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Social Workers Registration Act 2003

Competence and fitness - Competence assessments

42: Competence assessments

You could also call this:

"Checking if you have the skills to be a social worker"

Illustration for Social Workers Registration Act 2003

The Board can create programmes to help decide if you have the skills and knowledge to work as a social worker. You need to have the skills and knowledge required to practise as a social worker in your individual scope of practice. You also need to meet the professional standards expected of a social worker.

The Board can use different types of assessments to check your competence, including ones they set themselves or ones set by others that they recognise. These assessments can be used to check your competence in all social work or in specific areas. A competence assessment under this section is secondary legislation, see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements.

The Board must have at least one assessment that applies to all social work, and they can have other assessments that apply to specific areas of social work. These assessments help the Board decide if you are competent to work as a social worker. You will need to meet the requirements of these assessments to practise as a social worker.

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This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM190214.

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Part 3Competence and fitness
Competence assessments

42Competence assessments

  1. The Board may from time to time set programmes for the purpose of helping it decide whether people—

  2. have the skill and knowledge required to practise as a social worker in accordance with their individual scope of practice (or proposed individual scope of practice); and
    1. meet the professional standards reasonably to be expected of a social worker.

      1. A competence assessment may comprise 1 or a combination of 2 or more of the following:

      2. components entirely set by the Board; or
        1. components set by some other person or body, and recognised by the Board without modification; or
          1. components set by some other person or body, and recognised by the Board in a modified form.

            1. At least 1 competence assessment must apply to all social work.

            2. Any other competence assessment may apply to 1 or more social work services under 1 or more scopes of practice.

            3. A competence assessment under this section is secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

            Notes
            • Section 42(1)(a): amended, on , by section 63(1) of the Social Workers Registration Legislation Act 2019 (2019 No 3).
            • Section 42(1)(a): amended, on , by section 144(2) of the Social Workers Registration Legislation Act 2019 (2019 No 3).
            • Section 42(4): replaced, on , by section 63(2) of the Social Workers Registration Legislation Act 2019 (2019 No 3).
            • Section 42(5): replaced, on , by section 3 of the Secondary Legislation Act 2021 (2021 No 7).