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Onboard – 12 February 2026

Andrea Coulston

In this Onboard:

Kia ora koutou,

As we move into the second half of the summer season, I hope you’ve had the opportunity for some rest and renewal over the break. For many of you, this time of year brings particular challenges – heightened demand for services, staff changes, and the ongoing pressure of supporting whānau and communities. We acknowledge the commitment and professionalism you bring to this mahi every day.

This edition of Onboard comes at an important moment for our organisation and the profession. Our Statement of Performance Expectations 2025/26 and our Annual Report 2024/25 were both tabled in Parliament last week, providing transparency about our work programme ahead and our performance over the past year.

After several years of rapid change following the introduction of mandatory registration, we’re now in a position where we can consolidate our gains and focus on delivery and continuous improvement. A key theme running through our planning is our commitment to being a responsive, modern regulator – implementing our regulatory strategy, strengthening our systems and processes, and holding ourselves accountable through initiatives like our new Code of Service to be released shortly.

In this edition, you’ll find practical resources to support you and your employers, including new online guides for employers navigating registration requirements and for graduating students preparing to register. We’re pleased to introduce Gina Giannios, our new deputy registrar registration, who brings extensive regulatory expertise to the team. You’ll also read about us sharing our ever-evolving approach to culturally responsive regulation at a recent conference.

An important reminder: the recognition of prior experience registration pathway (section 13) closes on 27 February 2026. Applications submitted on or before this date will still be processed and considered.

This year brings several significant pieces of work. We’re implementing new education standards to strengthen capability for social workers entering the profession, completing our Register database review to ensure ongoing accuracy and reliability, and presenting our 2025 review of the Social Workers Registration Act to the Minister by December – an opportunity to ensure our regulatory framework remains fit for purpose while futureproofing for emerging technologies and evolving practice contexts.

We also continue our work as lead agency for workforce planning, building on relationships with employers and educators to deliver the Minister’s first cross-government social worker workforce strategy later this year.

Throughout all of this work, we remain committed to working alongside you – your feedback and insights continue to shape how we deliver our regulatory and workforce roles.

As always, our team is available to support you with any questions.

The recognition of prior experience registration pathway closes on 27 February 2026

The final day to begin a registration application through the recognition of prior social work experience pathway (section 13) closes on Friday, 27 February 2026. Applications submitted on, or before, 27 February will still be processed and considered.

At the end of last year, we launched the first in a series of new online application systems. If you are submitting a section 13 application, you will experience this pilot process.

https://swrb.govt.nz/registration/experience-pathway-s13/

Introducing Gina Giannios, our new deputy registrar registration

Gina Giannios brings a decade of deep experience in Aotearoa New Zealand’s regulatory sector, underpinned by her academic background in psychology and criminology from Victoria University of Wellington. She has held senior roles in regulatory leadership, most recently serving as deputy registrar at the New Zealand Psychologists Board. In that role she led the effective operation of key regulatory functions, including complaints management, registration and application processes, and the accreditation of professional training programmes.

Gina is excited to join the Social Workers Registration Board as deputy registrar registration. With her extensive regulatory expertise and commitment to strengthening professional standards, she looks forward to contributing her skills to support and uphold excellence within the social work profession.

Meeting with Open Polytechnic social work educators

We were delighted to be invited to the Open Polytechnic’s meeting of social work educators in January. The Open Polytechnic currently delivers a four-year social work programme across the motu. The invitation was to join an open discussion with the intention of building relationships between Open Polytechnic and the SWRB. Lin Ayo (deputy registrar education) and Andrew Thompson (senior advisor social work) attended online in true distance education fashion and met with eight social work staff members.

The Open Polytechnic team are now redesigning their social work undergraduate programme as a three-year programme. The redesign aims to thoroughly address all education and competence standards, and the focus is on preparing ākonga for field education and the work environment.

It was great to make contact at the beginning of the year, and we appreciated the opportunity to join the group.

New guide for employers

If you are an employer of social workers, you are helping to promote social change and improve the wellbeing of individuals, whānau and communities.

To help you, we have developed a new online guide to navigate the requirements for registration, practising certificates and how to support the professional commitments of your social work employees. This module also covers the employer’s mandatory reporting obligations.
View the guide on our website

Guide for graduating students about the registration process

We have published a new online guide for tertiary students studying one of the SWRB-recognised social work degrees from a New Zealand tertiary education provider who are about to apply to become a registered social worker.

Other guides are in development. Over the coming months we will be releasing further online modules for other registration pathways as well as the SWRB code of conduct.

We invite you to share it with any students in your network who are studying social work in Aotearoa New Zealand.

View the guide on our website

Shaping the future of regulation: He Arapaki on the international stage

Last December, chief executive Sarah Clark and chief adviser Māori Bobby Bryan presented He Arapaki at the Council on Licensure, Enforcement and Regulation (CLEAR) International Congress in Wellington.

CLEAR is an international association of regulatory agencies and professionals focused on improving the quality of occupational regulation to enhance public protection. Their biennial International Congress brings together regulatory leaders from around the world to examine global trends and share best practices through interactive sessions and dialogue – quite different from traditional conferences. Hosting the Congress in Aotearoa provided an opportunity to share our approach with the international regulatory community.

The presentation explored how te ao Māori principles are shaping regulatory practice at SWRB.

The session focused on the journey that began with mandatory registration in 2021, when legislative obligations under the Social Workers Registration Act and Public Service Act required us to ensure Māori aims and aspirations are integral to our work. Rather than treating this as a compliance exercise, we’ve developed He Arapaki as a genuine framework that guides decision-making across the organisation.

Bobby explained how He Arapaki – which translates as ‘pathways’ or ‘narratives’ – reminds us that every regulatory decision has a story behind it. The framework centres on our whakataukī: He ara pūkenga, he ara tauwhiro, hei whakamana mātā waka – the many pathways of knowledge, the many pathways of social work, to uphold the dignity of all.

The presentation highlighted how this work manifests in practice: from the tukutuku panels that anchor our physical space, to the values that guide how we engage with the profession, to ensuring competence standards reflect the reality that one quarter of practising social workers are Māori and many work in predominantly Māori communities.

Sarah noted that the framework isn’t about completion but evolution – it provides a way to move with intention toward more culturally grounded regulation. The international audience responded with interest in how indigenous frameworks can strengthen regulatory systems while maintaining public protection as the core purpose.

The work continues to develop as we navigate the relationship between our regulatory functions and our role in workforce planning, ensuring both areas are informed by the pathways and stories that shape social work practice in Aotearoa.

Annual Report 2024/25

The SWRB’s 2024/25 Annual Report is now available on our website. As a Crown entity mainly funded through your fees and levy, we’re committed to transparency and accountability to both the profession and the public.

The report provides a comprehensive picture of our regulatory and workforce planning performance, including how we performed against our targets and how your fees and levy were used.

You’ll find information about our service performance (sections 4–6), workforce planning insights (section 7), and financial information (section 8). The report also outlines our priorities for the year ahead.

We aim to be a regulator that the profession and the public can trust. Your feedback is always welcome.

For the years ahead, we look forward to working with social workers, employers, education providers, and professional associations to strengthen the entire system that supports social work practice. The SWRB aims to be a regulator that the profession and the public can trust – one that upholds public safety while supporting social workers to thrive in their vital work serving New Zealand’s communities.

Go to the annual reports section of the SWRB website

Our work programme for 2025/26 – the Statement of Performance Expectations

Our Statement of Performance Expectations (SPE) 2025/26 was also tabled in Parliament last week. While the Annual Report looks back, the SPE looks forward, outlining our work programme for the year ahead and how we’ll measure our performance.

Key initiatives include implementing our regulatory strategy, new education standards, completing our Register database review, and delivering the Minister’s first cross-government social worker workforce strategy. The SPE also sets out our performance targets and financial forecasts, providing transparency and accountability for the year ahead.

Download the Statement of Performance Expectations 2025

2026 Board meeting dates

In 2026, the SWRB Board is scheduled to meet on these dates:

The Board also meets online between these dates as needed to consider registration applications, particularly where applicants request to appear in person or where the Board wishes to discuss matters directly with an applicant.

Social Workers Registration Board
PO Box 3452, Wellington 6011
office@swrb.govt.nz

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