Supervisors Interest Group

Supervision

Social work in Aotearoa New Zealand has become a profession with its own distinctive tradition and perspectives. While overseas countries have contributed much to the development of social work in the last twenty years there has been a growing desire to find an indigenous expression of social work practice. The Association has been in the forefront in Aotearoa New Zealand of a search for a professional identity which puts an emphasis on empowerment, partnership and biculturalism. These principles have been embedded in the ANZASW Code of Ethics.

The policy commitments that lie within the Code need to be reflected in the practice of members of the Association. The Association has set standards for practice which apply regardless of fields of practice. All members of the Association are assessed in relation to these basic standards. Supervision is of fundamental importance for social workers in that it addresses safety and accountability in practice.

The ANZASW policy on supervision and practice standards for supervisors can be downloaded here (you will be prompted to login to this page).

Supervisors Interest Group

We are a group of ANZASW members who are either supervisors or have an interest in supervision primarily from a supervisor's perspective. While many of our supervisees are social workers we may also have supervisees from other disciplines.

If you are a full member of ANZASW and a supervisor or have an interest in supervision primarily from a supervisor perspective, then you are most welcome to join this group and share with other supervisors. It costs nothing and is easy to do!

Our group has the following terms of reference:

Terms of Reference:

1. Develop practice and professional standards for supervisors and social work supervision for ANZASW accreditation (leading in time to a register).
2. Advise ANZASW and the Registration Board on matters related to the supervision of social workers, particularly the supervision requirements for registration, the competency of supervisors and the Code of Conduct as it pertains to supervision and supervisors.
3. Contribute to the review of the supervision section in the ANZASW Code of Ethics and the review of the ANZASW Supervision Policy.
4. Develop a guide on supervision for organisations and members of ANZASW.
5. Provide a strong voice for supervision as a process and activity that provides accountability and safety in social work practice, and acting as a catalyst for supervision issues
6. Provide a network for resource sharing, information, ideas, debate, and support.

We currently have around 120 members and are in the process of shifting from using email to other communication tools such as our E Discussion forum. This is proving to be a valuable tool for initiating and following discussions on hot topics such as boundary of supervisor responsibility, supervisor competency and email peer supervision.

You may also contact the Coordinator: Vicki Hirst v.g.hirst@xtra.co.nz