Inequality, disadvantage, social justice – these issues underpin social work and the passions that drive those who work in the industry. But in Australia, these issues are not static; they evolve and shift as circumstances change. As part of our future of work series, we sat down with Charles Sturt University academics to uncover the changes and challenges society will undergo in the coming decades. how these changes will affect the future of social work and the role of social workers.

Ageing population dilemma

The most recent Australian census found that people aged 65 years and over now make up nearly one in six (17 per cent) of the country’s population. Increased longevity – due partly to superior healthcare – combined with a decreased birthrate means that this proportion of the population will likely continue to grow.

Belinda Cash, Senior Lecturer in Social Work, explained this demographic shift’s impact on society and social work.

“The demographic shift of an ageing population is bringing about significant changes for health and welfare services. It’s a changing and dynamic time for society and for social work too. Social workers work with individuals across all stages of life. We understand there can be significant impacts on ageing and later life. This depends on a range of variables that impact individuals, families and social groups from even before birth. And this knowledge suggests that there will continue to be groups of vulnerable older Australians likely to come to the forefront of social work in coming generations.”

Tyranny of distance

An ongoing issue that future social workers will still need to address is the inequality of service across communities. This is particularly apparent in rural and First Nations communities, who are often more disadvantaged in terms of accessing services. As Belinda explained, how social work services are set up greatly impacts how and if individuals can access them.

“Many critical social workers try to understand the impact of economic policies on human populations. Real people are affected when we bring about market-based health, welfare and care systems. Privatised markets make assumptions that people have the resources to access and engage in those systems. In social work, we understand that access to resources can be a huge issue.

“These challenges can be particularly evident in rural areas, which often suffer from the tyranny of distance. Many funding and policy decisions stem from metropolitan areas, so assumptions are often made about service availability, adequate staffing, and geographic accessibility. These are not always a reality for people in rural and remote areas of Australia.

“For instance, in my research, I looked at older adults who needed to access in-home care to stay in their own homes. They each received a financial ‘care package’, but it was the same for everyone. This meant that older people in rural locations who had to access services based in metropolitan or large regional centres were charged travel costs to get the service to them. So there was a distinct disparity, as an elderly person in a city might be able to afford to access a service three times a week, while someone in a rural area might only be able to once.”

Addressing inequality

Dr Karen Bell, Associate Professor in Social Work at Charles Sturt, sees that social service delivery is changing in rural areas to address these inequalities.

“There is certainly a shift, in rural areas, in things like aged care and child and family welfare. Things like getting services embedded in communities and having more primary care at a preventative level on the ground. These are increasingly important to prevent more complex issues from developing in the future.

“There is a growing recognition that there needs to be different models of service delivery in rural and First Nations communities. Solutions can’t all come from the metro-centric space. Social work has a key role in devising and delivering those different ways of providing services.

“By embedding workplace learning in our degrees across different services, we help our students start thinking about these issues. Of course, it gives them great practical experience that they can demonstrate to employers when they graduate. We also try to incorporate at least one international study opportunity to broaden students’ experience.”

Belinda agrees that approaching different situations in different ways is key to effective social work.

“One of the things we do well is having First Nations ways of knowing within our course structures. We embed the idea that often our traditional ways of teaching and learning are not the only ways. They shouldn’t always be the first ones applied in social work situations.”

Eco-social work

Rural communities are often at the frontline regarding one of the most contemporary and dynamic areas of the social work industry – eco-social work.

Eco-social work – also referred to as ‘green’ or ‘environmental’ social work – is concerned with how environmental issues, such as extreme weather events and climate change, affect people and communities. There is an acknowledgement that the issues around eco-social work will become more common.

Dr Heather Boetto, Associate Professor in Social Work at Charles Sturt, specialises in this field. She explained how environmental instability can affect individuals and communities, from financial to social and mental health.

“Social workers work on the frontline with people affected by climate change and environmental issues. We have practitioners working with families who can’t pay rising electricity prices due to poverty, dealing with communities recovering from bushfires and drought, and supporting people who are homeless by trying to find suitable shelter during extreme weather events, such as heatwaves. So practitioners are increasingly engaged with these issues on the frontline, and we’re finding that we need to transition the profession towards addressing these issues better.”

Dr Boetto also described how issues around climate change and severe weather do not impact everyone equally.

“The values of social justice and human rights underpin our profession. And we are starting to understand the disproportionate impacts of climate change on disadvantaged people. Whether in terms of disability, migration, refugees or homelessness. Any group that suffers disadvantage is often unable to prepare for an extreme weather event, is less able to respond to an extreme weather event, and is less able to recover.

Impacts on social work

Dr Bell outlined the various ways environmental considerations influence social work as an industry.

“Climate change, global warming and ecological issues. We are aware of the physical impacts of these, but the human impacts are often less obvious. People who are already disadvantaged can be affected cumulatively by climate change in terms of their ability to have decent shelter, good food and access to basic services.

“Sustainability is a key growth area (and something we focus on in our social work curriculum). Regarding eco-social work, we look holistically at the impacts on a group. On an individual level, it could be working with a farming family affected by environmental degradation. Still, social workers are also involved on the macro level in influencing policy.”

As Dr Boetto sees it, eco-social work will be at least a part of almost all practice in the future.

“These issues are going to become more and more prevalent, and as a result, social work as a profession is going to be in high demand. So here at Charles Sturt, we want to prepare our students for this change. That’s why we embed sustainability across our courses. We also offer a core subject on eco-social work and practice as part of our foundational bachelor’s degree. We’re committed to understanding the human effects of environmental change. We want to give future social workers the knowledge and skills to tackle the issues and improve people’s lives.”

The tech equation

Technological innovation will influence many Industries of the future – from agriculture to education. And the future of social work is no different, as Ms Cash explained.

“Society is more open to technological solutions. When I started in social work, not driving out to visit people or sitting with them face-to-face would have felt inauthentic. Nowadays, we are comfortable with technology. And there’s no reason social work shouldn’t or couldn’t embrace technological possibilities to help increase its reach. When working with younger people, using digital communication to deliver services is more expected. So it’s something we need to embrace.”

However, she cautioned that technology can’t just be seen as a solution.

“Technology also has challenges in terms of cyber safety. We are seeing increases in things like sexting, grooming and compromised anonymity. Those things bring a whole other range of challenges for social work to address.”

Dr Bell felt that technology would assist clients and help practitioners be their best.

“Things like e-counselling and online counselling are gaining momentum, particularly in mental health services and rural service delivery. Technology will become increasingly embedded in how we deliver social work services. It also allows local, national and global networking among service providers. Our graduates must have good communication technology skills to be competent practitioners, from professional networking to direct client work. That’s part of being a professional: accessing the latest knowledge and providing the best service to clients.”

The future of social work

As social work issues continue to be significant, Belinda sees opportunities to make a difference across many aspects of the industry.

“It’s often a misconception of social work that it just concerns working one-on-one with clients. There are many more levels of opportunity, such as leadership, policy and so on. Social workers ensure that social justice is at the forefront of macro changes that filter down to impact the lives of families and individuals.

“Social work is one of the few professions that isn’t just about providing a service. It also includes advocacy and social justice at the forefront of our thinking. So, besides providing social services, we are also concerned with how structures and systems impact individuals. There are many opportunities, and every student’s career journey will be unique. The profession is multidimensional. Understanding and working with people in their environment and all the richness and variety of human experience are things that social work does well. Social workers are critical thinkers looking at ways to bring about positive change whether at the personal or policy level.”

Dr Bell echoes this prediction.

“We will always need people passionate about human rights, social justice and making a positive difference. That’s the fundamental thing that our courses build on – that desire to help. That’s the foundation. So we take those intentions and build the knowledge and skills needed to succeed on top.”

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Contributors

Belinda Cash is a Senior Lecturer in Social Work at Charles Sturt University. Her research and teaching interests include mental health, ageing, social policy, service provision in rural areas and informal caregiving.

Dr Karen Bell is an Associate Professor in Social Work at Charles Sturt University. Her research encompasses gender, women’s health, rural and regional service delivery, ageing and ecological social work.

Dr Heather Boetto is an Associate Professor in Social Work at Charles Sturt University. Her main research focus relates to ecological social work, gender and international social work.