AASW Social Work Podcasts – Details, episodes & analysis

On 23 September, we brought together the local social work community for a special panel exploring the future of mental health. Our guests, including Emma Shearer from Headspace, social worker and education consultant Rachel Higginson, and Laura Fletcher from Grand Pacific Health, shared powerful insights on prevention, early intervention, and how social workers are helping to build strong, connected communities.

In this episode, you’ll hear what’s working, what’s needed, and how we can support one another to shape a future where mental health care is earlier, more accessible, and built to last. Don’t miss the Q&A section, it’s packed with practical reflections and real-world wisdom.

In this episode, we bring you highlights from our 2 September 2025 webinar, National Disability Insurance Scheme, what we are doing to support you, featuring AASW leaders and the AASW National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Working Group.

Tune in as we explore:

• Recent advocacy with the NDIA and government
• Evidence on the effectiveness of social workers in disability and the NDIS
• AASW’s campaign to raise awareness of social workers in the NDIS
• New resources currently in development

When a technology company invited a social worker to join their digital literacy project, it was because they hoped her social work skills would be “nice-to-have” additions to their “need-to-have” skills for teaching people how to use their digital devices.  But Anna Morgan had already been contemplating digital inclusion for a long time.  Anna brought her social work mindset to the project, called on her community development experience and aimed for social inclusion.  

Mentioned in this episode:

InfoXchange: Connected Communities: 
https://www.infoxchange.org/au/community-programs/connected-communities 

Definition of ‘Digital Inclusion’ from the Center for Digital Equity:
https://thecenterfordigitalequity.org/digital-inclusion-and-digital-equity/ 

Asset Based Community Development:
https://www.jeder.com.au/what-we-offer/asset-based-community-development-participatory-community-building/ 

Human Centred Design:
https://www.vic.gov.au/introduction-human-centred-design 

Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners
The Australian Association of Social Workers respectfully acknowledges the past and present Traditional Owners and ongoing Custodians of the land on which this podcast is being recorded. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, their ancestors and their families, and to the Elders of other communities who may be listening.

Harm reduction is an approach to drug policy which promotes health, dignity and rights for everyone, regardless of which drugs they happen to be using. Although it is part of Australia’s National Drug Strategy, the principles of Harm Reduction aren’t always obvious to those of us in the service system. Chloe Span and the other members of Students for Sensible Drug Policy are working on changing that.

LINKS

Students for Sensible Drug Policy

https://www.ssdp.org.au

Harm Reduction:

“Harm reduction is grounded in justice and human rights. It focusses on positive change and on working with people without judgement, co-ercion, discrimination, or requiring that people stop using drugs as a condition of support.”

- Harm Reduction International: https://hri.global/

Australia’s National Drug Strategy:

https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/national-drug-strategy-2017-2026

Bob Hawke’s endorsement of his daughter:

https://www.facebook.com/news.com.au/videos/bob-hawke-tears-up-talking-about-his-daughter/1945347788910102/

Johann Hari: Chasing the Scream, Bloomsbury, UK, 2019

https://www.readings.com.au/product/9781526608369/9781526608369

AJ Williams-Tchen provides Mental Health First Aid training to groups and organisations; and cultural awareness training to health professionals. Throughout all this work, AJ makes sure participants spend time listening to each other’s stories. AJ believes in the power of storytelling as our most powerful tool to drive social change. He practices this himself and describes his experience as a member of the Stolen Generation. When you hear his story, you realise that, in AJ’s words: “History is so recent”.

Note:

This episode was prepared before the announcement of the details of the Australian referendum about a First Nations Voice to Parliament. You can read more about the background to this referendum here: https://ulurustatement.org/

LINKS

26 January is a day to reflect on our nation’s true history: Watch AJ Williams-Tchen describe what January 26 means to him:

https://www.aasw.asn.au/social-policy-advocacy/reconciliation

AASW 2004 statement of apology to the Stolen Generation: https://www.aasw.asn.au/document/item/618

Mental Health First Aid: https://mhfa.com.au/

Girrraway Gangi consultancy: https://www.girrawayganyi.com.au/

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The AASW respectfully acknowledges the past and present traditional owners and on-going custodians of the land on which this podcast was recorded. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, their ancestors and families, and to Elders of other communities who may be listening.

Social workers draw on knowledge, skills and experiences from their professional and personal lives in all sorts of ways, to bring about changes they want to see in their world.  While some of us choose to specialise in a particular field of social work practice, others take on roles in leadership, management or governance.  Knowing the importance of good plan, Cindy Smith has been able to do all these things; because her plans combine her love of learning, her dedication to excellence and her values.

LINKS

Cindy Smith biography on the AASW webpage: https://www.aasw.asn.au/about-aasw/key-staff

ORGANISATIONS

Australasian College of Health Services Management: https://www.achsm.org.au/

Australian Institute of Company Directors: https://www.aicd.com.au/

Chief Executive Women: https://cew.org.au/

SOCIAL WORK, LEADERSHIP AND GOVERNANCE:

Defining Social Work Leadership: a theoretical and conceptual review and analysis:

1. Colby Peters ,Journal of Social Work Practice, Vol 32, pp31-44, 2017

Available through Tandfonline: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02650533.2017.1300877

The Emerging Significance of Values Based Leadership: A Literature Review:

M.K. Copeland, St John Fisher University, 2014

Available through the university: https://fisherpub.sjf.edu/business_facpub/5/

THE AICD have published a set of Not-for-Profit Governance Principles:  https://www.aicd.com.au/tools-and-resources/not-for-profit-governance-principles.html

When Anne-Maree Newbold OAM commenced her career, the residents of the large stand-alone psychiatric hospital in which she worked slept in dormitories with a shared clothing cupboard. Since then Anne-Maree’s career has been dedicated to reforming the way people experience our mental health and disability systems. Combining her experiences as a carer and her dedication to human rights, she tells us how we can be allies of the people who use our services, in their advocacy for change.

LINKS

AASW symposium: Mental health, Social Work and Contemporary Practice

https://aasw.eventsair.com/the-aasw-mental-health-symposium-2022/registration

Independent Mental Health Advocacy; https://www.imha.vic.gov.au/

North West Mental Health Services; https://www.nwmh.org.au/

Anne-Maree’s resources on rights:

https://www.nwmh.org.au/about/policies-publications/your-rights-responsibilities

For Mark Silver, improving the mental health of older people starts when we all respect their story of their lives. He has pioneered intergenerational programs which bring people together across the generations to share stories and build that respect. When it comes to Mark’s own story, it’s in the badges on his cap.

Further Information about Mark and his work (including portrait with cap):

Social Work Focus, November 2021

https://www.aasw.asn.au/document/item/13650

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-silver-66609524/

Swinburne Wellbeing Clinic for Older Adults

https://www.swinburne.edu.au/research/centres-groups-clinics/wellbeing-clinic/

Australian Institute for Intergenerational Practice

https://aiip.net.au/

Intergenerational Practice on Free-to-air Television

Old People’s Home for 4 year olds

https://iview.abc.net.au/show/old-people-s-home-for-4-year-olds

Old people’s Home for Teenagers

https://iview.abc.net.au/show/old-people-s-home-for-teenagers

Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners

The Australian Association of Social Workers respectfully acknowledges the past and present traditional owners and ongoing custodians of the lands on which this podcast is being recorded. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, their ancestors and their families, and to the Elders of other communities who may be listening.

This episode follows from our previous episode with Rosalie Pockett AM. Like Rosalie, Kim Hobbs didn’t intend to make her career in hospital social work, but has ended up doing exactly that. Kim is the other half of the productive partnership between a hospital and university researching inequity in healthcare, and Kim agrees about how powerful these partnerships are in overturning inequality. She has observed that the ground-breaking research happens when social workers are the researchers.

Further Information about Kim Hobbs

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kim-Hobbs

https://www.oswanz.com/kim-hobbs/

Special Issue Australian Social Work Social Work and Cancer.

Editorial by Rosalie Pockett and Kim Hobbs Free Access

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0312407X.2021.1988664?src=

AASW Members:

Australian Social Work Special Issue Social Work and Cancer Volume 75, Issue 2, 2022.

https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rasw20/current

Prof Irwin Epstein on Clinical Data Mining:

https://www.routledge.com/Clinical-Data-Mining-in-Practice-Based-Research-Social-Work-in-Hospital/Epstein-Blumenfield/p/book/9780789017093

Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners

The Australian Association of Social Workers respectfully acknowledges the past and present traditional owners and ongoing custodians of the lands on which this podcast is being recorded. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, their ancestors and their families, and to the Elders of other communities who may be listening.

Rosalie Pockett AM never intended to stay in hospital social work. At first its scope was too narrow, but once she ‘widened the lens’ she was using to look at it, she saw how to achieve the two things she was most interested in doing: overturning the inequities in people’s access to healthcare; and building partnerships between social workers and researchers. These are what she describes as the two strands of her career interest. The way she weaves the strands together has led to her receiving an Order of Australia. This is the first of two episodes discussing these topics.

Mentioned in this Episode

Dr Rosalie Pockett AM University of Sydney

https://fdp.edsw.usyd.edu.au/users/197

Special Issue Australian Social Work Social Work and Cancer.

Editorial by Rosalie Pockett and Kim Hobbs Free Access

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0312407X.2021.1988664?src=

AASW Members:

Australian Social Work Special Issue Social Work and Cancer Volume 75, Issue 2, 2022.

https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rasw20/current

Social Work Health Inequalities Network SWHIN

https://blogs.coventry.ac.uk/swhin/swhin/

Mt Sinai Hospital Social Work Department New York – Social Work Leadership Enhancement Program

https://www.mountsinai.org/locations/mount-sinai/about/health-professionals/social-work-services/professional-development

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00981389.2018.1439134?journalCode=wshc20

Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners

The Australian Association of Social Workers respectfully acknowledges the past and present traditional owners and ongoing custodians of the lands on which this podcast is being recorded. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, their ancestors and their families, and to the Elders of other communities who may be listening.