The following FAQ’s are often asked by social workers when renewing their Practising Certificate each year. These are listed in order of popularity/frequency.
You can also download this same information as a PDF document :
Frequently Asked Questions about the renewal of your Practising Certificate
How much do I need to pay?
The total annual cost $759. It is made up of the annual practising certificate fee $540, and the annual disciplinary levy $219. The cost is the same as last year.
Can I spread the payment over the year?
You will need to pay via your MySWRB portal (card payments will show up as Ezidebit on your bank statement). You can choose to pay monthly or quarterly, although you must pay an initial $200 deposit before your Practising Certificate can be renewed. To make the deposit, edit the payment amount in your MySWRB portal to pay this $200 deposit. You will need to repeat this process for every instalment throughout the year (via your MySWRB account), as this is not something we can automate on your behalf.
You can vary the amount you pay each month or quarter, as long as it is paid off by 1 May 2026.
Read more about spreading payments throughout the year on this payment options page.
Can I get an invoice?
We are no longer generating individual invoices addressed to employers unless they are part of our Authorised Employer Scheme.
a) If you are paying for your Practising Certificate yourself, the MySWRB portal will take you to a payment screen after you have completed your practising declaration. Once you have completed payment, or paid a $200 deposit for a part payment option, you will receive an email confirming the renewal of your practising certificate for another year. Then, from your MySWRB account you can download a receipt and you can send this to your employer for reimbursement.
b) If your employer is an SWRB Authorised Employer, they will receive an invoice to pay for your practising certificate fee. This is automated after you complete the annual declaration. Once completed you will receive an email confirming the renewal of your practising certificate.
We encourage your employer to sign up as an Authorised Employer for future years. They can find out about this on the authorised employer page.
My employer should pay – why is their name not showing up in MySWRB portal?
Employers who are paying directly for their social workers’ Practising Certificates must have an authorised employer agreement with us. You can check if your employer is an Authorised Employer on the authorised employer page.
If you know that your employer has signed an authorised agreement with SWRB – and they have simply omitted to include you on their list of employees, then they need to get in touch with us. We need to formally hear from them to include you in their list of employees for billing. We cannot add you to their billing without hearing directly from the contact person at your organisation.
Please ask them to email us as soon as possible at employerqueries@swrb.govt.nz with their approval, your name and registration number.
I want to change the name of my employer
In your MySWRB account we have temporarily disabled the field to edit the employer’s name. As any edits or name changes will disconnect you from any pre-arranged authorised employer billing. If you have recently changed employer and need to change this reference in your account, please email us at applications@swrb.govt.nz
We will restore this editing function in July.
What happens when I go on maternity leave / move overseas / retire?
If you are no longer practising as a registered social worker or intend to stop practising in this coming financial year, in Aotearoa New Zealand (e.g. retirement, parental leave, moving overseas or some other reason) you will need to declare yourself as non-practising.
Steps to declare that you are Non-Practising:
- Log in to your MySWRB (Your username is your recorded email address)
- Click the ‘declare not practising’ button
- Enter the date you stopped practising
- Tell us why
- Check the declaration box
- Submit.
For more information is available on the declaring yourself as non-practising page.
Review – why does MySWRB portal say my renewal is under review
For some reason your renewal has been flagged. This could be for financial or another reason. Our team will need to review if there is any reason why your PC wasn’t renewed automatically. This review should happen within one week of your renewal declaration.
Do I need to renew my registration too?
Only your practising certificate and annual declaration are a yearly requirement.
Your registration as a social worker stays valid – unless something happens to cancel it, or you choose to apply to the SWRB Board to cancel it yourself.
How do I know if I’m practising as a social worker?
If you’re using social work skills and knowledge in your role to support people’s well-being as outlined in the General Scope of Practice, you’re probably practising social work – even if your job title isn’t “social worker.”
Contact Us
If you have some other questions about the renewal of your Practising Certificate, please email us at applications@swrb.got.nz
Remember to always include your full name and registration number when making an enquiry. This will help us handle the volume of enquiries more efficiently.
