The following FAQ’s are often asked by social workers when renewing their Practising Certificate (PC) each year. These are listed in order of popularity/frequency.

How much do I need to pay? – $759

The total annual cost $759. It is made up of the annual practising certificate fee $540, and the annual disciplinary levy $219. The total cost ($759) is still the same as the previous two years. 
You can use a part-payment plan, where after an initial payment of $200 you can pay in monthly or quarterly instalments. See the payment options page.

Can I spread the payment over the year? – Yes

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 payment of $200 before your PC can be renewed. To make the initial payment, edit the amount in your MySWRB portal to pay $200. 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? – No

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 PC 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 an initial $359 for a part payment option, you will receive an email confirming the renewal of your PC for another year. Then, from your MySWRB account you can download your PC, and 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 PC fee. This is automated after you complete the annual declaration. Once completed you will receive an email confirming the renewal of your PC and you can download your certificate from the MySWRB portal.

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. – We will do that for you.

We have disabled the field to edit the employer’s name in the MySWRB portal. As any edits or name changes will disconnect the social worker from any pre-arranged authorised billing with their employer.
If you have recently changed your employer and need to remove this reference on your account, then email us at applications@swrb.govt.nz. To add your name to your employers billing (if they have an agreement with us – see above) we will need to have an email directly from them to employerqueries@swrb.govt.nz.

What happens when I go on maternity leave, move overseas or 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: 

1. Log in to your MySWRB (Your username is your recorded email address)   
2. Click the ‘declare not practising’ button 
3. Enter the date you stopped practising 
4. Tell us why 
5. Check the declaration box 
6. Submit. 

For more information is available on the declaring yourself as non-practising page.

Review – why does MySWRB portal say my PC 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. Its been flagged in our system and we will be in touch with you once it’s sorted.

Do I need to renew your registration too? – No.

No, you don’t. 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.”

There is more explanation about understanding your scope of practice, on this page your social work practice and your practising certificate – what you need to know.

How do I contact the SWRB?

If you have some other questions about the renewal of your Practising Certificate, you can choose to either email us at applications@swrb.govt.nz or to call us (not both).
Our preference is to receive an email explaining your query in detail. Please 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.

Our telephone number is 0508 797 269. If you need to leave a message, please give us your name, registration number and a full explanation of your question/issue (rather than just a request to call you back).

Please give us time to respond to you, as follow-up or chasing questions add to the workload. It may take a few days to work through the existing backlog of enquiries.