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Onboard newsletter – November 2025

In this Onboard:


Tēnā koutou,

As we navigate through spring with its characteristic unpredictability – from severe weather events affecting communities across the country to the more welcome glimpses of settled conditions – there’s a sense of looking forward to calmer times as we approach the year’s end.

This edition of Onboard brings several important updates for our social work community. We extend our congratulations to all ākonga whose studies are coming to an end this year. For those approaching graduation, we encourage you to begin your registration process early – our team is available to support you through this important step.

We’re also pleased to announce the winners of our CPD koha prize draw, recognising social workers committed to developing their practice with Māori.

Join our team as a deputy registrar – more details and the link for this vacancy are listed below.

Finally, we’ve developed new guidance to help social workers understand the processes around complaints and criminal matters. These resources are designed to provide clarity and support during what can be challenging situations.

As always, our team remains available to assist with any questions you may have.

Ngā manaakitanga,

Sarah Clark
Chief Executive


Congratulations to all ākonga as their studies come to an end

As the university year draws to a close, we wish ākonga all the best with their assessments.

If you have graduated with a New Zealand social work qualification and plan to register as a social worker, you don’t need to wait for your graduation ceremony. We recommend you start your application early. You can start the process before you finish your course, in the meantime, you can send us:

We have more information for ākonga about registration on our website.

Go to the student information page on the SWRB website

If you have any questions, you can email us at applications@swrb.govt.nz, call us on 0508 797 269 or drop in to our weekly Zoom Q&A session, which starts at 1pm every Thursday.

Join the weekly Q&A session (Zoom link)

Open Polytechnic fourth year students, with Amy Ross, SWRB special advisor social work (back row, third from left) and Liz Mahoney, lecturer (back row, second from right).

Four winners of CPD koha prize draw

With the powerful combination of themes of Aotearoa New Zealand Social Workers’ Day occurring in Te Wiki o te reo Māori, we chose to offer four prizes of koha towards some professional development. The winners of the prize draw have received $250 towards training that addresses core competence standard one: the competence to practise social work with Māori.

Congratulations to the prize draw winners:


What to do if a complaint is made against you

We understand the challenges involved in social work and that mistakes will sometimes be made. When a complaint is made it can be very stressful. Whenever possible we will work collaboratively with you to support you with any problems.

To support you in these situations, we have developed a series of short guides that explain how social workers should respond to complaints and clarify your professional obligations.

These resources are available on our website.

Go to the resources page

If you would like print copies of these brochures, email us at comms@swrb.govt.nz and we can send them to you.


Vacancy – Deputy Registrar

We are looking for a new Deputy Registrar and we welcome your application. The recruitment process for this role is being managed by JacksonStone.
Read about this role on the SWRB website

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