code
of Practice on individual basis. The Association's phone
number is 2528 1802.
Register of Registered Social Workers
- Why
are registered social workers' registered address posted
on the Register? How are RSWs' personal data to be protected?
Under Section 16 of the Social Workers Registration
Ordinance, the Board is required to make the Register
of registered social workers available to any person
for inspection free of charge at the office of the Board.
The Register contain every registered social worker's
Chinese and English names, registration number, registered
address, qualification on which his registration is
based and category of registration. The Ordinance does
not explicitly impose any restriction on the registered
address. Registered social workers are free to provide
the Board with any local address for communication purpose.
In fact, in response to some RSWs' concern over the
disclosure of their registered address on the Register,
the Board has seriously deliberated the issue in the
course of drafting the amendments to the Ordinance.
It eventually decided to maintain the status quo of
the Register taking into account that the disclosure
of registered addresses is a manifestation of being
accountable to the public. Professional bodies such
as the Medical Council of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Estate
Agents Authority, etc., also adopt the same practice.
A
person who intends to inspect the Register should turn
up at the Board Secretariat in person. Any phone enquiries
of the kind will not be entertained. The inspector should
register with the Secretariat staff and have his identity
verified. After scrutinizing the users' guide, he will
be allowed to make access to the Register with the assistance
of the Secretariat staff. The purpose of inspecting
the Register is mainly for verifying the registration
status of a person. Any downloading or photocopying
to forward/extract any information on the Register is
strictly prohibited. The Board believes that this mechanism
should be able to prevent any abuse of the Register
and that the personal data of registered social workers
on the Register are protected.
- Is
there any simple and quick access to the Register of registered
social workers?
Inspectors
may refer to the concise Register of registered social
workers on the Board's homepage. This Register contains
every registered social worker's English and Chinese
names, registration number, and the expiry date of current
registration.
Others
- A
registered social worker was awarded a social work qualification
last year and had submitted the pertinent documentary
proof to the Board in his application for renewal of registration.
Why has the field "highest qualification" in
the Verification of Personal Particulars Form not been
amended accordingly?
As
a usual practice, only the highest qualification of
a registered social worker, which is recognized by the
Board for registration, will be put on the Register
and the Verification of Personal Particulars Form. If
a fellow worker submits the documentary proof of his
new social work qualification that is not included in
the Board's accreditation list, the Secretariat will
put this qualification on his personal record but will
not on the Register or the Verification of Personal
Particulars Form.
- Can
a registered social worker apply for income tax deduction
against the registration fees and the renewal fees?
If
being a registered social worker is one of the requirements
of his employment, the registered social worker may
apply for deduction of income tax against the paid-up
registration fees and renewal fees. The social worker
may attach a copy of the Certification of Registration
or the registration card, whichever appropriate, to
the tax return. Registered social workers are advised
to apply for tax deduction in the same financial year
of the payment of fees.
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