10 November 2022
John Luke
By email: [FYI request #20801 email]
Tēnā koe Mr Luke,
Information request – John Luke
Thank you for your email dated 17 October 2022. In your email, you requested information under the
Official Information Act 1982 concerning the Social Workers Registration Board (SWRB)’s current round
of recruitment for people to join the pool of Professional Conduct Committee (PCC) members. In
particular, you asked the following questions:
• How many applications has SWRB received?
• How many vacancies is SWRB recruiting for?
• Apart from the SWRB website, where else has the opportunity been advertised?
• Of the applications received:
o How many came from “the general public”?
o How many came from “current sitting members”?
o How many came from “other nominating government agencies, such as TPK”?
It may be useful to set out the context in which we operate. The SWRB is a Crown Entity regulator, and is
governed by a Board of seven members, who are appointed by the Minister for Social Development and
Employment. The Board also has responsibility for to referring complaints that are deemed serious to a
Professional Conduct Committee.
PCCs are a regulatory function established under the Social Workers Registration Act 2003. They are
independent statutory bodies to the SWRB, and they investigate complaints and/or convictions
concerning registered social workers. They are composed of 2 registered social workers and 1 lay person.
We have now prepared our response to your request; please find our responses below:
How many applications has SWRB received?
The SWRB received 43 applications to be part of the pool of PCC members who are contracted for service,
before it closed applications. It received a further 4 applications after this date. 10 applications were for
positions as a “lay-member” of PCCs while 37 applications were for positions as a “RSW member” of PCCs.
The appointment process is still in progress. Applications are closed.
Social Workers Registration Board
P +64 4 931 2650
Level 7, 110 Featherston Street, Wellington
E [Social Workers Registration Board request email]
PO Box 3452, Wellington 6140
www.swrb.govt.nz
How many vacancies is SWRB recruiting for?
These are not vacancies in the employment sense; rather contracts for service. SWRB is expecting to
recruit approximately 15 members (5 lay people and 10 registered social workers), depending on the
quality of the applicants.
Apart from the SWRB website, where else has the opportunity been advertised?
The opportunity was published on the SWRB website, Govt Jobs, and Mahi (in English and translated into
Te Reo Māori). The opportunity was also published by Indeed.com, without the permission of SWRB. It
was also promoted of the SWRB Facebook page, the SWRB “Onboard” newsletter and the Social Services
Providers Aotearoa Network. The SWRB also notified the current pool of PCC members and the SWRB
secretariat with the intention they circulate it with their wider networks.
How many of the applications came from the “general public”, “current sitting members”, and “other
nominating government agencies” respectively?
All applicants applied directly to the SWRB without any endorsement from a nominating agency or the
backing of any organization. PCCs under the Social Workers Registration Act 2003 are not a statutory body
for which the Department of Internal Affairs administers appointment. Therefore, the process of
registering with a nominating agency is not appropriate.
All applicants were members of the public. None of the current PCC membership pool reapplied as active
PCC members still have current contracts.
We hope that these answers adequately address your questions. Should you have any questions, or wish
to discuss the matter further, please contact SWRB’s legal team by email at
[email address], or by
post at Social Workers Registration Board, PO Box 3452, Wellington 6140 (attention Legal Team).
You have the right to complain about our response to the Ombudsman. Information about the
Ombudsman can be found at
[email address]. Ngā mihi nui
Jack Adcock
Legal Advisor - PCC
Social Workers Registration Board
