For Immediate Release 12 December 2024

The Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) calls for immediate government action to address gaps in the social work profession and protect public safety following the release of the Victorian Filicide Cluster Inquest on 28 November.

The clustered inquest, led by Coroner John Cain, investigated the deaths of four children and emphasised the urgent need for a stronger, better-resourced social work workforce to safeguard the state’s most at-risk families.

Cindy Smith, CEO, stated, “Coroner Cain recommends the Victorian Government expand the Shift to Social Work program to increase the intake and recruitment of social workers and address workforce challenges such as high caseloads and Enterprise Agreements. These are really important priorities.”

Victorian State Coroner Judge John Cain held a clustered inquest into the deaths of four children who died by filicide between 2016-2017. The inquest explored the family violence factors the children and their families experienced and assessed the services that supported them. Filicide is the act of a parent or caregiver killing their own child, often linked to complex factors such as mental illness, family violence, or systemic failures in support services.

The AASW calls on the Victorian Government to take action to register the social work profession. In 2022 Coroner Bracken recommended the registration of social workers following the death of “PFS”, a mother in a violent relationship who died by suicide.

CEO Cindy Smith highlighted the pressing need for registration in the profession of social work and investment in the workforce.

“These coroners are telling us to act and we need governments to listen to them. We can’t wait for another avoidable death, another system failure, another opportunity lost to stop someone from dying from family violence or mental illness.”

The Victorian Government committed to advocating to include social workers in the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme (NRAS) in Victoria’s mental health and wellbeing workforce strategy 2021–2024.

Social workers are an integral part of the child protection, family violence, and mental health workforces in Victoria. Their work is challenging and requires high standards of protection for the most vulnerable and at-risk members of our community.

“We have seen no action on the Victorian Government’s commitment. It is concerning and disappointing. The community deserves better. Now is the time to move forward with registration.” Cindy Smith said.

Social work is still not registered nationally, but unlike Victoria, South Australia has taken decisive action to strengthen the profession by committing to registering social workers from 1 July 2025.

The decision to move to social work registration in South Australia follows a series of similar Coroner’s reports that investigated the tragic deaths of infants and young children, highlighting systemic failures and the critical need for highly skilled and regulated professionals to protect vulnerable families.

Click here for Coroners Report

About the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW)

The Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) is the professional body representing social workers in Australia. Our mission is to advance social justice and wellbeing, empower the profession, and advocate for the rights of all people.

For media enquiries, please contact:
Matt Loads, Communications Lead
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 0403 011 174