Authorised Employer Agreements

Information for social workers about Authorised Employers

Find the current list of Authorised Employers (AEs) here:

Authorised Employers list 2026

How can you tell if you are connected to an AE’s billing?

Your MySWRB account has an Employer field. If this field is blank, or you can edit it, you are not on your AE’s billing list. Listing your employer in this field yourself will not connect you to their billing.
Please ask your employer to email us a connection request at employerqueries@swrb.govt.nz

Note that some larger organisations have centralised billing. It’s okay if your region or department information is not listed in your employer field.

If you are no longer at the named AE, please email us to request that your details are updated. You are unable to change your employer details in your MySWRB account if you are connected to an AE.

Some Authorised Employers only pay Practising Certificate fees. Check with your employer about other fee types.

Information for employers about becoming an Authorised Employer

By signing up as an AE, you can be invoiced and pay fees on behalf of your connected social workers. This can be for yearly Practising Certificates only or you can opt in to pay other fee types.


If you are not signed up, we cannot invoice you and your employees will need to pay directly from within their MySWRB accounts. They cannot pay via bank transfer.

By becoming an Authorised Employer:

You:

  • agree to being invoiced fortnightly for your connected social workers’ fees.
  • can pay via bank transfer or with a credit/debit card by logging in to your employer portal.
  • have 10 working days to pay your consolidated invoice/s.
  • will no longer need to process individual reimbursements for your staff or give them a company card to pay.
  • have control over who you are invoiced for. You can add or remove social workers from your billing list by supplying a yearly list confirmation or update. If changes are needed throughout the year, email us or log a request via your employer portal. Social workers will not be able to add or remove themselves from your billing.
  • will be able to view your employees’ registration, practising status, and Practising Certificate renewal status at any time by logging in to your employer portal.

All social workers will still need to complete their practising declaration via their own MySWRB account to renew their Practising Certificate each year.

Those connected to an AE for billing will see a message saying that their employer is paying on their behalf, rather than being prompted to pay. AEs are invoiced once connected social workers have completed their practising declarations.

Those connected to an AE will not have to wait for payment to come through, they can access their Practising Certificate as soon as they submit their declaration.

We will send reminders to social workers who have not completed their declarations.

Get the information you need, where it’s needed

You can have contacts on your account who receive updates and reminders, or list an extra contact to confirm list changes. You can also have a separate accounts payable contact for invoice and statement emails.

Authorised Employer finance information

  • Consolidated invoices will be sent to authorised employers via email every two weeks if any billing has been generated in the two weeks prior.
  • Statements will be sent monthly. Occasionally, statements will include items not yet invoiced but that will be included in your next consolidated invoice.
  • Payments made via credit or debit card are matched automatically at the time of payment.
  • Payments received via bank transfer will be manually allocated to the relevant social workers’ fees based on the reference or remittance. Please allow time for payment allocation.
  • We can include a PO number on all your invoices automatically if required.
  • If you have an issue or query on any consolidated invoice, please get in touch before the due date.

How to become an Authorised Employer

To apply, please complete the agreement and employee list below, and send them to us at employerqueries@swrb.govt.nz.

Social worker 2026/2027 Practising Certificate renewals close 30 June 2026.
New authorised employers 2026/2027 applications close 22 June 2026.

Application Documents

Authorised Employer Agreement

Employer Social Worker List - Template

The difference between a Registration and Practising Certificate fee

  • The registration application fee for social workers is a one-off fee.
  • Practising Certificates must be renewed annually.
  • The charge for the Practising Certificate is made up of two parts – the Practising Certificate fee and the Disciplinary Levy. 
  • Once registered, social workers will remain on the register unless we receive a request for them to be removed, or the SWRB Board takes action to deregister them as a result of a complaint or because they have not engaged with the SWRB for a significant amount of time. Currently employed social workers should already be registered with the SWRB.

How much does it cost?

Details of fees can be found on our Fees and funding page: Fees and funding | Social Workers Registration Board (swrb.govt.nz)